The Lost Witch

Part Two

"Wow! Your house is almost as big as the Scarlet Devil Mansion!" Marisa said, looking at Arthur's house.

"What?" he asked, thinking to himself. Is that somewhere in Gensokyo?

"Oh, some friends live there. Don't fret about it too much." she said, turning to walk inside, and Arthur quickly followed her.

"Ah, I see." he said, but he was quite nervous about who this mysterious Marisa was. "Actually, I don't know anything about you,Miss Kirisame."

"Oh, please Arthur, call me Marisa. You sound too stuffy when you call me that." Marisa said, and Arthur nodded.

"Okay, Marisa. So, would you mind telling me a bit about yourself over tea?" Arthur asked, and she shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind. What tea do you have?" she asked, and Arthur began to rattle off the teas that he had in his possession. The duo of blondes walked into the house, and made their way to the tearoom,which doubled as a small library.

"There are so many books here!" she said, looking around the room in amazement before sitting down at a small, white table with Arthur,who quickly got up to make the tea.

"So, what about you, Arthur? Would you mind telling me a bit about yourself?" Marisa asked, and Arthur shrugged.

"Depends on how personal the question is." he said, grabbing a pair of teacups out of a small cabinet, and she shrugged.

"It wouldn't be like an interrogation...." she said, and he shrugged again.

"Well, it still depends." he said, pouring the tea into the cups before bringing them over, setting one in front of Marisa and sitting down with the other.

"I guess that makes sense." she said, taking a sip of the tea. "This is good!"

"Thank you. So, shall we begin?" he asked, and she nodded. "Okay. First question: Are you really from Gensokyo?"

"Yeah. My house is located in the Forest of Magic. I run a magic shop there, but people rarely come, since it's so hard to find."she said, and he looked at her oddly.

"You run a....magic shop?" he asked, and she nodded. Is she a magician or a witch?

"Yep! I'm the owner of the Kirisame Magic Shop." she said, and he nodded.

"Okay. Next question: How old are you?" he asked, and she blinked.

"Around 16 or 17, I think."she said, and he nodded.

That makes sense......I guess. She doesn't look like she's, I dunno, in her mid-30's, or even late 20's. He thought, and she smiled. "Third question: Are you a magician?"he asked, and she paled.

"Skip." she said, and his eyes narrowed.

Probably something like that,then. She wouldn't get so defensive over something small like that. "Sorry. Next question: Do you know anyone by the name of Kiku Honda?"

"Yeah, actually! He told me to go to England!" she said, and Arthur nodded.

"Okay...."he began. Why would Kiku send this girl to ME? That doesn't make any sense......"Did he tell you why?"

"Yep! He said that you could help me. I'll tell you a little secret, okay? You can't tell ANYONE." She said, and he nodded. "I'm actually a magician and Youkai hunter. Well, part-time on the second one. If Reimu knew I told you this......she'd have my head."

"Okay? What does a Youkai hunter do?" he asked, and she sighed.

"They hunt Youkai. What else would we do?" she said, which caused the question to pop into his head. What are Youkai?

"What are Youkai?" he asked, and she thought for a second before turning back towards him.

"Youkai are supernatural beings. Since every country has different folk stories, the Youkai families are endless. They can also be ghosts, but are usually folk creatures from Japanese origin. Ummm.....have you heard of a Bake-Danuki? It's a sub-group ofTanuki." Marisa asked, and Arthur nodded.

"Yes, my friend has told me about them on a few occasions." he said, and she nodded.

"They're a type of Youkai." Marisa said, and he nodded.

"I get it. Oh, so last question: Are you human? And if you are,what else are you? I've never seen someone from Gensokyo, and I know WHAT that is." he said, causing her to flush and break eye contact.

"I'm human. I already said I'm a magician, which is also true. I use a mini-Hakkero to attack and defend myself, but I specialize in light and heat magic, unlike some others who focus in manipulation of earthly and/or celestial elements." Marisa said, and Arthur nodded.

"It would make sense as to why Kiku sent you to me now. I'll show you something later, okay?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I'm tired, so I'm gonna crash. Goodnight, Arthur. See you tomorrow." she said, getting up and exiting the room, yawning as she stretched her arms above her head.

"Okay. Sleep well, Marisa." he said, then turned to his tea, the dark liquid swirling around gently inside of the white porcelain tea-cup. Just who IS this girl? I mean, at least now I know that she DOES deal with magic, but HOW? That's the biggest question right now. She said that she knows other witches/magicians. Who are they, and are they here, like she is. How did she cross the gap between her world and ours?