Marisa pulled me up, a triumphant grin pstered on her face. "Now you lose! Hand over all your money!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement, the thrill of victory shining through.

  I scratched my head, putting on my most i expression. "Ah... I left my money in Reimu's house," I lied, my voice casual and calm.

  Marisa's shoulders slumped. "Seriously? You didn't bring it with you?" She seemed to believe me without a hint of doubt. Too bad for her—if she'd suspected me, my lie might've worked, and then maybe she would've found some money. But since she trusted me, my ability stayed dormant.

  We began flying back toward the Hakurei Shrihe sun already climbing high into the sky. As we soared through the clouds, I turo Marisa, curiosity eating at me. "Hey, Marisa... how I get magic?"

  She looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have magic?"

  I shook my head. "I only use magi vampire form. But in this form, I 't use any magic, except for my ability."

  Marisa crossed her arms, her lips curling into a thoughtful frown. After a moment, she smirked. "Eat mushrooms every day, and you'll get magic."

  I almost lost my bance mid-flight. "Eat mushrooms?!"

  "Yep!" she said, noddihusiastically. "I eat the magic mushrooms that grow near my house. They taste good if you sprinkle some seasoning ohey're pretty popur around here!"

  Magic mushrooms... was she serious? I couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but the curiosity was too much to bear. " I try them?" I asked.

  Marisa beamed, her excitement tagious. "Sure! But only after I get my money!"

  I sighed, watg the twinkle in her eye. Wasn't that supposed to be my money? I shook my head, letting out a soft chuckle. There was nuing with her.

  When we arrived back at the shrine, Reimu was awake, sweeping the courtyard with zy strokes. Her hair was a mess, and she looked like she hadn't fully woken up yet.

  Marisa nded with a thud, her voice eg through the quiet m. "Hey Reimu! Did you see my money?"

  Reimu blinked, clearly still groggy. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her brows furrowing.

  I grinned, feeling the perfect opportunity to expose Marisa's lie. "We pyed Danmaku, and Marisa told me that the loser has to give all their moo the winner. I lost, so she came here to get my money."

  Reimu's face twisted into an incredulous look. She turo Marisa, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "So... before you lost to me, you didn't give me my moher, huh? How about giving it to me now?"

  Marisa's face turned pale. She let out a nervous ugh, her eyes darting around. "I-I was just joking with him! Y-You know, a harmless prank!"

  Reimu's smile was terrifying. She reached inside her sleeve, pulling out her gohei. It gleamed ominously uhe sunlight. "Oh? How about we py Danmaku now? Didn't you e here to challenge me?" Her aura fred, the air crag with spiritual energy.

  Marisa's face drained of all color. "e on! I was just... I just wao have fun!" Without another word, she spun around, jumped on her broom, and took off at full speed, a streak of gold trailing behind her.

  I watched her fly away, her figure shrinking in the distance. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, "Aren't you going to take my money?!"

  I thought she was gone food, but to my horror, she made a sharp U-turn. In a fsh, she was in front of me, her eyes bzing with determination. Before I could react, she grabbed my coat and yanked me into the air.

  "What the—?!" I yelped, my feet leaving the ground as Marisa's broom shot forward like a et.

  Her grip was ironcd, and her broom moved at breakneck speed. I struggled to keep my bance, my legs filing behind me. "H-Hey! Marisa! Let go!"

  Marisa's teeth were ched, her voice dripping with irritation. "I did promise to take you to my house, didn't I? How about we go now?!" She was flying so fast that my eyes watered from the wind.

  Panig, I looked back at Reimu, who was still standing in front of the shrine. "Reimu! Help me!"

  Reimu looked at me with pity, "Damn... I should've taken your money when I was training you." She waved casually before turning back to her chores, pletely unfazed by my predit.