『 Sensitivity Boost [10][ON]』
"Ugh! Y-You damn boss...!"
"Hah~ I haven't even—hnng—I haven't even settled accounts with you yet... How dare you... Hah~ do this?!" Mokou, who had been on the verge of breaking free just moments ago, instantly crumbled into defeat.
Strangled nearly unconscious by Marisa's scissor hold while the latter's fingers relentlessly dug into her ticklish spots, the unbearable assault of sensations drove Mokou to the brink of madness.
"S-Stop hah—ah!Pffft—HAHAHAHAHA! Damn boss—HAHA! I'll kill you—!"
"I surrender!!!" Only after Mokou begged for mercy and gave up did Marisa finally release her, thoroughly satisfied.
'As expected, having backup made all the difference! Who could possibly stand against her now?'
Just as she triumphantly planted her hands on her hips, basking in her victory, Reimu over at the shop was on the verge of crushing her teacup.
'That damn Marisa... One of these days, I'm gonna strangle her!'
'First, sneaking off to the riverside for some shady cuddling, then coming back and locking lips like a soul-sucking demon, and now this ridiculous tussle—every single sensation was being forcefully transmitted to her!'
'And this was just daytime! Once night fell, who knew what kind of weird shared sensations this cursed connection would dump on her?!'
'Maybe... I should just drown Marisa in the lake when no one's looking?'
A dangerous glint flickered in Reimu's eyes as she pondered the feasibility of her plan. Meanwhile, Rin had already settled Mokou onto the sofa.
After patting Marisa's head, he turned to Mokou with a sincere expression.
"This little mishap was just an accident, I promise. Don't worry, I'll make sure to discipline her properly later."
"We're really sorry for the trouble. If Keine comes looking for you, we'll handle it."
"For now, just rest here. You can even stay for dinner."
"...Fine." Mokou rubbed her neck, grumbling under her breath. Since his attitude was at least decent, she reluctantly agreed.
Of course, the real reason was that she had no way to counter that bizarre ability.
Her instincts told her—this was them holding back!
Once Mokou finally calmed down, Rin and Marisa both let out a sigh of relief.
Just as he poured her some tea to help her relax, an overwhelming wave of killing intent suddenly surged from the direction of the shop.
"Mokou!!!" Keine's furious shout sent Mokou jolting in terror.
Under Rin and Marisa's amused gazes, Mokou immediately reenacted her earlier escape attempt, desperately trying to squeeze behind the sofa.
"You handle this! Don't tell her I'm here!!"
With a frantic wave, she squeezed fully in the sofa, slowly devouring her whole body before disappearing.
Within seconds, Keine's furious figure stormed into view.
The moment she spotted the two, her anger faltered slightly, and she awkwardly bowed.
"Sorry, I heard my student was hiding here and lost my temper... Is she here?"
"It's fine. She's... in the bath right now. She took a nasty spill earlier and got all dirty."
"Did she get hurt?!" Keine's expression instantly shifted to concern, her earlier anger forgotten.
"No, no, she's fine. Just a scare. Have a seat, would you like some tea?"
"...Thank you."
After a brief hesitation, Keine finally sat down.
As she sipped her tea, her tense nerves gradually relaxed, and she let out a long, weary sigh.
Handing her a plate of fruit, Rin continued.
"Mokou told me what happened. It's actually just a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?" Keine's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion.
"Today, our shop went out for a team-building picnic. When we got to Misty Lake, we saw Mokou there, diligently working on her homework."
"But maybe she woke up too early, she ended up dozing off while writing."
"Right then, a certain evil-incarnate little vampire gremlin happened to be lurking around, pulling pranks."
"That's when she swiped Mokou's notebook and scribbled nonsense in it. Mokou had no idea. She thought she'd just written gibberish in her sleep."
"After we finally managed to shoo away that evil-incarnate little vampire gremlin, Mokou woke up, and then Cirno and the others showed up. She was in a hurry to bring them back, so she didn't check her notebook."
"And that's how things ended up like this. So really, you shouldn't blame her."
"That vampire gremlin is the real culprit here! The root of all evil!" Rin spoke earnestly, his face the picture of righteous sympathy for the wrongly accused.
Listening to this nonsense, Marisa couldn't help but shoot him a sidelong glance.
'If Remilia heard this, she'd fight you to the death. But someone had to take the fall. So might as well sacrifice Remilia for now!'
"That's right! We even tried to stand up for Mokou, but that gremlin's hideout has two terrifying bodyguards!"
"One's a knife-wielding time-stopper, and the other's a red-haired muscle gorilla. They blocked us all, and we couldn't do a thing about that brat." Marisa sighed dramatically, playing the part of someone ashamed of their own powerlessness to defend justice.
Their seamless tag-team performance left Keine utterly bewildered.
"Who... is this evil-incarnate little vampire gremlin?"
"Remilia Scarlet. Lives in that creepy mansion by Misty Lake. She's pure evil, so you're better off not provoking her."
"Rumor has it, anyone who's crossed her ends up locked in the basement, brainwashed into mindless slaves who can only roll their eyes and drool."
"We only barely escaped thanks to Mokou's help. Otherwise, who knows what would've happened?"
"Just let it go this time. Now that the misunderstanding's cleared up, just avoid Misty Lake from now on."
Rin and Marisa "pleaded" with exaggerated concern, their words dripping with false worry. Keine scratched her cheek, thoroughly confused.
'Did I... really misjudge Mokou?'
As guilt began creeping into her heart, over at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia sneezed violently several times in a row.
Rubbing her nose in confusion, she stared blankly out the window.
Her instincts screamed at her: Some mutt was talking trash about her!
'Was it Rumia and the others, still salty after she sank their toy aircraft carrier? Heh. Pathetic losers. Not even worth my time.'