Okay, so the ribbons weren't strictly necessary. But they looked cool, and style accounted for a lot in these things. It made things seem heaps more like a serious magical experiment rather than just two friends goofing around. Or at least they made them frillier.
Reimu didn't comment on the ribbons, not even when Marisa burrowed herself underneath her armpit and strapped their right arms together. She did, however, crane her neck to see Marisa's back. "What's that meant to be?"
"My parachute!" Marisa patted the strap of the backpack proudly. She had only just finished sewing the star embellishments onto it that very morning. "Something I wanna try out if it turns out you can't fly me outta this world alongside ya."
"Can't you just fly down on your own?"
"This has more flair to it." By then, Marisa had attached Reimu's arm to hers at three different points and now adjusted the knots. She made sure her scarf was pinned tightly around her throat, and assumed Reimu had done the same. "Wait till you see it."
"I thought you were confident this was going to work."
"Then ya'll just hafta drop me after we get back." In truth, Marisa had exaggerated her belief in the possibility that Reimu could fly other people out of their dimension. But with Reimu willing to indulge her, she had to give it a shot.
Confident that the ribbons would hold without hurting either of them, Marisa looped her other arm around Reimu's waist. "How's that? After we're done with the experiment, we can practise for a three-legged race."
"You couldn't have thought of a more awkward way of doing this."
"Hey, yer the one who refused to gimme a piggyback ride."
Reimu scoffed, but her frown quickly turned into a smile. She fitted Marisa more snugly under her arm and secured the hand on her waist with her own. "Let's go."
They kicked off. Reimu hovered at the level of treetops long enough for Marisa to make sure everything was still attached properly ("Check!") and that nothing had fallen out of her pockets ("Yup, check!"), then began rising towards the clouds.
Marisa tried to help at first, but when it became clear Reimu could manage just fine if not better on her own, she let go and instead enjoyed the odd buoyant feeling that came from being carried into the higher atmosphere by a power not her own. Reimu's flight was as effortless as if she had been born with wings, and the additional magician plastered to her side didn't seem to slow her down one bit.
The trees quickly became dots, then blurs of colour. The wind whistled in Marisa's ears as Gensokyo was reduced into a miniature, so tiny even Youkai Mountain looked like it could fit onto her palm. She couldn't help grinning. This was her second favourite thing about reaching high altitudes, second only to diving back down and seeing everything grow back to its usual size while she pretended to be a shooting star.
She tore her gaze from the ground and glanced to her side. Whatever Reimu was seeing wasn't in their world. Her irises were as warm in colour as ever, but her pupils had dimmed, as if the currents carrying them had drifted into her.
Marisa kept looking at her, at the familiar made unfamiliar and ethereal but no less beautiful. And, since they were just about to hit the right altitude, she leaned in and kissed Reimu on the cheek.
Reimu's entire body jerked as her mind flew back to reality, then just as quickly grew transparent as all of Reimu, body and soul, flew back out.
The ribbons unfurled from around Marisa, the knots unravelling as they slipped off. They fluttered and fell like diving butterflies.
Then Marisa fell, too.
It had been a good try, she decided, and tried to enjoy the howling rush of wind embracing her even as it made her ears pop. She hoped that the parachute would work, and especially that Reimu would be back on time to see it, but even if that failed, she could have fun testing just how close to earth she dared to plummet before taking flight.
As the ground rapidly approached and there was no sign of Reimu, she sighed and reached for the drawstring on her parachute. Or rather, she meant to. Just as she was about to pull, a pair of arms locked around her ribs. Hands laced tightly just beneath her collarbone and stuttered her descent painlessly to a feather-light flutter.
Marisa craned her neck upwards. Reimu's eyes were half hooded, watching Marisa at once intently and as if seeing through her. Even as they got close enough to the ground that Marisa could have simply leapt down, she held on.
Marisa saw an opportunity. Angling her arm just right was a bit awkward, but after a couple of flailing attempts she got hold of the back of Reimu's head. Reimu blinked and held on tighter, practically burying her face in Marisa's curls as Marisa nudged her closer.
The back of Marisa's neck was going to have its revenge on her for days to come, but she had to see what she was doing. She leaned her head further back and craned her neck even higher.
Her lips locked with Reimu's the very instant her foot hit the ground.
They didn't break off until after they were both standing securely on the grass. Even then, Reimu relinquished her hold on Marisa only reluctantly.
Marisa rubbed the kink in her neck, flush with a rush of excitement. She smiled. "You didn't hide this time."
"You surprised me earlier. That's all." Reimu looked to the side, trying to appear stern and failing.
"Since when haven't you liked surprises?"
"It depend on the surprise." Now the facade cracked completed; Reimu's lips quirked upright. "Try surprising me again later and compare the results."
Marisa laughed, then recalled her backpack. "Hey! Take me up again!"
"We already know it doesn't work."
"Yeah, but you haven't seen my parachute yet." Was it just Marisa's imagination, or had there been a real tinge of regret to Reimu's voice? All the more reason to distract her.
Reimu gave her a blank look. "What did you write on your parachute?"
"Ya gotta take me back up to find out!"
Reimu shook her head, but her smile never left her lips. She folded Marisa into a half-hug and carried her back up.