Into the Darkness (OCXOBI)

Part 8

When I woke up, just for a moment I had forgot about what happened yesterday, then I looked around the room that I was in to see that I wasn't in my bed. I wasn't home. I didn't have one anymore.

I really didn't have any tears left to cry, there was no point in dwelling on things that you can't change.

My mother always told me that, so I'll find a way to move on from this.

My bare feet hit the cool floor and I saw bright light shinning in through the window.

"This is the longest I've slept in years..." Talking to no one in particular, rubbing the sleep from puffy eyes. "Crap! I hope I didn't miss Shirayuki and Obi leaving!" I took off running from my room to Mukaze's place.

I ran as fast as I could to make sure I got there in time. My usually bare feet hitting the dirt, and my black dress clinging to my body.

The cool spring air danced around my skin, leaving goose bumps.

As I neared the center of the happy little village, I saw my friends gathered together in the same place they are usually at.

Coming to a stop, I put my hands on my knees just trying to catch my breath.

"What's got you in such a rush this morning? You should be resting after everything that happened yesterday." Obi asked, resting his hand on his chin.

Finally, I had got my breath back to a steady pace. "I didn't want to miss you guys before you headed back home."

"We definality wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you, silly. We are friends after all." Skirayuki smilied brightly.

All I could do was smile back to her, even though yesterday was hard, I had to keep looking forward.

"Hey, kid. Come take a walk with me, there are somethings I would like to talk to you about." Mukaze said standing from his place at the table.

"Uhh.. okay." For some reason I started to get a little nervous.

Was he going to ask me to leave?

I gave a small wave to my friends before following Mukaze into the woods.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Mukaze?"

"Well. I wanted to be the one to talk to you about this, only because I know the real reason that those guys burnt your house down. I think it would be best if you left here." He said looking at me.

There it was.

Just as I had expected, he didn't want me here anymore either... But the next thing he said shocked me.

"I'm worried for you, kid. I wish you could just stay here with us, but I don't know if we could keep you safe at all times. Shirayuki suggested last night that you go to Clarines with them, I'm not trying to force you or anything but I think you should." He said with a serious expression.

"I couldn't go with them. I would only put them in danger too, and what if they figure out I'm a witch and don't want anything to do with me anymore!?" My voice was slowly getting softer as I spoke. "I can't just leave here, this isn't a simple decision. It's my entire life."

"Take a little bit to decided what you want to do, they will be heading back to Clarines in a few hours. But, I do hope you decide to go with them. I want you to be able to start over and have a somewhat normal life, I'd do anything for you to have that." He patted my head then turning to leave.

He stopped avoiding eye contact. "Don't think that I want you to leave because you're a witch, I just want you to be happy. But, I'll protect you with all I have if you decided you don't want to go. Just remember what I told you the other night. The world is bigger than you think. Maybe you should give them a chance." With that, he walked away, leaving me standing alone.

I was angry, and conflicted. I turned and ran deeper into the woods until I was a good ways away from anyone that could hear me. I screamed loud out of frustration, and the wind around me swirled madly.

Leaves from the forest floor began blowing in the wind and the trees swayed cracking until some of the smaller branches snapped and landed at my feet.

The sky above me turned dark and for miles it started to rain. I hadn't used my magic in a few days, so I was letting it all out now.

The longer I go without using it, the more out of hand it would get when I did. After about an hour of blowing off steam, I stared to head back to the village, when I started thinking about my mother.

~~~Flash Back~~~
*Third-Person POV*

Arisa was playing outside alone like she always did, while her mother was inside preparing dinner, when she saw two children, a boy and a girl, around her age running around playing.

She approached them with a smile, excited to finally have somebody to talk to. The children stopped and greeted her kindly, suggesting to play a game of hide and seek, and Arisa was in charge of finding the others.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Arisa yelled.

She ran around looking every place she could think of, until she found both of them. This game continued back and fourth for a little while until Arisa stopped to hide behind a large tree.

It had been a while since the boy was tasked with serching for them, so she started to doze off a bit.

"I found you!" The boy shouted causing Arisa to be spooked.

She accidently caught the tree behind her on fire, causing her new friend to get burnt on the arm. Arisa started to panic, frantically calling for her mother.

As Asui came running to the smell of smoke, she saw the two kids sitting together in front of the crying girl. Arisa's emotions became jumbled with fear and remorse, which only causes the fire to get bigger and more out of control.

Asui faced her palm towards the blazing tree, and the fire began to die down. She looked to her daughter to calm her, while checking on the injured boy.

She placed one hand over his burn and a green tinted light shown beneath her palm, healing the boys injury completely.

The girl started screaming and pulling her brother away from Arisa, saying that she was a devil. Before they both got a chance to run, Asui grabbed the children and began to erase the memories of meeting either of them.

But, she only got to erase Arisa from there memories before sinking to her knees releasing them. Then both children started to run back in the direction they came.

"Mother, why did she say that I was a devil? I only wanted to play with them, I swear I-I didn't mean to hurt him!" Arisa cried.

Asui stood on shaking legs before turning to her daughter.

"Arisa honey, I know you didn't... Our magic sometimes can be a burden but you can't ignore it like it isn't a part of you. It could be dangerous if you don't practice often because, you are more powerful than I am." Asui said, wrapping her thirteen year old daughter in her arms while she sobbed.

"Why?! I hate it! I hate it! I just want to be normal, I never asked for this, mother!" Arisa screamed. "I don't want to be like this anymore!"

"I know sweetheart, I am sorry that things happened this way. But, I need you to promise me something, Arisa. No matter what happens, be yourself. Not everyone will think ill of you, but not everyone will understand you either. Don't ever show anyone your magic until you know for certain that you can trust them. Don't be afraid to live a life that you can be proud of."

"I promise, mother."

They both stood outside near their home together for what would be the last time, because later that night, Arisa would be alone.

The children from before told their parents of a witch who could start fires in the mountains.

Asui ran to her sleeping child and kissed her foreheld, casting a spell to make her invisible as long as she stayed still.

After that, the front door was kicked in and Asui was drug away from her home.

~~~Flash Back End~~~