It was dark as Nagi sneaked back into her house. It was way past the time that she was supposed to be home, but it was probably all right since her parents were most likely asleep by now. As silently as she can, Nagi opens the door to her house. She then steps inside, closing the door softly so there would be no noise. Hopefully no one noticed the dummy she had put under her blanket in her bedroom. "Where have you been?" a feminine voice asks. The girl turns around in shock. Her parents were not supposed to be up at this time. "Didn't you hear me? Where have you been?" her mother asks sternly.
"Nagi, it's okay, just tell us the truth." her father says. He was a kinder person than her mother at least.
"I-" Nagi squeaks, glancing at her parents then to the floor, "I was just visiting a friend."
"What friend?" demands the mother.
"S-Sousuke…" she replies softly.
Her father gasps in shock while her mother only got angrier. "That boy at the bakery?! Didn't I tell you not to bother with that child? He's no good for you!" she yells.
"But he's not like what you think he is!" Nagi fearfully says back, "Just because his mother was accused of being a witch doesn't make him bad as we - " Nagi was cut off by a slap across the face. She cries and touches her cheek, her pale skin turning red. "You are MY daughter, and you WILL do as I say." her mother seethes, grabbing her daughter's wrist harshly. "Calm down dear." Nagi's father says in an attempt to break the tension.
"No, I will not calm down! This behavior is just unacceptable!" the woman barks, tightening her grip on Nagi's wrist. Her long nails were starting to dig into the skin.
"L-Let me go, it hurts." Nagi cries out.
"You little brat, I guess I just have to teach you a lesson, beat some sense into you!" her mother shouts.
"No, let go!" Nagi yells back.

A huge lion suddenly appears out of nowhere and pushes the mother down to the ground. It then roared close to the woman's face, like she was a threat. The creature soon disappears after that. Total horror was written all over her parents' faces after experiencing that. No, what have I done?! Nagi frantically thought. She took this chance to dash out the door as fast as she could, having no destination in mind.

I have to get out of here.

Nagi ran. In the distance, she could hear her mother alerting other people that the girl was a witch. "My daughter is a witch!" the woman cried, "Get the little brat!"
It was to be expected. Her parents did not really care much for her anyway. Her mother only cared for herself.
Nagi squeezes her eyes shut and forces herself to run faster, her dark cloak and long violet hair fluttering behind her.

By now a group of townspeople had started to chase Nagi, carrying torches whose falmes danced wildly in the dark. "Get her!" they shouted, "Burn her at the stake!"
This only made the girl run faster, turning to make short cuts and creating distractions with her powers to slow the mob down. She then turns into an alley, only to find that it was a dead end. "No!" she cries. Nagi turns around to see the torches' lights getting closer and closer. Not knowing what to do, she goes to a dark corner and crouches, using her cloak to hide her body in the shadows.
"This is where she went." a gruff voice says. The mob stops in front of the alley, waiting for someone brave enough to go find the girl. A man then reluctantly steps forward, going deeper into the alley.

Please don't find me, please don't find me, please don't find me. Nagi repeats over and over in her head. Her heart was racing and she felt sweat form in the palm her hands. She hears the sound of footsteps of the man drawing nearer to her location. The sound of shoes against stone ceased a few seconds later. Nagi felt the heat of the torch near the area on her back. Right now she just wished that she was invisible at the moment.
"She's not here!" the man shouts to the group that waited for him. He then rushes back to them so that they could continue searching for the witch.
After all the people left, Nagi heaves a sigh of relief and stands up. Her legs and hands were shaking, her mind was racing with so many thoughts as well. What should she do now? She could not go back home now or go anywhere in town for the matter.

While going through the thoughts, a black cat meows and sits in front of Nagi, licking its paw. Its yellow eyes seemed like it glowed in the dark. "Oh, hello. What are you doing here?" the girl says and bends down to pat the feline on its head. The cat then stands up and turned towards the exit of the alley, and looked at Nagi with expectant eyes. "You want me to follow you?" she asks the creature. The cat turns and starts to walk out of the alley and onto the street. Nagi silently follows until she reached a familiar place. "The bakery?" she mumbles.
The door to the place opens, revealing a boy the same age as her with messy blonde hair and sea green eyes. "Oh, Midnight! Back from your walk I see." the boy says and scoops the cat up in his arms.
"S-Sousuke?" Nagi utters.
The boy looks up in surprise, "Nagi?" What are you doing here?" he says and drags Nagi into the bakery, which is also his home, "You have to hide, they're looking for you." he quickly says in a panicked tone as he shut the door. Midnight the cat was now free from Sousuke's grasp and headed up the stairs where the rooms are.
"Nagi, what happened?" Sousuke asks.
"My parents, they caught me. Mother snapped a-and I don't know what happened. I panicked and then my powers were accidentally used." the girl explains.
Sousuke patiently listens as he got a cup of water for Nagi. He leads her to a table for both of them to sit.
"I don't know what to do, Sousuke. I can't stay here anymore." Nagi says with a shaky voice. Her tears glistened in the dim light provided by a single candle in the middle of the table.
Sousuke looks at his friend with sad eyes. Not all witches were evil. In fact, most of them are were kind people like his mother. People are just afraid of what their powers can do. The witches, sorcerers, and anyone who supported them would be put to death. Even if someone were the slightest bit suspicious would get punished. It was a tragedy really.

Sousuke's eyes brighten, an idea struck him. "Nagi, I my mother talking about some mansion in the woods that is a refuge for people like you." he says.
A mansion in the middle of the forest? The idea scared her, going into a place like that alone was a bad idea on its own, but going there when it is dark was an even worse idea. But I have no other choice. Nagi thought.
"I'll go."

Nagi and Sousuke went to the edge of town where the entrance to the woods was. The wind blew wildly as the two stared at the huge trees that swayed with the strong breeze.
"The bread and water should last you a few days." Sousuke says, pointing to the bag slung across Nagi's shoulder. The blonde then takes something out of his pocket and puts it around the girl's neck. "This was my mother's, I want you to have it now. It's for good luck and protection."
Nagi looks at the object that was given to her. It was a pendant with a purple gem that hung from a golden chain. "A-Are you sure you want me to have this?" she asks as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "It must be really precious to you."
Sousuke chuckles, "I want you to have it Nagi, mother would have done the same. Besides, it really suits you." Though he was smiling happily, you can see a hint of sadness in his green eyes. Tears start to fall down on Nagi's face once more. "O-Oi, don't start crying again!" he exclaims.
"B-But-" Before she could finish her sentence, Sousuke pulls Nagi into an embrace, burying his nose in her purple hair. "It's all right, we'll meet again some day. I'm sure of it!" he says, "Now go Nagi, I'll make sure no one follows you from here."

Nagi closes her eyes, breathing in the scent of sweet pastries that the boy had on him. "Goodbye Sousuke." she says softly. He lets her go and gives her a sad smile, "Goodbye Nagi."
With that, the girl was off into the woods. She took one last glance at her friend and disappeared into the trees.

The temperature got colder and colder as Nagi treaded through the woods. Her cloak was not enough to keep her warm. "My mother said that if you follow that star, you will find the mansion." Nagi recalls Sousuke saying. She looks up to the night sky and sees a star that shined more brightly than the others. I hope I can make it before day breaks. Nagi thought worriedly. She had no idea how she would find the mansion once the stars were gone.

Hours went on and on, but the girl still had not reached her destination. How far is this place? Her legs were growing tired from walking and her eyelids were getting heavy. There was only a quarter of water left in the container too.
No longer having the energy to go on, Nagi slumps down on a nearby tree and sighs. The stars are beautiful tonight.

Slowly, her eyes started to close.

It was early in the morning when a brunette boy with fluffy, spiky hair and hazel eyes was taking a stroll through the forest. He wore a red long sleeved shirt and overalls. "Mom's food was delicious as always." the boy cheerfully says.
The sun was shining through the trees brightly and the relaxing sound of nature rang throughout the woods. The weather was neither too hot nor too cool. "Hie! What's a girl doing in the middle of the woods?!" the boy exclaims as he noticed a girl with long purple hair wearing a white dress and dark blue cloak sleeping peacefully against a tree. "Sh-Should I wake her?" the boy wonders. He finally decides to wake the sleeping girl up, fearing for what might happen to her if he just left her there. Anything can happen after all.

"H-Hey, are you awake?" the brunette asks, bending down in front of her. The girl did not wake, so he decided to tap her on the shoulder a little. "Hey, uh, wake up. What are you doing here all alone?" he asks.
Pretty soon, the purple haired girl moans and slowly opens her eyes. When she saw the boy staring at her, she squeaks and gets up hurriedly. She then tries to run, only to trip on a tree root. "O-Oi, a-am I that scary?" the boy says and sweat drops as he stared at the girl in utter confusion. He walks over to the girl to help her up by reaching out his hand for her to grab. The girl's face turns red with embarrassment as she took the boy's hand and stands up.
"Oh, I forgot o ask. What's your name?" the boy asks.
The girl stays silent for a moment He couldn't possibly know, right? she thinks. "N-Nagi." She answers.
The boy grins, "Ah, I see, my name is Tsuna. S-Since you're kind of injured, why don't you come to my place to treat your wounds?" he offers.
Nagi looks down and sees that abrasions on her knees along with some parts of her arms. Seeing that the boy showed no signs of hostility, she agrees.

Tsuna's house was not that far from the tree where Nagi was found. According to him, his family lives in a small house in the woods. When the house came into view, Nagi could see that the structure was made mostly of wood from the surrounding trees. Smoke was coming from the chimney which could mean that someone was cooking. "Tsu-kun! You're back earlier than usual. Who is this cute girl with you?" a lady who had short hair with the same color as Tsuna asks. She was outside hanging some clothes out to dry, wearing a white long sleeved dress the reached her ankles and a brown apron.
"This is Nagi. She's injured so I thought we should take care of the wounds." the boy explains.
"I see! Welcome, Nagi, I'm Tsu-kun's mother. You can call me Mama if you want." the lady says with a radiant smile. The only person who ever showed kindness to her was Sousuke. Most of the time, people pretty much ignored her existence entirely. This was something different, it made Nagi feel fuzzy inside. "So, now that we're done with the introductions, let's get you patched up, Nagi-chan." the mother says. She takes Nagi by the hand and leads her into the little wooden house.

The interior of the house was very cozy. Everything was kept neatly and a sweet aroma filled the room. Even though the place was small, the atmosphere around it was very warm and welcoming. "You're quite far away from home aren't you?" says Tsuna. He gets a chair for Nagi to sit on while his mother went to prepare for her treatment. "So what brings you here?" he asks.
Nagi's eyes became sad and looks down to the floor. Tsuna gets the idea of what he just asked and panicked. "Ah! I didn't mean to." he stutters, "I'll just get you something to eat, travelling all this way must have starved you."
"No, it's all right, I have my own food." Nagi says, bringing up the bag she carried with her.
"Come on, eating your rations now would be a waste."
"I-It's fine."
In reality, Nagi did not want to take any food since she felt like she was burdening others with more work. Tsuna smiles a little, "Okay then, how about this? You can eat your food now, but when you continue on your journey, you have to let us provide you with food." he says. The purple haired girl looks up, surprised at how kind the boy is. She nods shyly in agreement, making Tsuna feel satisfied. "I'll just go and get you some water then. Don't go anywhere." he said and goes outside to draw water from a well. Meanwhile, Nagi took out a piece of bread and started eating it.

Just as Tsuna went out, his mother came in with a small glass bottle, some herbs, and bandages. "Sorry we don't have much, I'm going to use alcohol on your wounds. Is that fine?" she asks.
For a second, Nagi was afraid. She had not have alcohol poured on her injuries before, but she did hear that it was really painful. She also heard that is was effective though. Having no other choice, the girl allows the mother to proceed.

Once Tsuna came back from his errand, he walked into his house to see his mother doing something that made Nagi yelp in pain. "HIE! Mom, what are you doing?!" he exclaims. The brunette puts the jar he was carrying on a table and rushes to Nagi's side. "Oh, Tsu-kun! Perfect timing, can you help hold the bandages?" his mother says and hands him the bandages she was holding to Tsuna. He looked agitated as he received the strips of cloth. Now that her hands were free, the mother could treat Nagi's wounds more easily. "Is that dad's alcohol?!" he shouts as he stares at the familiar looking bottle his mother currently held.
"Now, now, Papa can get more when he comes back from his job."
"B-But-"
"No 'but's Tsu-kun. It's better than letting her get infected."
Tsuna immediately shut up. He watched anxiously as Nagi again groans in pain while his mother reassured her that it will be all right. When she was done, Tsuna handed her a bandage to wrap around the wound.

Nagi took in deep shaky breath. The stinging sensation in her leg was still there, but less painful than when the alcohol was being poured on her wounds. At least the worst part is over, now all that is left are the small wounds on her hands and arms. Tsuna's mother pours the alcohol on a piece of cloth and dabs it on the girl's hand. This time it stung less. Both her legs and right arm were wrapped in bandages. "You're a strong girl Nagi," the mother says with a gentle smile, "If it were Tsu-kun, he would have cried like a baby by now."
"Mom!" Tsuna yells as his face went red. The woman laughs at her son's reaction. It is true that Tsuna had a low pain tolerance. After a while, Nagi started to giggle a little too. It has been a long time since she had laughed like this.

"Nagi-chan, why don't you stay with us for a little while? Just to regain your strength a little." The mother offers.
"Y-You don't have to do that, you have already done a lot for me." says Nagi, feeling timid. She feels very certain that the people from town were still out there searching for her. It will be troubling if they found out she was here so she has to keep moving. The problem is how will she explain this to these two? If they found out she was a sorceress, they will definitely be scared of her. Most likely, they will report her to the people in a nearby town worst case scenario.
"At least stay here for one night." the lady says with pleading eyes. It has been a long time since she had a girl around in the house and had already taken a liking to Nagi. "I-If you are fine with it." the girl says. The mother squeals in excitement.

Unfortunately there is no guest room in the house so Nagi had to stay in Tsuna's room while the boy temporarily stayed in his mother's room. It was still early in the afternoon so Nagi, Tsuna, and his mother decided to have lunch together.
"I think Papa will be coming back in a few more weeks." the mother says happily as she placed bowls of stew on the table in front of the two kids and at the place she is about to sit at. The stew smelled extremely delicious, and it tool all of Nagi's will power just to not drool. Once Tsuna's mother sat in her seat, she and Tsuna put their hands together and gleefully said "Itadakimasu." before digging into their food. Nagi followed suit but said it more quietly. She dipped her spoon into the liquid and brought it to her mouth. Her eyes widened at how good the food tasted.
"You can have more if you want, Nagi-chan." the mother says. She was smiling at the little girl, feeling satisfied with her reaction. Nagi blushes a little and shakes her head. She felt embarrassed to take more than what she needed. Meanwhile, Tsuna was enjoying the dish fully, but did not eat too greedily.

"So where do you plan to go after you leave?" Tsuna's mother asks out of curiosity. Nagi paused her hand as she was about to take up more stew. What was she supposed to answer? That she was travelling to some magical mansion in the middle of the woods that is a home for witches? As if anyone would believe that. She would be deemed insane. "I-I'm going to stay in a relative's place." the girl says, stirring her spoon through the stew absent mindedly.
"I see." the lady says and continues eating. Even though it was quiet, no one felt awkward about the situation.

After a while, all three of them had finished their afternoon meal. Tsuna and his mother then decided to show Nagi her room. The room was right across from the parent's room. It was a tiny space, but it was cozy enough. There was a window that shows the woods outside, the sun still shining through the trees and leaving a path of sunlight on the ground. "Sorry that it isn't much." Tsuna says and scratches the back of his head. Nagi shakes her head, signaling that it was not a problem. She walks around the room and looks at the different things in it. There was a soft looking bed in the corner next to the window. A large closet with a reddish brown color stands in front of the bed against the opposite wall. Next to it was a chest that held multiple items such as toys and books. "I hope it's not weird to ask, but do you want to go outside for a walk?" Tsuna asks, "It gets a little boring here so I thought it would brighten your mood."
The brunette looked nervous when he asked the question. It was because he was asking a girl, which is something he is not used to at all. After thinking for a while, Nagi agrees.

The two walk out of the house and said a short farewell to Tsuna's mother. They treaded into the woods. It was warmer now since it was afternoon, but Nagi wore her cloak anyway. She did not really feel hot at all.
Tsuna and Nagi talked about random things as they were walking. They talked about what they did everyday, how Nagi's life in a town was and what Tsuna's life was like living away from towns and villages. Even though he lived isolated from people, Tsuna did have some friends that came to visit sometimes. "So I heard that witch hunting is still going on." Tsuna says.
The girl panicked a little inside. Had he already figured it out? Nagi pushed the thought aside and decided to stay quiet. "What do you think about it?" asks Tsuna.
"I think it's scary." Nagi replies.
Tsuna mouths an 'oh' and nods, "I feel the same way. I hear that they kill innocent people sometimes as well. It's awful." he says and looks down at his feet.

The pair stayed silent for a while, not really knowing what to say after that. The soft sounds of different birds singing fill the air as they walked. There were not many trees on the path so it was not as shady as the other parts of the forest. While Nagi's mind and eyes wandered, she noticed that the pendant Sousuke gave her started to glow unusually, and it was floating as if it were pointing somewhere. She turns to look to the ground on her right. There was an unusual white flower in full bloom, looking out of place among the other plants that grew around it. The flower's white petals seemed to reflect some of the sunlight that shined on it. This mesmerized Nagi, and made the girl stare for quite while in curiosity. "Nagi, what are you looking at?" Tsuna asks once he noticed Nagi was no longer walking beside him. Nagi snapped out of her trance and turned to the brunette who was giving her a confused look.
"It's nothing, I was just looking at a flower." Nagi says. Tsuna looks at the spot Nagi was staring at and becae even more confused. "I don't see anything." he says. Nagi is surprised by this and turns to look at the flower again. It was still there. Instead of arguing with him, she decided to keep quiet about it.
"Never mind, it must have been my imagination." she says. Tsuna shrugs and continues walking, with Nagi soon following.
She turned her head once in a while to glance at the white flower to see if it would disappear. It did not. So it's not a hallucination.

"Oh I know!" Tsuna suddenly blurts out, "I'm going to take you to this really cool place. Follow me."
The boy then runs off, leaving Nagi to catch up. She tries to fasten her walking pace, but Tsuna's figure only got farther away. So Nagi sprints. It feels more tiring to run now than it was when she was being chased by the mob last night. What made it even harder are the bandages that wrapped around her legs. It took only a moment for her to catch up with Tsuna. After a few pants, Nagi looks up and sees a beautiful sight before her.

A shining blue lake was smehow in the middle of the forest. Groups of different kinds of flowers bloomed around the area surrounding the lake, their sweet scent filling the air. The place was out in the open, making it seem like it glowed in the presence of sunlight.
"Amazing right?" Tsuna says. Nagi did not reply and looked on in awe. The brunette smiles at her reaction and walks forward, gesturing for her to follow him. Nagi walks and focuses her attention on her surroundings.
A butterfly with blue wings flutters by in front of Nagi and eventually lands on her shoulder. Beautiful…she thought and continues moving, making the butterfly fly off from her shoulder to somewhere else. As she walked, the grass tickled her ankles. "Over here Nagi." Tsuna calls out. He was standing near the edge of the lake with a big smile on his face.
Nagi makes her way to the boy and sat down next to him.

"I always like to come here whenever I can." Tsuna says and sits down next to Nagi, "It's a very peaceful place so I feel at ease."
The girl nods in agreement and looks down at her reflection in the lake. Her long hair looked disheveled and her eyes tired. I wonder if they've stopped looking for me. The thought soon faded to the back of her mind, all her worries seemed nonexistent. A few fish swam in the water below; it was crystal clear so the fish's colors could be easily seen. Their silver scales shimmered in the light as they swam past.

"It's not safe here." a voice says in Nagi's head. Her eyes snap open as she was about to fall asleep. "You have to go, quickly." the voice warns. Nagi turns her head back once the scent of burning wood reached her nose. The whole forest was set on fire, and the sound of people yelling and screaming could be heard.
"Death to the witch!"
"Be gone you evil soul!"
"Die!"
Nagi watches in horror as the bright orange flames started to engulf her and her surroundings. She could not even muster the strength to scream, she felt helpless. Hands reached out to grab her from all sides. As Nagi's skin burned as the hands made contact with her. No, stay away! she wanted to yell.

"Nagi, are you all right?"
The purple haired girl whimpered and jumped. She quickly looks around her, her violet eyes darting in random directions. There was no fire. No people that were trying to kill her. She was still in the serene atmosphere of the lake. "You looked like you were having a bad dream." Tsuna said. For some odd reason, his cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink, "Do you want to go back? You look really stressed out."
Nagi nods and gets up. This place is having a bad effect on her.

As she followed Tsuna back to the house, Nagi felt worried. What did the vision from before mean? Were the people searching for her going to show up at any moment? I have to hurry. Nagi says to herself. Tsuna and his mother's lives are at risk because of her. They will execute anybody who has helped a witch if they found out. Nagi was deep in thought and almost failed to notice that Tsuna had stopped walking. "What's wrong?" she asks.
Tsuna stared in confusion at his house in the distance, "That's weird, why are there people here?"
Nagi looks toward the direction of the house and sees the all to familiar faces of the people from town. This soon?!
"C-Can we enter through the back door?" Nagi asks anxiously.
"The back, what for?"
"Please."
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Tsuna leads Nagi to another path that leads to the house's back door.

The two of them quietly enter the house and sneak into Tsuna's room. "Do you know those people, Nagi?"
The girl avoids eye contact and looks down to the floor, "Those people want to do something bad to me." she says softly. Tsuna nods, "Okay then, you have to hide somewhere for now. They are definitely going to search the house soon." he says.
Tsuna looks around his room to see what he can to do to help. They could not go outside since it is risky. Tsuna's eyes then landed on the closet in front of his bed.