Hey all! As the summary says, this will be a series of Stories based in the world created by sonoci in her story A Witch's Apprentice, both can be found in my favourites. The first few will will bedirectly linked in a chronological order, I guess you could call it a short story, four chapters five tops. Beyond that however, well, we'll see. One thing I am certain of is that they will be from the viewpoint of Hei-chan. He never gets enough love in my opinion. The continuation of this series will be based completly on the approval of the world's creator, so, please spacey-sama, may I play in your world?

Disclaimer(because they say I have to): All I own is this cookie which I am about to eat, and soon I won't even have that anymore. (been wanting to use that one for a while XD)
Wait! I lied, I actually own a computer now.... finally! I do not however, own anything regarding any series I may use or reference throughout these stories. I am simply using them for a little entertainment and, of course, writing practice.

About this Story
Title: Some Days

Summary: Some days he found being a soul smith, and magic in general, to be very handy things. Others, he cursed Kudo for ever winning that damn contest.

Notes: They say you always hurt the ones you love... I must really love Hei-chan.
Thought up the idea while writing a review for AWA, thought it would be funny. I decided I really wanted to write it so here you go, not nearly as humerous as I first thought it would be.

A dark skinned teenager bolted along the busy sidewalks of Tokyo's Shinjuku district, shouting warnings at other pedestrians who looked his way strangely before jumping out of the way for fear of being rammed by the youth. He changed direction, whipping along a different street just as a few shards of brick flew from the wall's corner he'd just rounded, for reasons unknown to anyone but the boy. The boy, one Heiji Hattori, didn't have time to pause and wonder how the pursuer, or more accurately Hunter, could even affect the physical world in such a way.

His chance met him and he took it, ducking down an alleyway, praying that lady luck would be on his side for the moment and it wouldn't be a dead end, emphasis on the 'dead' part. The risk was necessary though, he couldn't keep the danger in the midst of the general public any longer. It was a virtual labyrinth within those walls. All the twists and turns and the tight space worked to his advantage it seemed to slow the hunter, though it certainly didn't deter him if the sounds of ricochet behind him were anything to judge by.

Fortunately, the sun was high enough at that moment that he could see his surroundings clearly, even within the shadows. Otherwise, he might have missed it. A door, of the type that is usually kept locked to prevent any unwanted visitors from entering in that way, had been left open. It was only a crack, just enough to slip his fingers through, but that was more than enough for him. Without a second thought he grabbed that door like a lifeline, opening it enough to slip through before closing it completely behind him.

He threw his back against the wall next to his entry and for a while he did nothing but wait, listen, and attempt to slow his breathing. Once he felt sure enough that he'd thrown the hunter off his trail, at least for a while, he allowed his body to relax, though his senses stayed on alert. His legs collapsed, allowing his back to slide gradually downwards until he was seated on the floor. Heiji was far from out of shape, but at that moment he felt as though he has recently sprinted half a marathon, at least.

All of his troubles, as least for that day, had been caused by that ghost, a beast of an apparition that looked more like a machine than a person. He'd run into malevolent spirits in the past and, a certain witch notwithstanding, none of them had really done much more than yell death threats at the person they were mad at, or start pounding on him with their fists when they discovered they were able to vent their aggression in such a way. They never had glowing blades or energy blasters that popped out of their wrists. They definitely didn't have missile launchers concealed in their shoulders. And that was just the tip of the iceberg for nasty surprises. At one point he'd only barely managed to avoid a grenade, though that part had at least been before he'd entered anywhere too heavily populated, so no unsuspecting bystanders had been hurt.

Then there was that net, oh the net, definitely no way he'd be forgetting that anytime soon. He'd been caught off guard by that one, rather literally. He'd already be a goner by now if it hadn't been for his training with Akako. He'd realized rather quickly that the net was nothing but magic woven into solid strands and had set to work detangling them to the point where he had simply passed through them as though they weren't there. He'd been so busy with his efforts that the fact that they were flying well above the city had eluded him completely.

He'd only managed to survive because he'd landed on the roof of a department store, thereby minimizing his fall. Even so, it hadn't been a small drop and he was pretty sure he'd be in agony if he thought on it for too long. As it was he was sore all over and sharp pains shot through his right side occasionally that he just couldn't ignore. He'd already noticed that arm hadn't been moving quite right for a while and upon closer inspection found the area around the wrist to be noticeably swollen.

Despite everything he still preferred injuries over the alternative. That was another thing about this ghost that was different from other violent spirits he'd met. Where they were violent out of anger or, on occasion, confusion, this one seemed to be doing it for fun. Scratch that, he knew this was a sport to the ghost, he'd been all but told so in the beginning. Apparently his status as a soul smith made him a 'rare creature' and now he was determined to 'mount his head over the mantle'. Heiji shuddered at the thought, everything about it was just so, so wrong.

To think, not that long ago he'd been walking to the market to get things for dinner so the little neechan and the professor could continue working uninterrupted. He'd barely made it over three blocks away when he had found himself slammed up against an iron gate, not unlike the one in front of Kudo's house. He might have struggled had it not been for the large, neon-green blade being pressed up under his chin. The glowing green eyes were examining him closely, uncomfortably so, as though they were searching for something. The brute of a ghost muttered to himself, obviously not impressed with whatever it was that he found.

Fidgeting under the scrutinization had led Heiji to notice a bar near his hand that was coming loose. Using the barrier behind him for support he had levered his foot against the attacker's chest and shove him away. Turning he had used both hands in order to wrench the rod free and swung it around just in time to catch his attacker solidly across the shoulder. Aside from knocking him off course from an attempted second attack, he didn't seem to have fazed the creep at all. By the time Heiji had taken a proper ready stance his opponent had already reoriented himself and was holding the blade, which Heiji could now tell was extended from the back of his wrist, before him at an angle.

They faced off like that for a few seconds before the robotic looking man faded partially from view. Up until then Heiji had failed to notice anything incorporeal about the freak in the mechanical suit, but once he could see the street through the guy's body it was blatant. He barely had a chance to wonder how a robot could become a ghost, for he knew then that it was a ghost, before he had to defend himself from said robot. The exchange was short but fierce and when they parted the metal man raised his eyebrows, looking considerably more interested than he had with his initial inspection.

Heiji still wasn't sure, even much later, but he thought the ghost had faded further from his view. The ghost floated slowly around him counter-clockwise and Heiji followed with both his eyes, and the tip of the rod he held. As the movements gradually became quicker and more erratic he diligently continued to keep his makeshift weapon between them. The situation reminded him strongly of the original experience he'd had with a dead spirit.

He kept his guard up, expecting an attack to come at any moment, but was surprised when 'Mister Mecha' simply stopped and smirked. He stood still and stared as suit started to speak, "Impressive Whelp, It seems the rumors weren't as exaggerated as I first thought." His defence slacked a bit while he wondered who would have told this guy about him. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction the ghost had retracted his blade and held the same hand, palm out towards the detective all in the same motion.

The next thing he'd known he had be curled up and wrapped so tightly he could barely move. The fence rod was laying uselessly a few feet away where it had dropped and the ghost, now completely solid again, was standing over him and commenting on his plans for Heiji after he'd been killed. His stomach felt like it was flopping around like a fish out of water as he remembered those words once again. He'd been to some pretty grotesque murder scenes but really, nothing compares to imagining one's own head stuffed and mounted.

He was almost grateful when the wall across from him blasted inward, showering him with bits of plaster and splintered wood. When he looked through the settling dust he saw the self-titled hunter standing beyond the newly created doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of the energy still dissipating from the barrel of, well, he had no idea whether to describe it as a bazooka or a cannon. Either way, it would still take him several days to figure out how something that huge could have been hidden within the confines of the armor, and even then he would wind up just blaming it on magic. Magic didn't need to make sense, right? Right.

The weapon, whatever you choose to call it, returned to whence it came as the ghost began to walk forward. At the same time Heiji struggled to his feet, the combined effects of his injuries and over-exhaustion making themselves well known by then, but he shoved them to the back of his mind. He watched the approach through slitted eyes, the steps clinking lightly on tiled flooring felt painfully slow in his mind. He chuckled to himself darkly, he was on death row and he didn't even get to walk his own march to the gallows. This was it, he was already panting slightly from the effort of standing, there was no way he'd be pulling another escape like that last one out of his Sax cap.

He pushed himself away from the wall, not wanting to appear so weak as to need support to stand once the inevitable finally came. Barely half a step taken on his behalf and he was forced to guard his eyes from a brilliant flare of light. Chancing a peek moments later it was still bright, but he was able to make out greenish streaks of lightning arching across the opening, and the hunter caught in the middle of it. Even after he'd broken free of the charge and stumbled backwards there were still electrical looking sparks jumping about his body as well as the edges of the hole.

While Heiji stood watching, the hunter's movements became very sporadic. "No!" He shouted, apparently no longer paying any heed to Heiji. "I can't be. Malfunct-. Ioning I. Still have to." His halting speech was cut off by a cheerful beeping sound. Looking at his arm he continued as though he were reading, "Study the mating habits of the Purple-Back Gorilla." Glowing eyes snapped to him, glaring fiercely as the rockets on his back powered up, "Don't think I am giving up, Soul Smith." With that he blasted upwards, phasing through the ceiling and out of sight.

Heiji gaped at the spot where the ghost had vanished for a full minute, completely dumbfounded. When his words did see fit to return to him, he was only able to utter a single phrase. Though it did sum up his thoughts quite nicely, "What tha hell jus' happened?" For the first time he finally took a good look at his surroundings. He could tell he was in what had at one point in time been a storage room. From the thick layer of dust over everything, he knew it, along with the attached shop now that he could see it, had been out of use for ages. There was a broken shelf on the lone unit standing in the corner and a number of old boxes, papers and other litter scattered about, abandoned on the floor along with the newly added wall debris.

Further examination revealed to him the now familiar glow of magic recently used. He had missed it before due to the brighter lightshow happening in the hole directly beside it, which had only just died down a moment before. Walking towards it he winced to realize that he could barely lift his feet and was actually closer to shuffling than he liked to admit. When he reached it he had to look up slightly to see where it rested just a few inches above his head, "Ofuda?" he realized what it was almost instantly.

One corner of his mouth quirked upward at the sight, of course. Magic spells and flying broomsticks were real. Ghosts were real. Why should he be surprised that protection charms were real too? Next thing you know, Koizumi would be telling him about ancient wizarding schools in Europe, or he would see a news report about a fire-breathing dragon in New York City masquerading as a high-school student, or maybe he'd win a trip to some cursed springs in the untamed wilds of China where martial artists sometimes go for training.

Shaking his head sharply to clear it of speculations he returned to inspecting the ofuda. One corner of the paper was resting over empty air. Had the blast occurred an inch or so further in that direction it would have been destroyed and useless. He thanked any and all deities that felt the compulsion to listen in at that moment fo letting him to be so lucky. Suddenly remembering something, he reached into the collar of his shirt and tugged a small bag out by its drawstring. Just as he'd suspected, the omamori held that same glow of passive magic at work. "Huh, so tha ahou can really do somethin' useful after all."

Almost as though Kazuha herself were there to reprimand him for the partial insult a sharp pain coursed through his arm, reminding him acutely of the injuries that he had been steadfastly ignoring and, as a result, abusing for a while now. Dizziness brought on by the sudden onset of pain caused him to lose his footing and fall forwards onto his knees, his left hand supporting him from pitching forward completely. The feeling of vertigo didn't leave him and he soon found himself rolling onto his side. The last thought to hit him before he blacked out: "Domo Arigato, Mister Roboto."

Some days he found being a soul smith, and magic in general, to be very handy things. Others, he cursed Kudo for ever winning that damn contest. Today, he was just damn thankful to be alive.