"Amu!"
The girl with flowing pink hair turned around to face the approaching group of girls. Her honey golden eyes blinked, recognizing her friends. Anyone who met her would blush by her flawless beauty.
"Are you on your way to karaoke too, Amu?" one of the girls piped. They had just ended school, celebrating their success in becoming seniors. "Yeah," she smiled, flashing her white teeth. Adjusting the strap of her bag, she walked with the girls.
They were all in the same school, wearing a light cream colored uniform. Most of them wore short socks and sneakers with the formal top, but Amu preferred to wear high socks and brown boots. She loosened her collar and tie, opening her uniform blazer.
While they went on to chatter about the recent news, Amu stared off into space. The sky is so pretty, she thought, admiring the soft colors around the sinking sun darken into the soon to be night sky. She could already spot the full moon.
"Amu?" a girl repeated. Breaking from her trance, she glanced at the girls. "Hm?" she blinked cluelessly. "I said have you heard of the witch sightings?" Amu finally realized the girls were talking about the witch rumors.
"No, I haven't. Are they around town?" she asked. The girls exchanged anxious looks and nodded. "They advised us to go home before midnight," another informed. "Most of the disappearances have been past midnight."
While they gave shivers, Amu seemed to be very curious. She'd never met a witch before, and wondered what she would do if she faced one. Of course, it would be senseless if she froze there and watched as the witch cursed her or something.
"I hope we end karaoke early so I can crawl to safety to my bed," a girl shivered, causing stifles of laughs from her friends. They finally reached the little karaoke building, meeting up with the rest of their friends.
"Congratulations to our seniors!" one cheered, raising his glass of soda. "We wish you the best of look out there!"
In unison, they all raised their glasses gently hitting against each other's. While one of the sophomores began to sing goofily, Amu laughed with her friends, watching as he began to dance to the music. "Hey, Amu," one of the juniors whispered, nudging her shoulder. "Look over there." Following her eyes, she noticed the captain of the soccer team glancing at her from time to time.
"I think he likes you," she giggled, drinking the rest of her soda. "You think?" Amu smiled, watching as he blushed when their eyes met. He finally took the courage to walk over to her, his fists clenched tightly. "Hey," he greeted shakily. "I'm Hayato. From the class next door to yours. I was wondering if… if you'd…"
Lost with his words, he immediately shoved his hand out to her. He held a little folded piece of paper containing his number. "I was wondering if you could call me sometime," he finally blurted.
Taking the paper, the girl sitting next to Amu grinned. "She'll call you later," she promised, waving him goodbye. Nodding, Hayato looked at Amu again and returned to his seat. The boys around him patted his shoulder as he sighed in relief. The pink haired girl smiled, putting the paper into her pocket. "Are you going to call him?" she pressed on. "Oh, I'm so jealous of you. You're beautiful, smart… You're everything a boy would want!"
Everything a boy would want, huh… Amu would get at least a dozen confessions every day, stuffing her locker and desk with love letters and confessions out in the back of the school. She usually turned everyone down, which now seemed like a routine. "I don't know," she admitted, watching as the sophomore finally finished the song, panting heavily. "I'll see."
The night dragged on, leading to more laughs and dancing. "Kids, you know that it's 11:45, right?" the man at the front popped his head in. "You know about the witch curfews. You can either stay or find a ride home."
Opening her phone, Amu checked for any missed texts or calls. "I have to go home," Amu sighed, taking her bag. "I need to take care of my sister, since my parents are out of town." Everyone anxiously watched as she made her way to the door. "A-Are you sure you want to go out there?" one boy stuttered. "There might be witches out there…"
Before she could reply, Hayato stood up, grabbing his bag. "I-I'll come too!" he offered. "I'll walk you to your house." Whistles and cheers came from their friends. "Be careful on your way home," the man advised strongly, closing the door behind them.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, the girl thought, barely finding any people or cars outside. Most of the lights in stores and houses were out, except the faint lamps that illuminated the streets.
"My house is this way," Amu spoke, pointing north. Hayato nodded, walking alongside her. "So," he cleared his throat, obviously trying to make a conversation. "What are you doing over the summer?"
"Nothing, really," she replied with a calm voice. "Maybe head to the beach with some friends. Something like that."
The echoes of their footsteps were rhythmic, following the distant music of a jazz group within a bar. Just as Amu was comfortable with the atmosphere, Hayato stopped in the middle of the park. "I like you a lot, Amu!" he confessed, bowing to her. "I'd like you to go out with me!"
That quick… Amu sighed, trying to find a way to let him down easy. "Please lift your head up, Hayato…" her voice faltered as she recognized someone standing beside a dim lit lamp. Wearing a dark hooded cape, it seemed as if the person was watching them from afar. "Hayato…" she whispered. "There's someone there…"
Immediately standing straight, he turned around to see the hooded figure. Startled, he began to step back, but realized Amu was with him. He decided to look calm and brave, straightening his back and puffing out his chest. "Excuse me," he called out in the dark. "Are you lost? Are you waiting for someone?"
As he approached the person, Amu's grip on her bag tightened. "Hayato, back away," she warned shakily, as if feeling something bad was about to happen.
Hayato was only a few feet away when he heard the hooded figure speak. "How clueless are you, human? You should have listened to that man." Alarmed, he began to step back. "W-What…?"
Stepping forward, it seemed as though the person was chuckling. "He told you to either stay or get a ride. You should have done so instead of walking out like a helpless mouse!" The person lunged towards him, flying straight through him.
With a yelp, he fell back, shadows engulfing him. "H-Hayato!" Amu exclaimed. She knew this person was a witch, but could not do anything about it. Her worst thoughts about witches came true. What could she do while one of her classmates was rolling on the sidewalk?
Hayato finally froze, suddenly shrinking to become a crow. With a squawk, it flew to the person's shoulder. "What a pretty bird you are," the person rasped, stroking its feathers. Gasping in horror, Amu began to back away until she realized the witch was turning to her.
"Oh, looks like I've caught a princess," she snickered, teleporting in front of her. Before she could even run away, she felt the person's cold skinny fingers grab hold of her arms. "No!" she shrieked. "Let me go!"
"I need some kind of souvenir," the witch muttered. "Why don't I just take your pretty face?" As she reached forward with her free hand, Amu panicked. This crazy witch wants to take my face off? No way!
Remembering her lessons from martial arts, she slipped through the person's frail fingers, grabbing hold of her shoulders. She brought her knee to the witch's stomach, hearing her snicker. "You think a mere knee to the stomach will hurt a witch?"
Holding her hand out, an ominous force forced her back, throwing her into the ground. Feeling her cheek and palms sting, she immediately sat up to face the towering witch. "I hope you like the new makeover," she cackled.
"What did you do?" she frowned, feeling nothing. Did she put a curse on me? Standing up, she jumped at the witch again, trying to tackle her down and run away when she had the chance. However, once her nails scratched Amu's arm, she felt some sort of numbing radiating from it.
One by one, her legs collapsed. "W-What did you do…?!" As she felt her whole body going numb, she hit her head against the sidewalk. "Sweet dreams, little lady," the witch sneered. As she began to black out, she saw a group of shadowy figures attack the witch.
Be careful… she thought, watching as they pushed the witch back. One of them ran towards her, holding her limp body up. I'm so tired… She finally embraced the darkness, closing her eyes.