Chapter Seven

Tragic Magic

It was late afternoon, and the sun shown through the blinds into the Hanajimas' parlor, giving it a yellow glow that seemed out of place. Hana's mother had short red hair, and she listened to the girls' problem. She thought about it for a while, and then spoke.

"Well, last night, I remember you saying you were visiting a friend's house. I know neither of you did drugs or drank, so it must have been a spell. Let me probe your minds for the answer. Clear your mind, dear." She took Uo's hand, and Uo found herself with a strange headache. It seemed like her head was too cramped. Mrs. Hanajima, viewing Uo's mind saw a blank white canvas that seemed to be covering her memories. The woman attempted to move the curtain, but it was nailed to a frame. She let go of Uo's hand and sighed.

"Mother, what is it?" Hana was worried, Uo didn't show signs of getting any memories back, and her mother was exhausted, a first.

"I'll be fine, just get me a glass of water. NOW!" Hana scurried to the kitchen, and filled a glass with ice water so fast, it took about thirty seconds. Her mother drained the class before taking Hana's hand. "Just clear your mind." She gazed at her daughter's blank memories and the white canvas before deciding to try to do something she hadn't done in a long time. Mrs. Hanajima let go, and before Hana had regained control of herself, her mother stood up and walked to the cupboard.

"Where are those ingredients I need? Here's the cabbage, and now, where's that vanilla? There's the cocoa powder." She gathered the three ingredients, and put them into a Dutch oven, and started heating it up, while adding a liter of milk. When the mixture was boiling, she added Iron Goddess of Mercy tea leaves to the brew, and removed it from the heat so it could steep.

When the tea had steeped enough, Mrs. Hanajima strained the resulting concoction into the blender, added crushed ginkgo biobla tablets and set it on 'mix' for four minutes. When that was finished, she took two large glasses out of the cupboard, and she divided the surprisingly green mixture equally between the two.

"Drink up, girls." The two toasted each other silently and drank. Darkness settled on the edge of their vision, clouding it.

Momiji was the first to wake. Sore from sleeping on the floor, he felt a strange weight on his chest, and he nearly called out. Then, he saw Megumi sleeping so easily, his face illuminated by the sunset. He is a hidden beauty, a one-of-a-kind gem. Megumi shifted on Momiji's chest, burying his face in the older boy's shirt. He finally gave a huge yawn and sat up. Suddenly, he realized what he had done, and jumped away.

"How long was I like that?" Megumi seemed genuinely scared, and he crept towards the door.

"As far as I can tell, since we fell asleep. I woke up, and you were resting so peacefully, so I let you sleep! Is it a problem for you?" Momiji slowly inched closer to Megumi, as one would approach a wounded wild animal. When he got too close, without any warning, Megumi ran. Momiji ran after him, but Megumi was too fast.

When Hatori decided to go for a walk around the Sohma Compound, what he didn't count on was being ran into by a scared boy all dressed in black. When Momiji turned the corner, and caught up with Megumi, he saw Hatori attempting to comfort a black shade wrapped around his torso. Momiji managed to pry Megumi off of Hatori, and he enveloped the shade in a hug. When they broke apart, Megumi leaned forward and kissed Momiji on the lips.

When Tohru woke again, it was nighttime, and the witch had put a blanket on her, with a plate of salmon on the floor. Tohru ate the fish quickly, wishing for some sort of drink. The witch smiled when she saw Tohru had awakened. "Would you like a glass of water?" At Tohru's nod, the witch gave her a glass of water. It stung going down, and Tohru realized it was the potion from earlier. The witch smiled a smug little smile, and began to speak, her eyes less haggard than earlier, but getting there.

"Let us see… We've covered Yuki, Kyo, and the Mabudachi Trio. Now, I know for a fact that there is an unhappy girl who's madly in love with Kyo. Unrequited love is so sickening, no?"

Again, the voices in her head spoke, but this time, Tohru expected it. She did battle with the voices, but suffered defeat. At the sound of her voice, she nearly jumped. It was rusty from disuse, but it still sounded foreign. "Kagura is not sickening! She just has a major crush on Kyo, but is so stubborn that she refuses to believe he doesn't like her back."

"So she's the boar, then?" The witch spoke while drawing a picture from the wonder bra. "She has such a beautiful, innocent face. It's too bad she's as morally good as a demon." The witch tossed the paper into a pile with the other sheets, as she picked up a curly muddy thing, and as she tossed it into the cauldron, Tohru realized it was a pig's tail. The thought of an evil witch casting some sort of spell on those she loved made it unbearable.

"You are a nasty, foul creature! You don't deserve to live, and you should be put to death!" Tohru was screaming at the witch, and she was furious, a new and strange emotion to her.

"Oh, don't hold back, deary. Tell me how you really feel. And while you're at it, would you mind telling me about the horse and the ox? I'm sure they make a fine couple. That is, if you don't mind a cow straddling a horse!" She giggled at her own joke, pulling a picture of the two out, and Tohru glared daggers at the witch.

"I don't know why you're so obsessed with insulting the Sohmas. I mean, it's a pointless move, as they have more good qualities in fourteen atoms combined than you do in your entire body and soul. By the way, Haru and Rin are not sick and disgusting. They are nice and kind. Even though Rin has some issues, she still is a good person."

"You waltzed right into that one." Tossing the sheet of paper onto the pile, she added a liter of milk, and eight black hairs belonging to a horse. The witch stirred the mixture with her finger, smiling when she saw the macabre stew had turned violet. She looked up at the moon, and wiggled her fingers as if she was waving. A rope that seemed to be as silver as the moon's light appeared in the witch's waiting hands. She tossed it around Tohru. As the witch did so, the rope bound Tohru into a knot she knew she would never have a hope of untying. "There, now I can finish talking to you."

Yuki and Kyo were not taking the expulsion of Uo and Hana well. It was merely another straw on the camel's back. However, said metaphorical camel's halves getting along as well as a cat and a mouse. Yuki was sulking, and the slightest thing wrong annoyed him. Kyo was cooking compulsively, and the kitchen was filled with baked goods and foods. Shigure wasn't complaining much, because he could eat, and not worry about cleaning. Yuki had been cleaning so much, whenever someone so much as touched anything; he immediately vanished to avoid the wrath of Yuki for disturbing his clean house.

The mood dampened even further when the three of them felt burdened all of a sudden. It was as if someone was practicing voodoo. (Which the witch was, in a way.) Ayame and Hatori told them that they felt it too, and they worried about Tohru even more than usual. Akito had fled to the main house, sensing she wasn't welcome.

Shigure had driven to attempt to find Joshi several times, in the latest two days, but his known haunts were deserted. Shigure abandoned hope, while Yuki and Kyo put their faith in friendship being stronger than miracles.

The memories she saw.

Looking at a tall dark-haired man, while it snowed: "Tohru believes friendship is stronger than miracles and curses combined."

Standing in front of a grave, speaking to a orange-haired boy, while Uo, a purple-haired one, and a girl with haunting brown eyes and hair listened: "Why do you stand in front of a grave with such feelings of regret?"

Dressed up, on stage, in a play, speaking to that odd purple-haired boy: "Burn the palace down."

Crying with her best friends at Kyoko's funeral.

Watching the Prince Yuki Fan Club freak out when they found her brother.

Meeting that beautiful brown-haired girl: "Hi, I'm Tohru, who are you?"

Tohru. It all made sense now. It was as if that one name broke a barrier, and memories flooded her mind.

Hana woke with a jolt. Uo was still under, thankfully, and her mom was watching her. "You've been out for several hours, hon. It's ten-o'-clock at night." Hana walked out the door, ignoring her mother but for a single sent thought.

Don't wait up for me, Mother. If Uo truly regains her memory, then she'll know where I went.

Uo was watching a sea of memories. Most annoyed her immensely, as she couldn't figure out who the brown-haired girl was.

Bumping into her again: "I'm sorry, Uo, let me pick these up."

Seeing a funeral, standing next to the two girls she cared the most about in the world.

Running from class, following her as she ran to the office. Hana was beside her, and Uo could tell they were worried. Arriving at the office when she heard, "Tohru, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but your mother is dead. She was hit by a car, and she died instantly."

Tohru, what an odd name for a sweet girl. But, it brings out her hidden flavor.

With that, she remembered. Everything: both the good, and the bad. She remembered Hana and Megumi. She remembered Orangey and the Prince. She even knew where Hana would have gone. Uo's eyes jerked open. Noticing the change, Mrs. Hanajima spoke.

"Arisa, remember this one thing before you leave. Wherever there is a white witch, like myself, there is a darker witch of equal strength somewhere close by." Hana's mother spoke cautiously to the inert girl. "Hurry now, you should leave before it's too late."

"Hatori, I am gonna kill you once we rescue Tohru." Silently fuming, she got up, walked out the door, and started running.

An explanation to the potion ingredients:

Compulsion

Iron: decreases magical resistance

Alcohol: decreases inhibitions

Paper: helps victim think in words

Cabbage: destroys any and all poisons that are created

Mercury: quick, looses lips

Blood: increases potency for one person; but the potion then only works for said person

Personal effect: again, increases potency, but doesn't restrict like blood

Water: liquid base

Memory:

Cabbage

Vanilla: helps reminisce

Cocoa powder: acts as bonding agent

Milk: another type of a liquid base

Iron Goddess of Mercy tea leaves: Increases mental strength

Ginkgo biobla tablets: increases memory

Much Thanks to everyone! Sorry about the Cliffy (My Akii-chan, I'm starting to sound like one of those babbling blond writers who feels the need to say something everywhere [HELP ME!].)!

Much Love,

Dora