Crona sat on the bench at the small basketball court where him and his friends would hang out. His legs were pressed up against his chest with his face buried in the knees. He wasn't wearing his normal clothing. He was now wearing a black turtleneck sweater with blue jeans.

"You know tha girl is just toying with you right?" said his mother's voice. He clutched his knees tighter shaking with fear. After his date with Zenaku on Saturday, he had started seeing Medusa's fom again. It was getting worse and worse.

"N-no. You're wrong," he said. Medusa shifted to where she was resting her chin on her hand with her arm resting on the armrest, facing Crona. She gave him a develish smile.

"Oh, but you're the one who's wrong. You should start listening to your other friends. What if she is cursing you to fall in love with her?" Medusa urged, her arrow tongue flicking out.

"Sh-she wouldn't. She's too nice," Crona said at the brink of crying. "I won't believe anything you say."

"Oh?" She cocked her head to the side, her devil smile disappearing and a look of confusion appearing on her face. "Why is that?"

"You know exactly why!" Crona yelled getting up from the bench.

Medusa stood up straight and walked behind Crona, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. "I do know why. But I'm your mother, so you should believe me when your friends agree also," she said drawing an invisible circle on his shoulder with her finger. "You changed clothes. Good look for you. You brought out some of your masculine side. Are you doing this to impress her?"

"No. I just don't think I should wear a dress anymore," Crona stated.

"You're not getting rid of it are you?" she asked with a hint of sadness.

Crona hung his head in shame. "No. I-it's a memory," he said with a couple tears streaking across his cheeks. "I-I still love you. Not because you're my om, but because I've always lived with you. It's hard to depart from somthing you're used to." He felt horrible about saying it around her.

Medusa's devious grin returned. "Your girlfriend... the way I know she's toying with you is because she's my friend's daughter," Medusa said running one of her hand's through his hair. His eyes widened at her statement. "We thought that that child had died. She ran away and we tried looking for her but later we found a carcass that looked like her. We assumed she was dead. Until you found her. When she was a child, she would obey our orders to kill anything," she said then brought her hand down to Crona's chest, much to his discomfort. "You may not remember it, but you two were playmates."

Crona's eyes widened as he strained his neck to look at her. "What?! I don't remember having a playmate," Crona said then turned his head back.

"Like I said, you might not even remember it. But you two were the best of friends. Although you were the shy one and wouldn't play most of her games. But most of the games you would play was hide and seek... alond with Michelle."

Crona's eyes widened as a memory hit him.

FLASHBACK

Five-year-old Crona and Zenaku were behind Michelle's large pink chair. Zenaku was giggling quietly. Crona shushed her as he slowly peeked around the chair to check if the coast was clear.

Michelle was slowly crawling toward them, like a cat stalking its prey, from the other side of the chair.

Crona brought his head back behind the chair. "Ok, coast clear," he said as he sat down next to her.

"Oh no it isn't," said Michelle's voice. They snapped their attention to her head peeking around the corner of the chair. They barely even had time to run before she grabbed them. They let out a yelp as she took them both in her arms. "Errgh! I'm gonna gobble you kids up!" she said as she made gobbling noises making them giggle and laugh.

Meanwhile, Medusa was sitting in one of the dining chairs shaking her head in annoyance.

PRESENT

Crona smiled at the memory. He had always loved Michelle. She was very playful. But how did he forget about Zenaku? Maybe it's because she didn't have a name and didn't recognize her when they met. But if that's the case, then how did she forget him? He has always had a name, so she must have remembered him.

"Zenaku, as you named her, had done her training and ended up gaining the witch powers. That's why you started playing with her. Because she was toying with your heart. When she figured out that she was doing that, she ran away knowing that you're not her real friend, but a toy that she made like her," Medusa said. He could sense the lie in her tongue.

"And how would you know that was the reason?" he asked skeptically.

"Because she had mentioned it to Michelle that she didn't like toying with your heart. Then that night she disappeared," Medusa said.

Crona's eyes thinned. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"Just look at her. Does she seem like the kind to want to toy with people?" Medusa asked.

"No," Crona said as if it was as plain as day.

"Exactly. She didn't continue with her witch training so she doesn't know how to stop toying with you. It's only a matter of time before she leaves you," Medusa said.

"At least I know that you care about me." Those words she said were really starting to eat at him. No, he won't let this happen. Medusa is the one toying with him.

"Zenaku?" Crona asked at her room. He knocked on the door a couple times. "Zeni? Hello?"

Knock knock knock

"Zeni, I'm coming in," he said and opened the door. His eyes widened as Medusa's words hit him in the face.

"It's only a matter of time before she leaves you."

Zenaku wasn't in her room.

Dun dun duuuun. What happened to Zenaku? Was Medusa right about her? Find out what happens next in the next chapter.

Please review if you read this chapter.