Risukuma refuses to believe that Witch has made an invisibility potion with seemingly random ingredients. Requested by a tumblr anon!

What Makes Reality

Risukuma was an ardent believer of science. His magic, only emerging during Puyo battles, was boiled down to chemicals crafted into fine elixirs meant for fiery bursts or explosive defenses. He was a lover, not a fighter, a passionate student of logic and guidance for his peers.

Seeing Witch step on the virtues of science was akin to suffering from a heart attack.

"Zombie Eye and Oil of Toad mixing with the purified venom of a rare naga," she said, haphazardly throwing the ingredients into her bubbling cauldron, "will make a wonderful invisibility potion."

It didn't make sense. It absolutely did not make one lick of sense. The parts from the undead and amphibians combined with supposedly clean poison did not make anyone invisible. Her potion sounded completely off the wall like something he would watch from an old movie about an evil sorceress plotting to harm the fair princess.

"And that's that," Witch said, scooping a sliver of the goop into her vial. She whisked it around and corked it, her smile stretching into her cheek. "See? Quite easy, isn't it?"

"No," he deadpanned, his arms crossed.

She tilted her head. "What in the blazes do you mean 'no?'"

"No. No, it does not make sense. The chemical formula for invisibility, what is it? You're just throwing ingredients in to a cauldron and churning it all together." He leaned forward, his brow furrowing as he glared at the bubbling slop. "And furthermore-"

"Stop right there! Are you implying that I'm not an honest sorceress?" She shot her finger at his round, black nose. "Because I'll have you know that I'm training to be the best! Any slander will be settled in Puyo, so hold your tongue."

"That isn't at all what I'm saying." He lowered her hand, his oversized paw fitting over her coarse fingers. "What you're doing, what you're making, there is no scientific background to it."

She chortled, leaning into her cauldron. "Oh ho? Is that what you think? Of course, a boy who breathes in chemicals all day wouldn't understand the schematics, the necessary precautions, and the exact analyzations to make potions."

"I do that on a daily basis." He gestured at the various flasks stewing, bubbling, and steaming on the counter of his club room. "Following scientific methods, that's how I'm able to create my chemicals."

"Which is exactly how I make my potions." She smirked. "Case closed."

"No! No, it's not closed!" He grabbed the cauldron's round, slightly rusted edge. "As for this, there is no basis to it! No reasoning! What could 'Oil of Toad' have to do with making someone invisible?"

Witch scoffed and rolled her eyes. She knew this was going to be trouble. Setting up shop in Risukuma's club room had been fine, but as she worked, she noticed his irritation rising. It was fun teasing him at first with her wild ingredients and magical spells simply to watch his reactions, and as Risukuma demanded answers, she decided to keep playing with him.

"Oh, why it's easy!"

Silence followed. Witch inspected her polished, slightly chipped nails.

"Then...explain it," Risukuma slowly uttered, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't have to. It's magic."

Risukuma could have exploded like one of his chemicals. "That's my point! There's no reasoning! No logic! No critical thinking skills required!"

She tutted, waving her finger. Stepping around him, she tapped her broom on the ground and giggled. "My fellow chemist, my dear associate, you haven't even tried my potion."

As she waved the vial in front of his nose, Risukuma grumbled. While he would have gladly tested any of Ringo's experiments, something about Witch threw him off. The way she carried herself, so calm and coy, it made him grind down on his molars. How she mixed and matched different solutions filled with strange specimens and ingredients, it all made him question the very fabric of his world.

Uncorking the potion, he chugged it without a second thought, a stinging, sour taste tainting his tongue. His mouth writhed, and he hunched forward, forcing him to swallow down the sludge. Proving her wrong by showing that she hadn't invented invisibility sounded like a proper solution to their conundrum. If he didn't turn invisible, it simply meant her magical principles were wrong compared to scientific endeavors.

"How do you feel? How did it taste?" she asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Repulsive."

"Perfect! Have fun with your invisibility, my friend."

"Hmph. I haven't-!"

He cut himself off. He felt weightless, floaty as if he could pass through everything. He thought he could feel the wind blow through him, but it hit his back and rustled his coat, one that he couldn't see. His initial shock was replaced with swift understanding mingling with Witch's wicked giggling.

He was invisible. His clothes and fur were rendered unseeable. All of his color was gone, replaced with nothingness. He still felt his jacket press against his arms and fan out by his hips, but to the naked eye, he wasn't there.

"Im-impossible, no, no, impossible," he stammered, and Witch felt his arms swish about, providing a brief, cool wind.

Covering her mouth, she snatched back the vial he still held, it being the only thing indicating his position. She wiped it clean against her robe, remarking, "Oh, it's very much possible. Care to buy a sample for your experiments?"

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, procuring a few bills and shoving them into her open hand. He had no choice but to accept that he was invisible, the urge to study the effects propelling him to pay top dollar. With a hidden smile, Risukuma poured over the cauldron and snatched a nearby clipboard off a table, scribbling down the effects.

"It'll wear off within the hour, but feel free to accept the principles of magic," she said, chortling and pocketing her money. Turning away, she jumped onto her broom and flew out the window, waving over her shoulder. "Let's experiment again some day! Ohoho!"