July 31, 2009

"Do you think she remembers?" I asked Maia, as I pulled the pull-out bed out and popped it up. "The real world I mean. Do you think she forgot?"

"I don't know," Maia replied. "You said you forgot something. Maybe she'll know what you forgot."

"Maybe…" I replied, pulling sheets onto the bed. "Looks cloudy outside."

"Another storm," Maia sighed. "I'm going to work on the kitchen. You have the bathrooms."

"Wait, um, Maia…what if we found your parents?" I asked suddenly.

Maia paused, shock registering on her features.

"It's just that, Rei called yesterday asking if the party was still on, and we planned the party before I zapped the world, if everything's the same, maybe your family's out there looking for you," I reasoned. "Maybe, just maybe, I managed to put them in Azumano too."

"Don't use magic again just to find them," she said sharply.

"Maybe I don't have to," I replied. "I'll try searching for Rangels in the area."

"Good!' Maia said, heading into the kitchen, and I went into the bathroom and cleaned.

Hours later, the doorbell rang. "Hey Rei."

"Hey nothing!" She said. "Don't you think it's weird, where we are?"

I grabbed her arm. "Not here."

I pulled her inside, to my room. Maia and I related the story of the stone that made magic happen. Rei sat down heavily.

"I don't know exactly how much I've changed because my memory has been…altered," I said softly.

"Are you certifiably insane?" yelled Rei. "The Black Wings have been reawakened because of you! Now Satoshi is in terrible pain everyday!"

"I-I'm sorry," I replied softly. "Can you please tell me how Daisuke and Satoshi are connected to this so I can understand and fix it?"

"What?" Rei said, incredulous. "You mean you don't remember? How could you forget that Daisuke is—"

The doorbell rang. I went to get it. "Hello Daisuke."

"Am I late?" he asked, looking slightly worried.

"No, we just got started," I replied simply. "What were you saying, Rei?"

Rei just looked sideways at Daisuke and didn't respond. "I think it's Daisuke's job to tell you."

"Tell her what?" Daisuke said, looking confused. "Um, I don't think I've ever met you before."

"Lay off, Rei," I said. "Her name is Rei. She's just trying to push your buttons. She does that to all of us."

Thunder sounded outside, and suddenly it began to pour.

"Oooo, it's Samara's revenge," I said eerily. "Come on, let's watch The Ring."

"You three watch those movies?" asked Daisuke.

"Not really," Maia said. "We saw them in eighth or ninth grade, but every now and again we rent them for a good laugh and game of Truth or Dare."

"Although Rei still gets scared," I teased.

"I do not!" she protested, and hit me with the movie cover.

"Ow!" I replied, hitting her back. "Well, you're scared of The Grudge…ooo it's going to suck out your soul!"

"Whatever," she stuck out her tongue at me. "At least I'm not scared of plants. Yeah, like sunflowers are sooo scary!"

I stuck an M&M down the back of her shirt and she threw one at me.

"Are they always like this?" Daisuke asked Maia.

"Yeah," replied Maia. "They have a love-hate relationship."

"Mostly hate," said Rei.

"Aw, shut up, you love me," I replied.

I sighed slightly. "Look, it's starting."

"Let's start the game then," replied Maia.

"I'll start," I said, looking at the screen. "So, if someone gave you that tape, and said you'd die if you watched it, would your curiousity get the better of you? Or would you be smart and not watch?"

"I'd be really curious," Maia said. "And if I needed an easy way out or something—"

"That's terrible!" Daisuke suddenly spoke up. "I'd never watch it!"

"I wouldn't watch it," Rei said.

I laughed slightly. "I'd probably get tricked into watching like the first girl. I'd think that there was something good on the tape, then surprise, surprise, it's The Ring!"

"Aw, you aren't that stupid," replied Maia.

"Hmm, I don't know, I've done some pretty stupid things," I replied.

There was a silence.

I coughed. Thunder sounded loudly. I jumped. The lights flickered, and went out.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back with the flashlight!" I said.

I stood, but tripped over Rei and landed on the hard tile. "Ow!" I struggled to bite back tears so bad that my lip began to bleed. "Oh my freakin….ow…."

"Miss Kuri! Are you alright?" Daisuke took my hand and helped me off the floor.

Embarassingly, I was still sobbing. "I-I think I'm bleeding."

"We need a light," replied Daisuke.

I wiped my eyes. "I'll go get it. It's in my room."

"Miss Kuri," Daisuke stopped me. "Don't go alone. You're hurt, and I can tell that you're limping."

I slipped and fell backward. Daisuke caught me. The lights suddenly came back on.

"You are bleeding!" Daisuke exclaimed, helping me get to my feet, and blushing slightly.

"Yeah, my hands," I said. "Oh man, I feel light-headed."

"No wait," Daisuke said. "Your head is bleeding too!"

He grabbed his backpack off the couch and pulled out a couple of bandages and in a few seconds, I was all bandaged up.

"Um…th-thanks, Daisuke," I said softly.

"Aw, Daisuke, you're so nice to Kuri," Reiko said. "I'm surprised you didn't tr—"

"Try the chips!" yelled Maia. She grabbed Rei and muttered something in her ear.

Daisuke was cornered as soon as Kuri went to the bathroom.

"When are you going to tell her?" asked Rei. "She needs to know what exactly she did to you."

Daisuke looked down. "I can't tell her. She'll be devastated."

"Daisuke's right," Maia said. "She's already going crazy. She's up till two every night researching ways to put this right and practicing magic that drains her until she passes out on the floor and I come in and put her to bed."

Daisuke's eyes widened. "But…I told her to stop."

"She doesn't listen to us," Rei pointed out. "What makes you think she would listen to you?"

Daisuke's heart fell. Rei was right. "I…have to talk to Miss Kuri."

He went to the back room. Kuri was in her bedroom, at the window.

"Miss Kuri?" he said.

She turned around. She was holding an old looking book that she had been writing in. "Oh, hey Daisuke."

She snapped the book shut, flushing slightly. "That's my dream journal. Lately I've had to use it for spells, though. I hate magic."

"Then…stop using it!" Daisuke said suddenly.

Kuri's eyes widened slightly, probably at how loud Daisuke's voice was. "Daisuke…if I don't undo this mistake—"

"No one said you had to!" Daisuke said. "You...don't have to be a martyr, you know!"

Kuri just sat down on the bed. "Daisuke, I just want to put things right."

"Not if it hurts you," Daisuke's voice was softened. "Miss Kuri, let me help you at least."

"Okay," Kuri said. "You can help me. And by the way, thanks for worrying about me."

Daisuke blushed.

"Come on, before my friends get any ideas," Kuri said.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Daisuke," I said to him. I handed him a box.

"What's this?" he asked.

I smiled. "Open it later, okay?"

He nodded, and I waved to him as he headed home.

I went in my room and grabbed my laptop. My friends were asleep.

I did a search on Sparks in the area.

"Bingo," I whispered as an address popped up onscreen. I took out a piece of paper and wrote down the address and phone number.

Xxx

Daisuke laid down in his bed and opened the box. To his surprise, a red stone fell into his lap, along with a note.

Daisuke touched the stone, and suddenly his head was spinning. His eyes were forced shut and he saw a thousand dramas play backward behind his eyelids.

He saw Kuri forced to the floor and drained of her energy countless times, and he saw the time he and Dark were called to her room, and he felt how she felt each time she used magic. It was a terrible feeling, like the life was sucked out of you.

Then he saw the Black Wings awaken again, then time rewound once more and he saw the last thing. And that was the worst. All of reality shifted, and everything was different. He no longer knew her.

Daisuke gasped, and released the stone. He picked up the note.

"Daisuke," it said. "Now you understand. It's because of my magic that I know you. But now I'm giving you a choice. There is a spell that will change everything to the way it was before we met. This entire time, I've only used magic for myself. Now I choose to use it for someone else. As a promise that I will not use magic without you there, I left you this stone."

Daisuke sighed, and put the note and stone back in the box.

There's no way I would ever want that! He thought fiercely.

She seems pretty upset, Dark said. Maybe you should tell her that you like her so she'll stop thinking that you hate her!

It isn't funny, Dark! Daisuke responded. I'll tell her myself, in my own way!

Once again, you never change, Dark replied.