For an easier life Circulation: 195,012,398 Issue: 814 | 26th day of Sleeping, Y20
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
 

Hitomi the Witch:Part Eleven


by downrightdude

--------

     PART ELEVEN: YOU, HITOMI HOSHIZORA, ARE A FANTASTICAL WITCH!

     "My, look what the Wocky dragged in!" Kirara smirked as Hitomi and Mickey approached Shí Kè Square, panting heavily. "I’m surprised the Hitomi Express ran out of steam today," Kirara snarled. She walked towards Hitomi and extended her arm. "Well? Are you going to [finally] surrender your Spell Charm to me?"

     Hitomi shook her head. "I will never give in to you, Kirara," she said firmly. "In fact, I’d rather we settle things once and for all than continue this—"

     Kirara snapped her fingers. "Sorry, but I’m not in the mood for inspirational speeches right now." She turned to Mickey. "Go and serve your master!"

     His eyes dazed, Mickey poofed up an ice sword and charged towards Hitomi. Startled, Hitomi poofed up a sword and hesitated as she engaged in a sudden swordfight with Mickey. "She couldn’t…but why…" Hitomi sputtered, dodging Mickey’s attacks with her weapon.

     As the awkward sword fighting continued, Hitomi found herself dodging not only Mickey’s blade, but also the sharp dirt spikes Kirara poofed up on the ground. Still uncomfortable with her sword—she poofed up one that was a little too heavy—she also had to watch where she stepped and make sure she kept herself well defended. Yet just as Hitomi had dodged a set of spikes near the clock tower, Mickey whipped his sword at her with such a hard force that Hitomi fell to the ground with her weapon at her side. Thinking quickly, Hitomi poofed up a shield and used it to deflect Mickey’s sword. [I have to do something,] she grunted as Mickey continued his assault.

     Erika rushed to the square and, when she saw Mickey attacking her friend, she shouted, "Hey bookworm! How about you stop attacking my best friend and go seek vengeance on your wannabe master?"

     "Oh great, now the loudmouth is here," Kirara grumbled. "Mickey darling, can you go shut that twit up for me?"

     "Try all you want, Mickey," Erika snarled, picking up a long stick.

     Hitomi quickly transformed the stick into a sword. "Now you can defend yourself more properly," she said with a wink.

     Erika immediately began charging towards Mickey, and the two cousins went back and forth as they engaged in their duel. Hitomi was impressed by how swift and agile Erika was. [I guess that one kendo class she took last year really paid off,] she mused.

     "So Mickey, are you ready to back down yet?" taunted Erika, flinging the ice blade out of Mickey’s hands. "Ha! Take that, dweeb!"

     As Mickey went to retrieve his weapon, Hitomi sent a yellow stun orb towards him. Then she found herself poofing up a long, black staff and pointed its diamond-shaped tip towards Mickey. "Cleanse your inner shadow!" Hitomi proclaimed, dispelling a rush of black smoke towards Mickey. After he had breathed in the smoke, Mickey closed his eyes and fainted to the ground. Hitomi gasped and her eyes grew wide as she inspected her new staff. "What [is] this thing?" she breathed.

     Kirara snarled angrily. "You fool! How DARE you use a medicine staff against my spell!" She poofed up two fire orbs and hurled them at Hitomi.

     "I don’t know what happened, though," Hitomi insisted, poofing up a new shield to deflect the orbs. "It just appeared out of nowhere. Honest!"

     "No it didn’t," Kirara grunted. "The stupid Witches Council aided you! THEY made you poof up the staff to reverse my spell." She hurled two more orbs. "And they will pay dearly for their interference! I swear vengeance will be mine!"

     After deflecting the orbs, Hitomi poofed up a lasso and swung it in the air. Within seconds, she swung the lasso at Kiara, who laughed and teleported to another spot. "Ooh, how scary!" Kirara snickered. "Hitomi the Kau-Girl is attacking me with her wittle lasso!"

     [Concentrate,] Hitomi told herself. She swung the lasso four more times—each time Kirara poofed herself away with a confident cackle. Just as Kirara was beginning to lower her guard, however, Hitomi was finally about to entrap her in her lasso, which was giving off a sky lavender glow. "Why’s my lasso glowing?" she gasped.

     "Furthermore, how in Neopia were you able to catch Kirara with a Kau-Boy accessory?" asked Erika.

     Hitomi shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe I was able to catch up with her?"

     "Or maybe, just maybe, she did this on purpose," Erika mused, gripping her sword tighter.

     Instead of being upset, Kirara burst out laughing. She then poofed herself out of Hitomi’s lasso and, with a smile, clapped. "Well done, Hitomi Hoshizora!" she said, beaming. "You’ve officially passed my final test."

     "My final…test?" gasped Hitomi. She took a few steps back and poofed her lasso away. "What are you talking about? What test?"

     "Yeah, what are you talking about, psycho?" Erika demanded.

     Kirara poofed Erika’s sword away and flipped her pigtails. "I was only congratulating Hitomi for passing a very most important test," she explained. "And it was because of her conviction and determination that her magic energy levels have risen." She bowed to Hitomi. "You’re most welcome, by the way."

     "I’m still so confused." Hitomi shook her head. "All this time you were just [acting] like a villain? You were never evil?"

     "Of course not, my dear Hitomi," Kirara insisted sweetly. "Yes, it was true that I set my sights on your magnificent Spell Charm. But in reality, it was all just one giant role-playing exercise."

     Erika scoffed. "And I suppose your little quips at the hospital and with my Hiro were also a part of this façade?"

     "I’m afraid so," sighed Kirara, "and I do apologize for using Hiro and Mickey for my advantage. But rest assured, girls: Mickey will wake up nice and refreshed, as if nobody had possessed him." She nodded firmly. "He’ll be a-okay in no time."

     Hitomi was still confused. "So all this was because of my Spell Charm?" she asked.

     Kirara nodded. "I need to be certain whether or not you were a true witch. That’s why I concocted this charade: the whole ‘scamming other young witches’ act was just pretend. It never happened."

     "But what about Rina’s incident with Telulu?" asked Hitomi.

     "That incident was true, I’m afraid," said Kirara. "But I was not involved, Hitomi. Trust me." She took a few steps forward, pleading, "Please tell me you understand. I never meant to deceive you for this long! All I wanted was to make sure I did a good job mentoring you. And trust me: you, Hitomi Hoshizora, are a fantastical witch!"

     [I don’t know,] Hitomi said to herself. Despite Kirara’s apologetic eyes, Hitomi found it difficult to trust her completely. She wanted to believe in her former friend, yet there was still something off about her—something she couldn’t lay a finger on. She was also confused about why Kirara needed to ‘test’ her so many times. Had she expected Hitomi to give up her Spell Charm? Or, if she was telling the truth, was this all an elaborate rouse to test her abilities as a witch?

     "Well? Are we even?" pressed Kirara. "Can we be friends again?"

     Hitomi took a step back. "What about Kyuske? Was he involved, too?"

     "Oh yeah, he was just playing along," Kirara insisted casually. She laughed. "And no, he is definitely NOT a wizard! He just made that up to impress you."

     "You swear?" asked Hitomi.

     Kirara nodded. "Don’t worry. I promise that the testing is done and you have passed with flying colours."

     [Then why would the Witches Council make me poof up that staff?] Hitomi wondered. Despite Kirara’s insistence, Hitomi shook her head again and took another step back. "I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can trust you anymore, Kirara. Everything is so confusing and I don’t know for sure if you’re being honest or not."

     "But—" Kirara began.

     "She said no, psycho!" Erika exclaimed.

     Kirara sighed and, with the slightest smile, poofed up an electric whip. "My, what a stubborn little thorn you turned out to be, Hitomi Hoshizora," she remarked, twirling the whip above her head.

     "Ha! So you were faking it!" Erika cried.

     "It was only because I wanted my dearest friend Hitomi to believe in me," Kirara explained with fake sweetness. "But now I’m afraid we’ll just have to remain as rivals." She hurled the whip forward. "This IS what you want, right?"

     Hitomi immediately poofed up a full body shield. "I had a feeling you were still the same, Kirara," she declared, poofing up a short purple staff.

     "Well don’t get too full of yourself," Kirara sneered, whipping Hitomi’s shield repeatedly.

     "Same goes for you." Hitomi ran away, using her staff to send small, pink orbs towards Kirara. The two witches went back and fourth throughout the square: Kirara using her whip and Hitomi using her shield and staff. Sometime later, however, Hitomi’s shield disappeared and she was struck in the leg by Kirara’s electric weapon. "Ouch," she hissed, collapsing to the ground.

     "Get up, Hitomi! The psycho’s after you!" Erika cried frantically.

     Hitomi was amazed when her injury miraculously healed—just as Kirara charged towards her with her whip. "That was fast," she remarked, dodging her enemy’s attack in the nick of time.

     "All thanks to the darned Witches Council," Kirara grunted. "THEY WILL PAY!" Her eyes flashing angrily, she poofed up a big metal hammer and begun swinging it at Hitomi. "For their interference, THEY WILL PAY!"

     Swiftly, Hitomi used her shield to block Kirara’s spiked hammer. After a while, she poofed up a hammer as well and used it to clash with Kirara’s. "This has got to stop!" she insisted. "We have to end this now!’

     "I’ll only end this when your stupid Spell Charm is MINE!" Kirara poofed up a flamethrower and sent a wave of fire towards Hitomi.

     "We’ll see." Hitomi poofed up a fire extinguisher and was luckily fast enough to extinguish Kirara’s flames.

     Erika clapped loudly. "Go Hitomi! You rock, girlfriend!"

     Kirara scoffed. "We’ll see who the victor will be very soon," she declared, poofing up an electric sword. She narrowed her eyes and declared, "Now there’s no turning back" as she charged towards Hitomi.

     [I will never give in you, Kirara,] Hitomi vowed as she poofed up a sword. [If you want to keep fighting, then so shall I.]

     To be continued…

 
Search the Neopian Times




Other Episodes


» Hitomi the Witch
» Hitomi the Witch: Part Two
» Hitomi the Witch: Part Three
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Four
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Five
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Six
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Seven
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Eight
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Nine
» Hitomi the Witch:Part Ten



Week 0 Related Links


Other Stories




Submit your stories, articles, and comics using the new submission form.