A young boy of seven, with hair like the autumn leaves and a happy, content smile, sits patiently on a bench, waiting for his parents return. He has a tiny wooden doll to keep him company, a puppet that he and his father created together. Out of boredom, the boy brings the puppet to the ground and begins making it walk around, using his own instincts – at least, that's what his parents describe the flow of power from him, instincts. They don't know what else to call it.

He simply raises his hand up and moves his fingers around, as if there's an invisible string attached from his hand to his doll. The dolls swirls and dances in the dirt gracefully, entertaining the young boy.

"Oh my," his movements have caught the attention of a passerby, an elderly woman with an overly intense curious glance at his puppet show. "What's your trick?"

The young boy shrugs his shoulders, giving her the most honest reply he can. He doesn't know how he's able to do it, only that he can. He's been gifted with something special.

"You don't know?" the curious woman asks, in disbelief.

"I'm just able to make things move the way I want them to sometimes," the boy replies, looking up at her with a dreamy, glazed stare. His mind is spaced off in the distance, thinking about fairy tales that his mother told him.

The boy snaps his head up when he hears his parents' footsteps approaching. "Mom! Dad!" his face lights up and he rushes to greet them, leaving his puppet to fall to the ground, lifeless.

"Sorry that took some time," his mother apologizes, "looks like our wish for extra time wasn't granted, which means your father and I will have to work extra hard to raise the crops in time."

"Oh, sorry to interrupt," the old woman creeps up over by the happy family, "did you say you are struggling to make ends meet? Your crops aren't doing well?"

"Yes, with this drought, it's no reason our crops our failing…but my boss still wants the same yield, or else he won't pay us," the father replies.

"What a shame," the old woman shakes her head, but there's a mischievous grin etched upon her face. "I think your son could offer a solution to your worries."

"Our son?" the mother clutches the small redhead boy protectively, wary of this stranger. "what do you mean?"

"I saw him playing with that puppet doll, making it stand on its own and dance…that kind of power shouldn't be sitting here to waste in this poor town. I can teach your boy to become a powerful sorcerer. In return, I'll give you more coin than you could ever count. You two can start a new life in a place far from here, somewhere better."

"No thanks," the parents say in unison.

"Our son is not for sale, no price can ever change that. How dare you offer such a heartless deal," the mother has venom in her voice.

"Ah, I see. Very well then," the old woman sighs, but there's still a glowing green of greed in her eyes.

The small boy, named Sasori, stares up at his parents with fear. He wants to tell him that he longs to leave, to escape this scary old woman. But before he can say anything, his eyelids droop heavily, and his body falls into a deep, paralytic sleep.

/

Several years later, a 17 year old Sasori storms in on Chiyo, his magic teacher. She stands at the edge of their garden atop the mountain. The two of them have lived together up in Chiyo's castle for ten years, as Chiyo fosters his magical skills and teaches him various lessons about life.

Sasori learned a long time ago to put up with the sorceress, that way he could hone his skill and ascertain all he could from her about how to use his power. But now – right now Sasori can't do it anymore. He found something unforgiveable in one of her spell books.

"Chiyo!" Sasori rages, teeth bared menacingly. "What is the meaning of this?!" He thrusts out the open spell book in her face.

Chiyo glances at the page, and her eyes widen. There's a particular spell that she circled – the memory eraser incantation. Before Chiyo has a moment to speak, Sasori barks, "you used this on my parents, didn't you?! You lied and told me that they had gone out in search of a better place for us to live, and that you would teach me magic in the meantime…it's been 10 years and I'm tired of these excuses! Tell me the truth!"

Chiyo pushes the book aside, "if I circled that spell, it doesn't prove anything. Perhaps the truth is more miserable – your parents didn't want you, so they sold you to me."

"That isn't possible!" Sasori shouts back, his hair billowing outwards as magic pulses through his veins dangerously, "I was there when you offered to give them money, and they refused! Then everything went dark for me, and I woke up here in this castle. I still remember it all perfectly, so don't you lie to me anymore!"

Chiyo sighs and says, "Do you really want to hear that I erased their memories? You really want to know the truth? Fine. They've forgotten about you long ago, and only a very powerful potion can restore such a forgotten memory. As I've said before, love only makes you weak, and causes anger. It's best to move forward and not to dwell on this matter."

Sasori lets out a low roar of anger and casts out his palm, facing towards Chiyo. Chiyo jumps aside just in time as a blast of energy emits from his palm. It hits the bush behind her, which catches aflame. Chiyo looks up at him, alarmed. Sasori sends out another beam of magic in her direction, missing again as she ducks for cover under a bench. "You! You dare take me away from my family!?"

"You still love them after all this time!?" Chiyo asks, perplexed, "I thought you would've forgotten them by now – don't you see how your silly affections for them are making you unstable, you're out of control right now!"

"No!" Sasori uses his magic to throw the bench across the garden, squishing several beautiful flowers in the process. Now Chiyo lays exposed, but she has her arms up in defense, ready to blockade his magical strikes. "You took away my only family, and lied to me! How am I ever supposed to forget and forgive something like that!?" His glare is engraved with both sorrow and fury.

Chiyo stands up, "Resentment and rage encompass your heart, you are not thinking clearly."

"I am seeing things clearer than ever before!" Sasori yells, "I'm banishing you from this place! Get out of here at once!" Sasori raises his hands up, focusing his energy on a spell he just learned – he's going to exile her, and enchant this castle so that she never lays foot inside again.

"Oh no you don't!" Chiyo cries back, her hand also outstretched, "I'll put a curse on you!"

"You old hag! You've already cursed me by taking my parents away! What more can you do?" Sasori screams.

Chiyo casts out a flash of power, and it hits Sasori square in the chest. He stumbles backwards and clutches his heart – it's throbbing and stinging like a poisonous bite. "Argh!" he yells out in pain, closing his eyes for a moment as his chest swells and throbs uncomfortably.

"I told you that your heart was consumed with hatred. Now, it will be sealed off from the world. You'll never know or understand love again!" Chiyo yells, "perhaps this will help you clear your mind!"

"Hag! What did you do to me!?" Sasori opens the front of his shirt, and looks down in horror to see that his chest has a circle around where his heart is – did she cut off his heart from the rest of his body, detach it from everything else?

"I simply cut off your ability to love. Your anger will only make the curse stronger, and it would take very powerful magic to break that curse. Now without love, you can focus on becoming a strong sorcerer, one that can rule over all the lands! Let me stay and help nurture you to full strength!" Chiyo pleads, her eyes wild.

Sasori grits his teeth, and curls his hand into a fist, "This changes nothing. I still feel as much anger towards you as before! I won't forget my feelings for my parents, even if you've locked away my love! I'll work alone and find them! I'll restore their memories!" Sasori throws his hand out, "Be gone you crazy woman!"

This time, his blast of energy shoots straight out into Chiyo's chest, and knocks her down. Sasori wastes no time in using his power to pick her up and toss her down the mountainside, no longer caring if she lives or dies. Chiyo startles and quickly uses her magic to descend slowly, but it's already too late for her. Sasori casted his enchantment around the castle, banishing Chiyo from ever entering again. As Chiyo looks upon the mountain during her fall, the castle disappears from sight, and she can feel in herself the strong magic protecting it from her.

In that split second of descent, everything changes for Chiyo. All her hopes and dreams of raising a powerful sorcerer to rule others with strength and dignity – it's all washed away.

What will Chiyo do now?

More importantly, what will become of Sasori?