„Akatsuki-kun"

The boy in her dreams was standing right in front of her. He was there, looking at her. But Doremi was too shocked to do anything. Because in front of her, Akatsuki was covered in blood.

His hair was a mess, his eyes dull. He was clutching his shoulder and that shoulder's hand was covered in trails of blood, which were dripping to the ground in a fast rhythm. There was a huge wound on his forehead, too, just above his left eye that covered it in the red substance. His clothing was ragged and covered in red stains and his breath was rapid and heavy. Also, he seemed to have troubles keeping himself on his feet. Had it not been for the purple hair, Doremi might not have recognized him at all.

So she stood still, eyes wide, shaking all over. Her mouth was opening and closing in her attempts to say something, but her voice was gone. Next to that, she had serious problems forming a coherent thought. Every single vein in her body was filled with nothing but horror.

"D … Dore … mi …" the boy panted heavily.

The girl couldn't help but to take a step back when he said her name. There was still no thought in her head. So she took another step backwards when he reached out to her and took one step forward. Only when he collapsed did her head snap back into reality. She shot forward and caught him before his body could hit the floor, not caring that his blood was staining her clothes.

"AKATSUKI-KUN!" she screeched. "WHAT HAPPENED? WAKE UP! AKATSUKI-KUN! AKATSUKI-KUN!"

Her screeching did not go unheard. Her mother came running out of the house, scared for her daughter. Her husband was right behind her, half tangled in his fishing gear. But not even the two of them were prepared for what would greet them.

"Mama", Doremi cried desperately, "help!"

For just a split second, none of the parents moved. Then, Haruka woke from her stupor and turned to her husband, who was still in shock.

"Call an ambulance. We need to …"

"NO!" Her daughter interrupted. "Don't bring him to the hospital."

"But … Doremi …."

"Please, it'll be horrible if he goes to the hospital, trust me."

Haruka could not understand what her daughter was talking about, but the look in her eyes was unlike any other she had seen. It seemed to be a mix of despair and hope, uncertainty and determination. But more than anything, there was fear in those eyes. Fear … for the boy? Who was he anyways? Why was he in front of their doorstep? And just what had happened to him? She should call the police and bring the boy to a hospital, but one more look into the eyes of her daughter convinced her not to do so. And so, her mind switched immediately and she went back to giving orders.

"Keisuke, carry him to the couch!"

"No, take him to my bed. That'll be better", Doremi interrupted.

"Fine, take him to her bed. Doremi, you go get a bowl of hot water, and all the towels we have."

Immediately, the three separated. Haruka herself went to get all the medics she could find. The boy was hurt pretty badly after all, who knew what kind of injuries he was enduring. Once she had everything she needed, she ran to Doremi's room, where both, her husband and her daughter were already waiting for the next orders. Her daughter was especially distraught. All the color had left her face and she looked as if she would faint herself any second. But her eyes were more determined than ever before, so Haruka did not worry. Her daughter would stand through this until the end.

"Honey, go call Ms. Yuki. Her number's in my address book."

Mr. Harukaze speed out of the room while his wife sat down next on the floor next to Doremi. Then she took a deep breath and went to work. She didn't even have to tell her daughter what to do. Together, they cleaned the gash on his head, disinfected it and wrapped it in bandages. Luckily, it wasn't so big that it had to be stitched. Akatsuki flinched and moaned again and again and every time, the red-head flinched with him, but she stayed strong.

Next, the two of them freed him from his shirt, which revealed a number of small cuts. They repeated the same procedure a few times and only one of the cuts was so big that it needed two stitches. The deep gash on his shoulder was another story entirely. But since it looked as if it was dislocated, the two of them did not touch it.

Luckily, Ms. Yuki came that moment, not quite understanding why she of all people was called. But Haruka knew that Doremi trusted her old school nurse a lot and that she would understand the look in Doremi's eyes. That's why she had decided to call her. What she didn't know was that Ms. Yuki would understand the situation better than even the mother did.

So when she stepped into the room and spotted Akatsuki, she kneeled down next to the mother immediately and went to work without asking a single question. Together, the two of them put the boy's arm back in place. He screamed and trashed about and it was only thanks to Ms. Yuki that nobody noticed the magic the boy had unconsciously caused in his agony. Then they cleaned and stitched up his shoulders and Doremi could hear her father throw up in the nearest bathroom. But she herself stayed strong and only looked away when the two woman pulled of his pants and went to work on the lower part of his body.

It was long past midday when Haruka, Yuki and Doremi were finally done patching the injured boy up. Haruka went to change the sheets on Doremi's bed while Ms. Yuki went to the kitchen to talk with the girl. She brewed a pot of tea, hoping it would calm the shaken red-head and sat down across from her.

"Your majesty", Doremi whispered – perhaps she wasn't able to speak any louder, "will he be okay?"

"He'll be fine", Queen Lumina answered. "We were lucky that none of his bones were broken. But how on earth did this happen?"

"I don't know. He just appeared in front of my doorstep out of thin air, literally. The only thing he said was my name and then he collapsed."

"I do wonder what could possibly do this to him. He's the prince of the wizard world after all, the most powerful of all wizards next to his father. Whoever, or whatever it was, we must be on our guard. It could come back and I do not know if just any witch could go against it."

Ms. Yuki a.k.a. Lumina, queen of the witch World, could not bear to look at the red-head across from her. Never before had she seen her so weak and defeated. It was very much unlike the Doremi she knew. But then again, this situation was unlike anything any of them ever had to deal with before. So as the two set in silence, the queen wrecked her brain, trying to think of which step to do next.

Stuck in this situation, the queen was glad that she had decided to create an undercover alias in the human world. In one of her first adventures, she had met Doremi, who had only been a kindergartner back then. She had seen how the little girl had tried to cheer up a boy who had bullied her just a few seconds ago and it was that kindness that had fascinated her. In the witch world, kindness like that was very seldom. So when she found out which school the red-head would enroll at, she had decided to become that school's nurse. Over the six years, she had become a close guardian to Doremi and her friends. Even their mothers would often come to her for advice when they no longer knew what to do with their children. She thanked all the heavens for that because otherwise, Haruka wouldn't have called her in this situation and things probably would have turned out a lot worse. That wasn't to say that they're not already very bad though.

"It was a good decision not to bring him to the hospital" Ms. Yuki said, trying to break the silence. "Who knows what the doctors and the police would have done if they found out that there's no information on him anywhere, or even worse, if they found out that he's not even human …"

The praise did not lure a reaction out of the girl. She just kept staring at her lap with empty eyes. So after another long silence, the queen finally made a decision and stood up.

"I must go now. Don't look at me like that Doremi-chan, I've done everything I could here. I'll create a magical barrier around this house and only very few people will be able to pass through it. The best thing for you to do right now is to stay here and take care of him until further notice."

The girl nodded miserably and Ms. Yuki could not help but to feel with her. So she walked to the other side of the table and took her into her arms. For just a moment, the red-heads eyes looked a little bit hopeful as she returned the embrace.

"Don't lose hope. I promise that I will not let anything else happen to him, you or your family."

Once again Doremi nodded, this time with a little bit more enthusiasm. She had the Queen of the witch world by her side. Everything was going to be alright as long as she didn't lose hope. She had to keep her chin up and keep going, no matter how hard it might become.

But that resolve began to crumble when Ms. Yuki turned around and began walking out of the house. One of the wizard world's strongest magician was lying in her bed, half dead and the witch world's most powerful sorceress was just leaving her house. As the red-head walked up the stairs back into her room, she couldn't help but to doubt that everything really was going to be alright. 'Alright' just seemed so far away right now.

Those thoughts only got stronger when entered her room and saw Akatsuki lying there, weak and helpless. It was almost wrong to see him like that. He had always been so indomitable and kind. He was always standing strong, seemed to be larger than life at times. Nothing was left of that now and it hurt so terribly.

Her steps were as shaky as they had been this morning, after she had woken up and her clothes were covered in his blood. But she didn't care. Slowly, taking one step after another, she walked to his side and let herself fall on the floor next to her bed. He was no longer flinching and no longer moaning. That didn't make it any better though. His usual tan was gone, having been replaced with a scary white color. His breathing was shallow, barely noticeable and it wouldn't have been surprising if it stopped.

But at least things had calmed down. Akatsuki was no longer bleeding like crazy and her room was clean again. The queen of the witch world knew of what happened and her parents trusted her and would do what she told them. Knowing that and seeing the boy lying there the way he did, Doremi finally allowed her tears to fall.

"Thanks", Doremi quietly said as she took the warm mug from her mother, who sat down on the floor next to her.

"How are you darling?" Haruka asked.

"I've been worse."

"Then can you tell me who he is?"

The girl didn't answer for a while. She just sat there, staring at her tea and trying to sort out how much she could tell her mother. And Haruka gave her all the time she needed, waiting patiently beside her daughter until she was ready to talk.

"His name is Shidoosha Akatsuki", Doremi finally answered. "He is … a friend. A very important friend. He appeared at the Mahou Dou flower shop one day and threw out Oyajide who … uhm … was Onpu-chan's stalker. We've been friends ever since, even though we had some rather rough moments in between."

"And why did he come to you of all people?"

"I don't know. But if I had to guess then I would say that he had nowhere else to go. Akatsuki-kun is incredibly strong, so if something like that happened to him than that means that something very bad has happened."

She wasn't even lying. Akatsuki really was an important friend, one of the few people her age who had known of her magical secret. That gave them a connection that she yet to obtain with any other person outside of her old clique.

It seemed ages ago now, that she had been a witch apprentice, working in the Mahou Dou for Majo Rika. Her and her friends sneaking into the witch world and witnessing the birth of their precious Hana, whose mothers they had become, seemed almost like a dream now. And Akatsuki and his friends betraying her because they wanted the power of that little baby was nothing more than a bad memory. They had made up after all. They had fought the thorns of sorrow together and she and her friends had taught them the ways and values of the human world.

Next to that, she really was worried. Though the two of them were friends, Doremi would never be the first person he would run to if he had any problems. He would go to his wizard friends first, Tooru, Fujio or Leon. And if he didn't go there, then only because he couldn't, which meant that something must have happened to them as well. What if the entire Wizard World was in danger? And did the Witch Queen have similar thoughts? Was that the reason why she had left so quickly earlier?

The next question to be asked was why he didn't go to the witch world instead. If his world really was in danger, then she asking queen Lumina for help and protection was far more logical. Unless of course, he couldn't. But then why couldn't he? It was one question following the next and no one would get any answers until Akatsuki woke up.

The red-head was pulled out of her thoughts by fast steps that approached her room rapidly. Hardly even a second later, her door was slammed open, revealing an out of breath, worried looking Pop. She stormed to the bed and looked at the boy lying on it as if she couldn't believe that he was here. Then she looked at her big sister and teared up before crushing her in a tight hug.

"Onee-chan, what's wrong with him?" she cried. "Why is he here? What happened to him?"

"Calm down", Doremi said softly and pulled her little sister away from him.

Pop stopped crying immediately when she saw the soft, strong smile on her sister's face. She gulped hard as if to swallow all her panic and forced herself to breath slowly. Doremi was smiling even though the wizard had been much closer to her than to anyone else in this house, so she could stay strong as well.

"I don't know what happened, but he's going to be okay, so don't worry."

Again, Pop gulped hard to fight the upcoming tears and nodded enthusiastically. She would not make her sister worry more than she already was.

"Now, can you do me a favor? Call Hazuki-chan and tell her to come here."

After another nod, the pink-haired girl stood up and left the room to do as she was asked. A few seconds after she was gone, Haruka stood up as well and dusted of her pants.

"I don't really understand why you think Hazuki-chan should know about this, but I trust your judgment, so I won't ask any further questions. But you should go take a shower and change your clothes before she comes."

But she didn't leave the room until her mother promised that he would look after the boy. So she shot one last long look at him before she finally turned and began walking towards the shower. For Doremi, taking two showers a day would normally be a waste of water, but today was different. This morning she had washed away all of the cold disgusting sweat together with that terrible feeling of anxiousness. Now when she took off her clothes and looked at her body in the mirror, she could only see the blood that she would be washing off in a minute. It was his blood and it was sticking to her hands and legs, her face and her hair. Once more, tears came to her face when she thought of the agony he must have been going through. This time, she would be washing off his blood, together with the tears she shed in his place.

Hazuki did not ask what one would expect her to ask. She was smart enough to know that she wouldn't get an answer that would satisfy her curiosity. She just stared at the boy eyes cloudy and expression thoughtful, her face having lost all color. To be honest, everyone else in the house was surprised that she hadn't fainted. It was so easy to forget that she wasn't as timid as she always seemed to be. So instead of asking 'what happened' or 'how did this happened', she asked something entirely different.

"What now?"

"We wait", Doremi answered. "The Queen told me that she is investigating the matter, so we should wait until we get told what to do."

The look on Hazuki's face didn't change, but the red-head could read her anyways. They shared the same thoughts after all; waiting was not enough. In front of them was a friend who had shared a lot with them. They had made experiences they hadn't made with anyone else and now he was injured and unconscious. How could they possibly just sit down and wait?

"We've decided against being witches", the brunette stated. "We have no magic anymore. I want to do something, but I don't know what."

Doremi curled up into a ball and hid her face in her knees. She knew that Hazuki's words held truth, but it was just so hard to accept them.

"We should call the others" Hazuki spoke again. "They might be able to think of something. Besides, we don't know what might have happened to the other FLAT 4 members. They could be appearing in front of our friends' houses this very moment."

The red-head just nodded and Hazuki said no more. She just bent down to her friend and hugged her as tightly as she could. Without saying anything, the two of them sat there like that for a long time, until Hazuki finally stood up and left, her task of contacting all of the ex-witch apprentices that had shared her adventures with her. She knew that there was nothing she could do to help her friend right now.

Doremi herself kept sitting still, even long after Hazuki was gone. She hated being powerless and even though she knew that wallowing in self-pity would not change a thing, she could not help but to stayed curled up. Though she didn't show any signs of it, she was really glad that Hazuki had been here, that she had seen him and that she shared her pain. Right now, she was probably at home, finally allowing herself to cry, vomit or even faint. And then she would call the others, just like she had said. Just knowing that she was by her side was more calming than anything else. After all, the two of them had been friends since kindergarten, long before any of them had ever known magic existed. Back when Kotake had made her life miserable and she had no magic to compensate for it, Hazuki had always been there, silently straightening the red-heads back with her never ending patience and tolerance. And with her incredible inner strength to get through every situation, she had always managed to pull Doremi with her. Even now, she was doing the same thing.

Only when the sun had long set and her family had gone to bed did Doremi move again. It was to tend to Akatsuki, whose sleep had become uneasy. When she saw that he was sweating cold, she went to the bathroom, got a bucket of warm water and a towel and began wiping at his face. His face was scrunched up now, his breath was a bit ragged and he let out a small moan every now and then. It worried Doremi. Was he in pain or was he having a nightmare? She didn't know. But when he opened his eyes, Doremi began to hope. He turned his head a, although it seemed like this alone was exhausting for him and spotted her. For a second, both of them looked into one another's eyes and said nothing. Then he held out his hand to reach her, but was ultimately too weak to do so.

"Are you … an angel?" He asked quietly.

Doremi's eyes widened slightly. Was he talking to her? Or was he really seeing an angel? Was he being delusional?

"An … gel" he panted, "don't take me …. with you yet. There's … there's still something … I have to do …"

She didn't know why, but at those words, Doremi caught herself and finally reacted. In one swift move, she clasped his outstretched hand in hers and forgot all of her worries. She had to rescue Akatsuki, no matter what. If he thought she was an Angel then she would use it to help him.

"You still have a chance", she cried. "I don't want to take you to heaven, but you have to fight. Do you hear me, Akatsuki-kun? Don't give up yet! Fight!"

But Akatsuki had already fallen asleep again. Only a few seconds later, after she had calmed down from her sudden adrenaline trip, did her face go bright red and for the first time in this entire wretched day did she feel a little bit happy. Akatsuki had mistaken her for one of fairest creatures of them all. He had called her an angel.