My name is Sharp, and I'm simply a normal boy living in a small, but friendly town. After a certain incident, I've decided to devote my free time to helping people in need. But even if you have good intentions, things won't always go well for you. I learned that the hard way...

--

At the start of every summer break, I volunteer for community service work. I normally only get requests by mail, and mostly from elderly folk, but I don't really mind.

Most of the letters I got were the same as usual, but the one I received today stood out from the others:

"Please meet me at my house tomorrow. I've written directions on how to get there." Is all the letter said. There wasn't even a signature or anything of the sort.

That's strange, why's it so vague? The map is odd as well; it shows a line leading from my house to their's. If he lives so close, why bother sending me a letter?

"I guess I'll have to find out tomorrow..." I said to myself.

--

"I'm going now!" I told my mom, while running down the stairs from my room to the front door.

"Good morning to you, too." She said to me sarcastically.

"Sorry, mom. Good morning."

"That's better, Sharp." She smiled and handed me a bagged lunch. "Do you remember where the house is?"

"I have the directions with me." I took out the letter to make sure. "See you later, mom."

I left my house, hopped on my bike, and rode to where this mystery person told me to go. The house looked old and sort of dilapidated.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" I hesitantly knocked on the door. "H-hello?"

"I have been awaiting your arrival." I heard a faint voice say from inside the house. "You may come in."

I turned the knob; it was unlocked. I went inside slowly.

"It's me, Sharp. The one you asked to come here."

"Yes, I am aware."

How did he know? Does he not get many visitors?

The man was watering some plants near the entrance. He had a calm but mysterious air about him. He looked old, but not too old; I'm guessing he was somewhere in his 40's.

"I'm assuming your problem doesn't have to do with your plants, correct?"

"Ho ho, not at all." He chuckled lightheartedly, then immediately changed to a more stern expression. "The problem is a lot more serious than that."

"What is it you'd like me to do for you then, sir?" I inquired. "You didn't say much in the letter."

"I trust you can handle this task, young man." He opened a cabinet and took a folded piece of paper from it. Then he gave it to me. "Here you are. You may go now."

"What? You want me to just leave?" I said in confusion.

"That's correct. Simply read that note."

"That's... all?"

"That is all." He confirmed. "But read it as soon as possible. It's very important."

"I see." Actually, I don't.

"You may go now." He repeated.

"Alright..."

I left, just as he told me to. I was so confused.

Doesn't he want me to do something inside?

I looked at the note in my hand.

Couldn't he have just sent this to me instead of asking me to come here to get it? Was he afraid it might get stolen or something?

I knew there was only one thing that would answer my questions. I read the note:

"Dear Sharp,
My daughter has just finished her basic training. However, she still does not fully understand her limitations. I hope you can help her with her behavior.
- Indigo's Father
P.S. Do not let her read this letter."

Rather than answer any questions, it only spawned more of them. Why did he have to be so vague all the time?

"His daughter? He wants me to help his daughter?" I asked. "Why me? This kind of thing isn't what I had in mind when applying for community service work..."

I sighed. And since he asked me to help with her behavior, she'll probably be a handful to deal with. How old is she, anyway?

"And what does 'basic training' mean? I should ask the man to elaborate on this more..."

I looked back, and just stood there, shocked. The house was gone. Plain gone. Left without a trace... like it was never there.

"Where the heck did his house go?!" I had a feeling no one would answer that, but I couldn't help blurting it out anyway.

In fact, there was only one person around to hear me. A person I wasn't expecting... "Hey kiddo, whatcha doing? Need a ride home?" ... my father.

"What are you doing here, dad? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"No need to worry, my boss let me out early."

"But you're the owner; wouldn't that make you the boss?"

"Well, imagine that. I must be a great boss then, huh?"

I laughed. "Well, I guess I'm lucky to have a boss as great as you to bring me home."

"Heh heh. Don't forget to fold your bike before putting it in the trunk."

And with that, we went home. But although my spirits were lifted a bit, I couldn't keep that disappearing house out of my mind.

--

The rest of the day went by pretty normally. But no matter what I did, I couldn't forget the strangeness of today's events.

Maybe I imagined the whole thing. Nah, I've still got the letter...

"I'm so confused! Can't anyone tell me what's going on?!"

"Sharp, go to sleep!" My mom hollered from her room.

I wish I could...

I tossed and turned in my bed. If only I knew what the heck was going on, maybe my insomnia would go away.

I just can't stand irrational things like this!

"Whatever, I'll just forget about it and try to get some sleep..."

When I finally thought I was dozing off, a thought occurred to me; a scary thought that caused me to become fully awake again.

What if her training meant... military school training? Does that mean she's a delinquent?! Her dad might be able to help me keep her under control, but...

Wait a second; his house vanished. So where's she going to g-...

"Don't tell me...!"

Just then, I heard a loud crash outside. I hid under my covers, shaking with fear.

"Is she planning on staying here? And why come at this time of night?!"

I heard another noise. It sounded like metal.

"I-I'm too young to die!"

Okay, maybe I overreacted a little there.

However scared I was, my curiosity overpowered it as I went to look out the window. Below me was someone lying on a fallen trash can. It looked like a girl, but it was too dark to tell for sure.

Wait, could that be...?

I grabbed a flashlight and went outside, to wear the noise came from.

--

It really was a girl; she looked around my age.

"H-hello?" I said to the girl, who was apparently unconscious. "Wake up, please!"

Don't tell me she's...

While I was shaking her, she randomly opened her eyes wide, which startled me.

"YAH!"

"Ouchies..." She rubbed her head. "Oh, this metal thingy must've broken my fall!" She said, sitting herself up on the trash can, which had fallen on its side.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Who're you?"

"Um, I'm Sharp. Would your name happen to be Indigo, by any chance?"

"Indigo, that's me. You must be that regular I'm going to be staying with! Nice to meet ya!"

"Staying with?!"

So what I thought before really was true. But...

"Wait a minute, what'd you mean by 'regular'? What does that mean?"

"Well, we witches don't see regulars very often. In fact, you're the first I've met in person!"

"You're telling me... you're a witch?"

Is this girl crazy?!

"Yes, a witch. Can't you see the way I'm dressed?" Upon further observation, she did appear to be dressed like one.

"Oh, I see; so you're wearing a witch costume. But just because you're dressed like one doesn't mean you actually are one. Besides, it's too early for Halloween, anyways."

"Hey, I'm telling you the truth! I am a witch!" She exclaimed, her cheeks puffed up in anger.

"Yeah, whatever you say..." She began to glare at me, so I decided to change the subject. "How long are you going to sit on that trash can, by the way?"

"Trash can?" She stated, standing up off of it afterward. "You mean this metal thingy?"

"Yeah, that 'metal thingy'. Do they not have trash cans where you come from?"

"No. We use magic to dispose of trash."

It seems like she's set on the whole witch thing...

"Like this!"

A weird-looking wand appeared in her hand, and a odd-colored ball came out of it. Before I knew it, the trash can was gone.

"W-what the heck was that?!" I cried, flabbergasted at what I just witnessed.

"Why so surprised? That was just a normal blast of magic. All witches can do that!"

"T-this can't be happening..."

Aren't witches supposed to be extinct? What's going on?!

I snuck off to a corner and rolled up into a ball.

"I r-really am going to die, aren't I...? It's not fair..."

Of course in this sort of situation I should've ran away, but I was too scared to even think about doing something like that.

Now I know why victims always act so dumb in monster movies...

"Maybe my head wasn't messing with me after all; this must all be a dream." This thought calmed me down a bit. "Yeah, I'll probably wake up any mom-..."

Just then I felt something pinch my arm. "Ow" was obviously my reply.

"You aren't dreaming! And I just proved it." Indigo said with a big grin. "Give in yet?"

"G-give in?!" I stammered. "No, I'm not even 13 yet! I still have a full life ahead of me!"

"Eh?" Indigo said, with a confused expression on her face. "What are you talking about? Is me staying at your house all that bad?"

"Wait. You just want to stay here?"

"Duh! Isn't that obvious?"

"Haa haa..." I sighed in relief. After finally getting my sanity back, I remembered the letter.

That 'training' must be witch training. Which means I have to take care of a witch? How am I supposed to do that?!

"You have a witch as a friend now! How lucky!"

"How did I end up in situation like this?!"

--

I got up lazily the next morning. I felt rather fatigued, but didn't know why.

My mind's hazy... Did something happen last night?

"Hey!" Indigo appeared in front of me suddenly, upside-down. "Morning!"

"YAHHH!!!" I fell out of my bed in surprise.

So that wasn't all a dream?!

"Heehee, did I scare you?" She said while giggling, before getting off the broom she was apparently on earlier.

"Shut up..." I uttered, upset about the harshness of reality.

"It's really nice out, so let's go play!"

I wiped my eyes and yawned. "Sure, whatever. But let's eat breakfast first."

"Okay!"

I don't understand how anyone, witch or not, can be so cheery this early in the day...

--

"So, what do you want to eat?" I asked Indigo, after we had both gone downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hm... I dunno. What are you gonna eat, Sharp?"

"Does toast sound good?" I suggested, putting some bread in the toaster.

"No way, toast is boooring!" Indigo crossed her arms in disagreement.

"What do you want then?!" I asked again, annoyed.

"Cereal! I want cereal!"

"Sorry, I don't think we have any."

"It's okay, I'll just use my magic to make some!"

"Wait, you can do that?" I said skeptically.

Not paying attention to me, she took out her wand and used her magic on a bowl she found.

"H-Hey!"

But what appeared in the bowl was not cereal, but a slice of already-prepared toast.

"Darn... I don't waaant toast!" She whined.

"Just be quiet and eat it." That'll teach you to abuse your magic like that, too...

As I watched Indigo wince at her breakfast, I heard steps coming downstairs.

"What's that sound?" Indigo asked.

"My parents must be getting up now..."

I gasped, upon realizing something.

Oh no; how am I supposed to explain Indigo to mom and dad?!

"Oh, I can't wait to meet them! I want to show them my magic!"

"No, you can't!" I exclaimed.

"Mow cob?" Indigo asked, her mouth full of toast.

"Because if they find out you're a witch, it'd be... pretty bad."

"Pretty bad? Why is that?"

"Just keep it a secret, okay?!"

"Okay, fine..." Indigo uttered sadly.

Fortunately, I was able to convince her before my mom came downstairs to see us.

"Good morning, Sharp!" She said to me.

"Hello!" Indigo greeted instantly.

"Oh? And who might you be?"

"My name's Indigo Maho, and I'm a wi-..." She stopped herself, noticing my sharp glare.

"A 'wi'?"

"Oh, she's the daughter of the man I went to go see yesterday. He, uh... went on vacation, so she has nowhere to stay."

"She has no relatives to stay with?" My mom asked me questioningly.

"I just moved here recently. Daddy left me here by myself because he wanted me to gain new experiences... At least I think it was something like that."

I wasn't sure if my mom would understand what she was talking about, as I didn't really myself. But...

"Oh, I see! You must be from another region, right? I had a friend who did something like that before."

I'm surprised that worked...

"But you look kind of young to be staying here without your parents... How old are you?"

"I'm turning 12 next month! I hope it's okay if I stay here, Sharp's mom."

"Don't worry about it, it's no trouble at all!"

I guess that's good, although, honestly, a part of me wishes mom would kick her out...

I heard some more steps heading downstairs.

"Oh, it seems we have a guest today." My dad stated, after coming into the kitchen.

"Who's she?" My older brother added, in his usual monotone voice.

"I'm Indigo!"

"I'm Sharp's father, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Doug, Sharp's older brother. I don't mind you being here, as long as you aren't too loud and don't eat too much of our food..."

"Doug, don't be so rude to our guest!" My mom said to him angrily.

"So, is this your whole family?" Indigo asked me.

"Actually, there is one more person..."

"Your sister's still asleep, so make sure you're quiet if you want to go see her." Mom told me before I brought Indigo upstairs.

--

"Why's your sister still sleeping? She should get up and enjoy the morning air!"

"Ssh!" I shushed Indigo, trying to quiet her down. "You need to be quiet!"

"Oh, sorry... But it's so important not to wake her up, then shouldn't we leave her alone?"

"It'll be fine if we don't make too much noise." I carefully opened the door to my sister's room. "In here."

Indigo tiptoed into the room, while looking around. "It's in here. And really... pink."

"Don't worry, she should be easy to fi-..."

"AWWW!!!" Indigo suddenly blurted out, after apparently finding out where my sister was.

"I-Indigo! I told you to be quiet!"

"B-but she's sooo cute~!" She responded, with sparkles in her eyes. "I've never seen an actual baby before!"

"Her name's Katie. She's going to be 2 in a few months."

"She's sure got a lot of stuffed cats."

"Yeah, she loves them. We even like to call her 'Kat' because of it."

"Zzz..." I looked at Kat, sleeping soundly in her crib.

I'm surprised she hasn't woken up from all the ruckus Indigo's made...

"Okay, I think we should let her sleep. Let's go downstai-..."

"Cute~!" Indigo tried to poke her face, but I stopped her in time. "Hey!"

"Stop it! You'll wake her up!"

"Hmph..." Indigo puffed up her cheeks in disappointment.

--

When we went back downstairs, we were just in time to see my dad getting ready to leave.

"Oh, did you show her your baby sister, Sharp?" My father asked me.

"Yeah."

"That's an interesting outfit, Sharp's dad. Are you going somewhere?"

"Yep, to my job." He told her, putting on an apron.

"Job? What's that?" Indigo asked.

"You know, work?" I told her, confused as to why she didn't know that.

"I run the pastry shop in town." My dad explained to her.

"What's a pastry?"

"They're really sweet and tasty. If you come visit, I'll treat you to the best!"

"Really? Yaaay~!" Indigo eyes began to sparkle again.

"You've never treated me, dad..."

"If I did that Sharp, you'd end up being too spoiled."

If there's anyone you should be worried about spoiling, it's this witch girl over here...

"Have a nice day at work, honey!" My mom told my dad, before giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks. See you all later!" My dad said, before he left for work.

"So, what do you want to do now, Sharp?" Indigo asked me.

"I can show you the rest of the house, if you want." I suggested.

"Sounds good!" Indigo replied happily.

And that was the day when the witch named Indigo temporarily 'joined' our family...

End of Chapter 1

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Previous Ch.1 Release Date: 2010-Feb 16, 2011~
Previous Ch.2 Release Date: Aug 23, 2012
Writer's Comments:

I decided to combine the first two chapters of Indigo the Witch, as I felt they were too short by themselves. I also fixed up some stuff as well (the first one needed a lot more fixing than the second, though).

So yeah... funny story. I actually meant to do this a month ago, sometime before Halloween. Obviously, that didn't end up happening. Why? Because I was distracted... by new video games. I am such an immature 23 year old.

There was some old commentary for the second chapter, but I'm not gonna bother putting it here, because I don't feel it was interesting enough to bother. The only things worth mentioning about it was that it was uploaded five days early for Indigo the Witch's 5th anniversary, and it was put up only a day after The Sea Sprite's (previous) 1st chapter.

Okay, now that this is done, it's (finally) time to work on some new stuff! Or maybe a re-write again...

- CS-Masyet