Considering that this is being published in 2012, I think it's pretty clear that I DO NOT own Kaze No Stigma, and RIP to the author -whose very difficult and very Japanese name escapes me at the moment-.
This takes place about six years after the anime, making Kazuma like 27 or 28 and Ayano like 24. I read online that Ren was only 12, and while I have a hard time grasping that, he's around 18 in this story either way.
. . .
"KAZUMA!"
It was this familiar screaming of Ren's cousin, Ayano, that woke him up that morning. And it wasn't just any morning; it was that morning. His eighteenth birthday.
Even though technically in Japan, you had to be 20 to be considered an adult, many people saw 18 as entering adulthood. One of these people was of course Ren's older brother; Kazuma.
"When I was 18, my father kicked me out of the house and I left the country. 18 is an adult, end of story," was what Kazuma had said.
That much was true. Ren's brother had been unlucky enough to be the only Kannagi ever to be born without the ability to use fire magic. Outraged and embarrassed, their father had told Kazuma that he had no place with the family, and kicked him out. Officially, Kazuma had never even finished high school. When Kazuma left, Ayano became next in line for head of the family.
It just wasn't fair, just because Kazuma couldn't control fire, Ren had had to grow up without his older brother around. Not until he was twelve did Kazuma return, and when he did, the Kannagis definitely got a taste of their own medicine. With him, Kazuma brought more power than all the members of his family put together; he had become the contractor for the Spirit of the Wind.
Now, Ren's powers were nothing too special, but he at least could control fire to some extent. And even though he could, that didn't mean he liked too. Ren was too gentle to use a magic as destructive as fire; he should have been born without magic, not Kazuma.
But then, what would Kazuma be like today if that had happened? He would never have become the contractor, that's for sure. And he'd become the head of the family some day instead of Ayano. Ren would have been kicked out by their father, and Ren would have had to live over seas. Maybe it was fate that led Kazuma to be born the way he was, so that the Wind Spirit could have a new contractor.
"And it suits him," Ren mumbled to himself. "Maybe it's just not is his personality to use fire."
Ayano's like a forest fire, Ren continued in his head. She randomly sets off, and then it's over. Sometimes her rage lasts days, sometimes only minutes. I'm probably more like a fireplace; calm and safe, unless you get too close. But Kazuma . . . He's not like any kind of fire, because fire can almost always be contained. Even a forest fire like Ayano has boundaries, like oceans or deserts. Kazuma can't be contained though, he'll come and go as he pleases, it's just the way he is. Kind of like the wind . . . You can't trap the wind, no matter how hard you try; it always escapes. Kind of like Kazuma.
And, Ren added as an after thought. The wind can stop a fire, but it can also help it grow. Maybe, all along, this is how everything was meant to be.
And in the end, things had ended up working out. After Kazuma, Ayano, and Ren saved practically all of Japan, including the Kannagi family, Kazuma had been welcomed back home as if he had never left. In a way, he had finally proven himself.
At first, he had rejected the offer, saying he didn't know how much longer he'd even be in Japan. But, eventually, he made up some lame excuse about it being too expensive for him to stay in a hotel any longer than he already had, and he was given an apartment right on the main estate.
Kazuma always uses money as a shield. He pretends to be greedy and selfish so no one sees is true intentions. Maybe it's because everything that happened to him with his old girlfriend ten years ago. But I know the truth . . . Kazuma actually does care for everyone, even our dad. He protects everyone for a reason, after all.
As the old saying goes; speak of the devil and he shall appear. Just as Ren was finishing up his deep train of thought on his brother, none other than Kazuma Yagami ran through his bedroom door. "Hey Kid, happy birthday. I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"Uh, no . . ." Ren replied as he watched his brother cross his room and close the blinds, then walk back to the door and lock it. "That would have been your girlfriend. I think she's looking for you."
"Yeah, well let's just say Ayano isn't exactly in the best mood right now," Kazuma informed his brother as he took a seat at Ren's computer desk. He turned the chair so it was facing the bed. "Since when do you sleep naked?"
Ren looked down and realized he was shirtless. With a small yelp, he pulled the comforter over his shoulders. "I've got boxers on!"
Kazuma chuckled and raised his hands in sarcastic surrender. "Whatever you say."
"KA-ZU-MA!" Ayano's voice rang through Ren's bedroom. She was right outside the window now.
"Shit!" Kazuma dropped to the floor and held a finger to his lips.
"She's outside," Ren told him. "What are you so worried about? It's not like she can knock down the wall."
Kazuma shot him a look that reminded Ren that yes, Ayano very well could knock down the door if it pleased her.
When Ayano's screams grew more distant, finally fading away to nothing but a far away whisper, Kazuma stood up. He brushed off his shirt as if nothing had happened, and sat back down at the desk.
"You two are ridiculous," Ren told his older brother. "You realize that, don't you? When are you just going to man up and ask her to marry you?"
"Marry her?" Kazuma's tone of voice and expression showed that the term 'marriage' must be foreign or otherwise completely unconsidered.
"Yeah, that's what you do when you love a girl, you ask her to marry you," Ren said.
"No way," Kazuma replied. "Ayano and I are no where near that serious."
"Well, do you love her?"
After a pause Kazuma replied, "well . . . Yeah."
"And does she love you?"
"I think so."
"Well, then . . . That's really all you need," Ren said. "And on top of all that, it's been about five years since the two of you officially started dating."
Actually, it had been six, and Ren knew that. He was trying to see if Kazuma did.
"Six," his brother corrected.
"See! You even keep track," Ren exclaimed.
Kazuma, realizing he had been set up, hung his head. "Damn you . . . And besides, Ayano would never want to get married. You know she's not the type of person who likes stuff like that. And either way, I do believe that it is your birthday, so let's stop talking about me and my girlfriend and start getting you drunk."
"Kazuma, I'm not old enough to drink yet!" Ren pointed out.
"Please," he scoffed. "When I was your age I was getting drunk and laid about every other night."
"Thank you for sharing that with your baby brother, Kazuma, but if Ren doesn't mind I really need to talk to you," Ayano said.
Kazuma jumped up and retreated a few steps. "How the hell did you even get in here?"
She pointed to the door frame. Where the door to Ren's bedroom had once rested was now nothing more than two burnt hinges.
"My door!" Ren exclaimed.
"Kazuma will buy you a new one later, Ren," Ayano promised. "Right now you should get to breakfast, I heard something special was being made in honor of your birthday."
Ren nodded and looked expectantly at Kazuma. After a moment, the older brother understood.
"Oh, hey Ayano we have to get out of here, Ren's naked under there."
"I'M WEARING BOXER SHORTS!" Ren shouted.
Ayano blushed slightly and scurried out the door. Kazuma hung in the doorframe so that no passersby's could watch as his brother pulled on some clothes.
"Thanks," Ren said as he followed the two others to breakfast.
"No problem," Kazuma replied. "I think it might have made Ayano forget that she was mad at me."
"I have forgotten nothing," Ayano told him without looking away from the space in front of her.
Kazuma's head dropped. "I am so screwed . . ."
"What did you do?" Ren asked.
"I'd rather not speak of it . . ."
. . .
"So Ren, you're eighteen today," Ren's father, Genma, said. "Any idea what you have in mind for a gift?"
"Oh, no, I don't want anything, Father," Ren assured him. "Really."
"Please," Kazuma said. "It's your birthday, there must be something you want."
"As much as I hate to admit it; I agree with your brother," Genma said.
"Any time you wanna go Old Man," Kazuma muttered under his breath.
Either Genma did not hear his eldest son, or chose to ignore him is unclear. "There must be something, Ren."
Jugo nodded as he attempted to reach for more of the toast. "Really, Ren. Don't hesitate to ask for what you'd like. You're never to old for a birthday gift."
Ren looked down at his feet. "Well . . . There is one thing. Not so much a gift, but, I'd really like it to be my birthday present."
"What is it?" Genma asked.
"An assignment," Ren replied. "I overheard Kazuma and Jugo talking about an overseas assignment for a youma issue. I'd like to go . . ."
Kazuma's eyebrow's raised. "Ren, that assignment is in a rural part of Canada. That's really far."
"I know, that's why I think it should be my gift. I know I wouldn't be allowed to go otherwise, but it is my birthday, like you said. And I am eighteen now . . ." Ren grinned at his own authority in this situation.
"I don't have a problem with it," Jugo said. "Of course, Kazuma would accompany you."
"I wouldn't want it any other way." Ren shot a smile towards his brother. "Kazuma makes things more adventurous."
"That's just a really nice way of saying Kazuma makes things more dangerous," Ayano said as she shoved a spoonful of who-knows-what into her mouth. "I'll have to go too for some mature super vision."
Even Jugo laughed at that.
"Hey!" Ayano protested. "I'm mature!"
They all ignored her.
"So, please Father, may I?" Ren begged.
"I'd say you're old enough now to make your own decisions," Genma agreed. "It's your choice. If you'd like to go risk your life fighting youma with your Contractor Brother and future Head of the Kannagi Family Cousin then go right ahead. Just understand that compared to them, your chances of survival are-"
"Thank you Father!" Ren exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around the old man. He knew that his dad was just trying to scare him out of going, but that would never work. Ren wasn't afraid, he had Kazuma with him. And everyone knew that no one stood a chance against Kazuma.
"Well, if we are going to Canada, it's important that we'll be able to communicate incase we're separated. Do you speak English well enough?" Jugo asked. Ren nodded.
"What about French?" Kazuma added. "Lots of people in Canada only speak French."
"Oui," Ren replied. "Je serai bein!"
"Smartass . . ." Kazuma muttered. Then louder, "Alright, I'll take the kid with me."
"Didn't we just establish that I'm not a kid anymore?" Ren asked.
"You're my baby brother, you'll always be a kid to me," Kazuma told him. "And when you're done eating you'd better start packing. Since Ayano ruined your door you can stay with me tonight. We leave tomorrow morning, first thing."
