Disclaimer: I don't own Kaze no Stigma. *cries* why?! Why me?!
"You're here I see." The head of the Kanagi family spoke quietly. He knew that a great danger was coming soon and they had need of her powers. He didn't want her to be revealed as she was akin to their clan's secret weapon but they would need all the help they could get. And he had delayed their meeting enough.
"What do you need of me?" A feminine voice came from the shadows of the room. Her voice was soft and had a whispery quality. Though she was officially a member of their family, she was mostly uninvolved in their family matters. She did as was asked and in return she was left out of any family problems. That was their deal.
"Protect them. If needed, you can reveal yourself. But only if you have no other option. They might need you more in the future." He could almost feel her glare.
"I'm not a replacement for those slaves of yours. You can't tell me to stay hidden."
"Still acting so hostile, I see. Is it still about Kazuma?"
She opened her eyes and stepped into the light of the room. Her dark hair shone against her exposed skin. A collar-like cloth covered the bottom half of her face but her voice remained unrestricted. Her top- or what seemed like one- ended just below her full breasts. The sleeves of her top were non-existent; in fact, they curved inward to exposed more of her skin. The cloth from the sides of her breasts extended to meet what seemed like sleeves that fully covered the rest of her arms leaving her shoulders bare. She wore loose pants as bottom. But only because he explicitly requested her to be wearing proper pants. She seemed to defy every order given to her, as much as she could. Unlike what people thought, she could fight in those clothes. "Not hostile. And you know this, it was always about him."
He sighed. She really was stubborn. But then again, so was their whole clan. "He probably doesn't even remember you. And even if he does, you're very different now. He's mending his relationship with his family now." For a moment, she looked at him stoically before smirking in amusement.
"You just want him to fall in love with Ayano." He didn't deny it. His wind magic was very strong after all.
"I believe she would bring him closer to our family, and he would mature Ayano." Ayano was stubbornly naïve. She was protected by the family and in turn, she sought to protect them all. She was an idealist by heart.
"If that is all you desire, I can help them in the open better than hiding from them." She almost seemed hopeful.
"Are you sure you wish to reveal yourself after so long in hiding?" She pouted in response.
"I was training! Not hiding. And I'm still doing the jobs you tell me to, don't I?" He laughed at her expression. She was so bi-polar sometimes.
"You should go now. They'll be reaching the site soon." She silently opened the door.
"He really wanted to save Ren, you know? He still would have gone after him if you hadn't paid him. But thank you for making it easier."
"I wonder what he would do if he knew you now." She laughed softly in response.
"He'd be very angry at me."
"Go Kyoko." This was the reason why she was called back home. And it wasn't like he could stop her, now that she knew. The door opened and without a sound, she disappeared into the night.
Even as Kyoko travelled fast, she knew she wouldn't arrive on time. And honestly, she didn't want to. She had been brought back home from Russia because Kazuma was back. She had known him before and she was very familiar with his aura. She was sure she could pin-point it almost anywhere, and she had. She was also the one who had told her 'father' of his presence in the compound and he had immediately rushed to his location, giving her enough time to control her reaction and hide.
She had been very amused by Ayano's actions. As if Kazuma would kill anyone from the Kanagi family. She wouldn't, and she had spent a lot of time with them. After Kazuma kicked out, she too left. She respected their goal but she had no intention of following their traditions. So, she made a deal, and left.
Kyoko was distracted from her thoughts by the sight of Ayano lying on the ground. She immediately stopped flying. Ayano was unconscious and there were a few cuts and bruises on her face. Her breathing slowed down and she felt the wind pick up. That was when she noticed the miasma under her skin. She almost flinched at the sight. Her eyes hardened at the sight. She loosened Ayano's tie to expose her throat.
"Get away from her!" Ren's voice sounded just before she jumped away with Ayano. She looked back at the scorched area with a little amusement. Two figures landed on the ground and she looked at them even when she knew who they were. She stood up and saw Kazuma looking her over. She carefully controlled her reaction before turning her face to Ren. Ren on the other hand, looked at her doubtfully.
"Kyoko-nee?" She flicked his forehead at her disbelief.
"You're late. What have you been up to, sleeping beauty?" He pouted and rubbed his forehead in response. He softly mumbled something about not sleeping but being sacrificed to a demon.
"You're a Kanagi?" Kazuma seemed more amused than doubtful.
"Yup, and here to save the day." She struck a pose and smirked at him. Their introductions were interrupted by Ren's worried voice.
"Why isn't she waking up? Her wounds are not serious." She turned a little serious.
"It's the miasma from his aura. Its very strong. It went into her body and is destroying it from the inside." Ren turned his big worried eyes at them.
"Can you help her somehow?" She turned to Kazuma too. She had a way to save her but she really wanted to hear him first. He sighed.
"Yeah, but the stuff's really expensive." He took out a vial with a golden coloured liquid inside it. "I don't really know if I should." Flames burst from Ren's body and he threateningly asked for the vial.
Flames of Honest Anger. So beautiful.
Just before Kazuma was about to agree, she put her hand on Ren's head.
"Don't be such a hot head, kid. I'm here too, you know? You don't need the elixir for this." She saw Ren's eyes go round when he understood exactly what he was demanding. He looked at Kazuma and then at the vial. "Leave it to me."
She turned back and tuned out Ren and Kazuma. She sat beside Ayano before gently opening her mouth. She opened hers and felt the heat of a flame inside her mouth. She put her lips on Ayano's and exhaled the steam. The divine flame and the purifying golden flame worked well with each other. The divine flame was blessing and healing Ayano's body, while the purifying flame burnt the miasma. She slid her hand to Ayano's throat and felt her body heat up. When her pulse returned to normal, she pulled away and sat back. When she sighed, a puff of steam went out as well. She turned back to see Kazuma looking slightly impressed but Ren's face was red in embarrassment.
"She'll wake up later. We have work to do, now."
"You want to leave her here?" Kazuma glanced at Ayano before looking at her. She almost started teasing him before she sighed. She didn't want to revert back to her old ways. It would be embarrassing after she worked so hard to create a good impression.
"Yeah yeah. Don't be such a nag." She waved his concern and amusement away. She almost felt him get annoyed. He had always hated being called a 'nag'.
"He's not a nag! He's concerned about her." Ren came to his rescue with his hero worship.
"I'm not concerned, kid. She's supposed to be a part of the mission. I need to complete it or I don't get paid." Kazuma seemed really annoyed to be repeating the same things over and over again.
"Yeah. And its not like he can just threaten the clan head, can he?" She teased Ren but by then, he was reduced to tears.
"Its okay. She'll be fine. After all, its Ayano." She smiled at him.
Ren seemed slightly reassured at that. Kyoko bumped her head with Ren lightly before she turned her attention to the watching Kazuma. He simply pulled them both towards him and flew off. She 'eep'ed silently before blushing a little. She really hoped neither of them noticed. She felt Kazuma's eye on her face and her blush darkened. So much for wishful thinking. But for some reason, she felt almost comfortable flying inside a tornado-like thing with Kazuma and Ren.
"Look." Kazuma flew right above him. They soon noticed the affect his miasma had on the ground and dropped Ren to deal with the spirits, while they went to attack the demon.
"You were there when I came to the main house. I sensed your presence. Who are you?" Kazuma's voice was quiet and he looked slightly troubled.
"An old friend. We were friends before." She smiled sadly at him.
"I didn't have friends. At least I didn't remember any." She looked away at that and breathed in and out. She knew he didn't remember her, but it still hurt. He was her only friend, after all. It was normal that she felt hurt.
"We'll talk later. We've got a demon to deal with." Kazuma silently agreed and threw a few wind blades. He stopped and turned around to face them. It was pitiful. A human to willingly take on evil spirits and host a demon…
As soon as they landed, she formed the golden flame around her before she went in close. Hand to hand combat was her forte. Her fire was her long distance ability. She had to be good. After all, she had been training for years. She felt a few wind blades attack her. He defended against them with his aura and hands.
Thick skin.
She noted it before her flames formed balls around her and attacked. She punched his arms and used divine flame in a burst. He was barely pushed back. She gave a roundhouse kick to his head that made his head wrench back before he caught her leg and threw her in the other direction. She almost fell but Kazuma caught her. She looked back at him before narrowing her eyes. He might need more of her effort. She hissed slightly when she took a step. She quickly tore the bottom of her pants and glared at the demon. His aura was affecting her. The purifying flame sprung up from her leg, burning away at the miasma. She could heal later, properly. She looked up just in time to see the ground burst. His evil aura was expanding and little tornados were forming around him. She felt her eye twitch with irritation. So annoying. But his miasma was the most troublesome thing.
"Can you do something about that miasma? Its affecting me too much." She almost growled out the last part. He formed a wind tunnel that kept out his evil aura and the tunnel led straight to him. She didn't need to purify his aura so she released divine flame as she ran. The flame surrounded her hand and she punched his face and concentrated the flame to burn his face. Suddenly her flame stopped and she had to jump back. Kazuma meanwhile made a huge tornado of his own. She thought he was going to dissipate the evil aura with it somehow but instead his tornado somehow conducted lightening. She was almost gaping at him then. The lightening struck the demon and she stumbled back. The light got really harsh. She felt slightly dizzy but she blinked it back. She held her hand in pain. She wasn't sure why but her hand was starting to hurt. As soon as the lightening dissipated, she noticed the wind forming a protective shield around her. It too dissipated and she ran towards the demon. Her divine flame would have to do. The flames burst into existence around her and she expended her hand and blasted a concentrated blast right to his face. He was pushed back and without the evil spirits, he wasn't as protected from it. His face was half burnt away and he growled in anger. She took a few steps away from it, to take a breather.
"Kyoko! Just hold him off as much as you can. Buy me some time." Kazuma seemed really confident that what he was planning to do would work. She would have said that she could handle it on her own, but she felt really dizzy and weak. She steeled her expression and attacked the demon. Kazuma asked her to buy him time. And time he would get.
She formed balls of divine flame all around her and kept up furiously attacking him. His aura was regenerating fast but the divine flame would keep it at bay and damage him. He was more vulnerable now. She dived into the attacking when he stumbled back. This was her chance. She extended divine flame from her hand as a blade and used it to cut him. His skin wasn't as tough to the divine flame, but more over, she was also vulnerable to his aura. It wouldn't end well for her if she lost consciousness. She dove her hand straight though his shoulder. He used his other hand to slap her back. His physical strength was much more than hers. She stumbled back and exhaled sharply. She used her aura to strengthen her divine flame and used it as an area affected attack. He was very much scorched and crispy but not yet dead. And worse, his aura was regenerating. Again!
She almost growled out at that. She started panting. Her body was starting to hurt now. She exhaled sharply. It didn't matter now. She didn't have enough time to pull out her big attacks and she just had to buy time. She didn't know how much more time he needed. She stood up properly. No matter what, she was a Kanagi. She wouldn't let a measly demon kill her so stupidly.
"Well done." A wind brought his voice to her and soon Kazuma himself appeared behind her. She almost fell back against his chest in relief. He was done. She wouldn't be giving out any big attacks anytime soon. She looked up and her eyes widened.
"Your eyes. What happened?" She knew what this meant. She had heard the rumour but she wasn't sure if it was true.
"The spirit king of the wind marked me as the contractor." Her eyes became wide. He didn't want to keep it hidden, then? But the wind. She then gave him a smile.
"I'm glad. You're strong now." His eyes widened. She wasn't shocked or scared. She was really glad for him but more than that, the words resonated inside him. Yes, he was strong now. Strong enough to defend people he loved. To defend Ren. That was when he became sure. She had known him before and they had been friends. She seemed so happy on his behalf. His eyes softened. He looked up.
"Now, time to go back to hell, where you belong." His eyes widened and he glared at the demon. She realized he still had his hand on her waist but she did nothing. She turned back to the creature. The demon needed to be purified. Her thoughts were distracted by the tornado around them. The wind became stronger. So strong that she was sure, if she put her hand in it, it would be tore away. It was very strong. The power depended on the will power of the contacted to control the spirits. He was very good. And very strong. Maybe as strong as her or stronger. She wasn't sure.
Mini-tornados extended from theirs to surround him. He formed one with his evil aura but two ore formed and they crushed him in between. For a moment she observed this before she realized what was happening. The wind was purifying him. That was when she realized how pure the wind felt to her. It seemed to soothe her pain.
"Its working." She turned her gaze to him when she felt his hand on hers. He lightly squeezed her hand.
"Kyoko. Purify him." She stepped away from him and her divine flame formed in one hand and the purifying flame in the other. She ran towards the demon as the flames formed into huge blades around her hand. She simultaneously put her hands though his head and his neck. The flames went inside him and he- well, to put it simply- burst. A beautiful purifying wind blew from below and the rest of him got purified and was sucked up into the sky. Her hair blew up and she looked up and relaxed. The wind was beautiful.
She turned around when she heard a 'thump'. Her alarmed eyes found Kazuma lying on the ground. She quickly went to him, worried.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Just a little tired." She smiled at him.
"You were ready before you came, weren't you?" He opened his eyes and looked a little sheepish. "If you just wanted to see what I could do, you could have just asked, you know? I wouldn't have minded." He looked a little doubtful. Her eyebrow twitched. "Did you just compare me to Ayano? I'd like to tell you I'm nothing like that. You're not an enemy, so its fine. When were you really ready?"
"Around the time when you injured him." She sat down beside him with a huff.
"Then you saw me being weak instead of strong." She winced and held her hand. Her eyes met Kazuma's before she passed out with a single thought.
Oh shit!