When the world was formed, the five elements didn't have purpose. They merely existed for the sake of themselves. Wind was a free spirit, never staying in one place for too long but also being everywhere at once. Earth was rigid, uncompromising and impossible to talk to; he wanted for nothing and asked for nothing. Water was boundless, limitless, spiritless. It took whatever shape it pleased, did as it wished, but conformed to the role it determined for itself. Void couldn't be found, only did the seeking. If he wanted to find you, there was no running. As for fire…fire was bored, endlessly. At first, she followed around the others she could find, but when none of them held her attention, she settled for being alone. She was too violent, too loud, too eager to help but disposed toward destruction for anyone to tolerate her long.
It was during this period of self-isolation that other children of fire sprang forth. She didn't know where they came from, but she did know they were flocking to her for some reason. Guidance, knowledge, protection, it didn't matter their request, they expected the oldest of them to figure it out. In the end, Fire could no longer roam as she pleased. She returned to the place of her birth and…erupted.
The ground beneath her feet rose to the sky, fire flying into the air from below as the volcano that would come to be known as Mount Kazuya erupted for the very first time. Inside of the mountain they would create a town, fill it with others like themselves, demons whose very existence craved the heat of the Original Flame. Fire was placed upon the throne, tossed into a sea of faces and endless responsibilities she didn't know how to shoulder on her own.
One night, she fled from that place. She knew she couldn't stay away forever, that the flame in her own chest would continue to draw others to her, but for one night, she could seek the freedom she'd once embraced.
It was in this way that she encountered it for the first time: snow. While she was wandering at night, the sky grew cloudy, and something white fell from it. Holding up her hand, she sought to catch what was falling. However, before it ever touched her skin, it became water and then steam. Perplexed, she followed the chill in the air, surprised to find that even her own fire was struggling to keep her warm.
The ground became covered in the fluffy white precipitation, but whenever Fire tried to touch it, it became water. Soon, she could see her breath in front of her face, watched the misty puff sparkle before it dissipated. Was water playing a trick with this cold? It wasn't natural.
She was cursing her own curiosity, prepared to turn around when she saw him. A man stood perfectly still in the middle of a clearing, the ground smooth beneath his bare feet. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just white pants. His hair was gray, and when he turned his eyes on her, they were the same color.
Fire's breath caught in her throat as she looked at him. He was all sharp angles, nothing like any of the demons she'd met before, and yet she felt like she knew him. It was the only way she could justify the next thought, which was that she'd promptly fell in love.
The man before her introduced himself as Ice, the child of Water and Void. The ground beneath his feet was his element, and the fluff in the air and all around them was the product of cold. Those words were enough to blacken Fire's heart. Her domain was heat, light, vigor. His was cold, darkness, and silence. They were too different.
But when he placed his pale hand in hers and she looked up into those icy eyes, all thoughts escaped her. She couldn't even remember her own name.
She snuck out every night for the next month to see him. Sometimes, they talked about everything. Sometimes, not a word passed between them. All they needed was just to be, and that was enough.
Until it wasn't.
Ice had no responsibilities, no demons at his door at all hours asking for help. Fire's long hours were wearing on her. Demons didn't typically need a lot of sleep, but she'd been losing more and more for weeks. One night, when she left to visit Ice, she was surprised to find him waiting at the foot of her volcano.
What are you doing here?
Waiting for you.
Why?
Because you are my world.
She didn't need much convincing. Ice would live with her as her partner, inside the volcano. She would give him whatever he needed to be comfortable, to be happy. They built him an ice box where he spent most of his time in the beginning so he might get acclimated to the fiery world around him. Fire never lost sleep in order to see him. Everything just worked.
Until Fire gave birth to a son. He was healthy and took after his father, to the point that he needed to be kept in the ice box for most of his childhood until he learned to stand the heat. He was a lively ice demon, always wanting to explore, try new things, do new things. They'd called him Taro, wanting to steer free of the elemental names they both bore. If they named him something with sturdy roots, maybe he would be less flighty than either of his parents.
They were sorely mistaken. Taro didn't like the way the air of Mount Kazuya hurt his body or the fact that he had to stay locked up in his father's ice chamber just to survive. He wasn't interested in the lessons his mother tried to teach him about ruling, and he made no friends. How could he when everyone was afraid of the strange boy with his brown hair and icy eyes.
Mother and son fought often. Father watched, not willing to step in. The end result was the boy, now a young man, running away from home. How far he would run, Fire and Ice could not have anticipated. By the time they realized where he'd gone, it was too late. They were both S class demons. Living World would never let them in.
Fire cried for days, Ice unable to do more than console her. They'd lost their only son, and they only had themselves to blame. They'd made the choice to live this difficult life, a fire demon and an ice demon coexisting. They should have known how hard it would be for a child to do the same. The should have been more compassionate, more considerate, more this and this and this. Hindsight only further extended the pain.
It wasn't until hundreds of years after Taro had left home that Fire learned of a child. She was like a little light in a dull, dark world, the existence Fire had inhabited ever since her only boy had run away from home. Days had blended together, passing by the way eternity tends to do. Then, suddenly, there was a spark.
She went to investigate, only to find a little human girl with brown hair and bright blue eyes, alone in the woods. No, she wasn't alone. There was a dying demon at her side. The girl touched the demon, healing him. Fire watched until that demon left and one in a suit came to claim the girl. In a flash of light, the human child turned into a demon girl with hair as dark as blood, tied neatly back in a ponytail. She was the spitting image of Fire.
Following the girl back to where she'd come, Fire found herself mere meters away from a man with cold eyes and even colder features: her son. The little girl called him father in the softest way, but he paid her no mind, merely snapped his fingers. The demon in the suit took her hand and they left Demon World behind. Left Fire behind with the knowledge that she had a granddaughter.
She was a woman possessed. It took many calm words from her husband to rein her back in. When she finally came to her senses again, the two began to plan, husband and wife, how they would meet this little girl. Taro had intentionally cast a curse on the child so that pure primordial demons couldn't come too close until the girl hit some unknown benchmark. So, Fire did the only thing she could think of: blessed a small fox doll and gave it to the girl in disguise. She'd hid as much of her demonic powers as she could, and still she almost got caught by her son.
The doll would protect both father and daughter until the time when they would come to see their family in the Demon World. Until then, the older demons would wait. As long as it took.
…
The final words of the story are met with a long silence. I'd long since stopped eating, hanging onto these words about a past I'd never known, would never have known if not for this moment. Might have known if my father hadn't kept me away. Might have known if his parents hadn't made him feel like he had to leave. I'm starting to see a pattern here.
"I guess that explains why Shiro is still in one piece after all these years," I mutter mostly to myself.
"Shiro?" Hi says, frowning.
"The plushie."
"But it was a red fox—"
"Understood, moving on," I bark, shaking my head. You make one childish move to a stupid doll that way outlives its normal existence and you never live it down. "I'm here, which is all well and good, but Father is not. What's your plan there?"
Hi and Kori exchange uneasy looks. "We've tried," Kori finally stated. "He won't respond to any messages, and we can't visit him. It's difficult if he doesn't want to reconnect."
"He's a stubborn man," Hi grunts.
"Runs in the family," I reply. "He's not going to like it when he finds out I've been here."
"No, this meeting may only make things worse," Kori says.
"Especially when you get to the real point."
All eyes turn to Kurama who has placed a napkin over his dinner plate. His face is still a little red from the food, but he takes an unbothered sip of his wine as we stare at him.
"Care to elaborate?" I ask, frowning.
"Ever since we got here, I've sensed something wasn't quite right," he says. "The demons are too quiet, and they look a little tired. As do you, Hi-sama. On top of that, you keep looking in a certain direction as though you've got somewhere else to be."
Huh.
If the expressions on Hi and Kori's faces are anything to go by, Kurama is spot on.
"You brought me here to meet you," I say slowly. "But that's not the only reason. Right?"
Hi let out a sigh, taking a hand through her hair. "You are far too sharp," she growls, jabbing a finger in Kurama's direction. "I was getting to that."
"Forgive my jumping ahead." Kurama bows in his seat, but neither his nor Hi's steely eyes leave each other.
"Hiko," Kori murmurs.
She grits her teeth, tearing her gaze away from Kurama's. "Asaki, will you come with me? I want to show you something."
"Mm." I nod, getting to my feet and holding out a hand to Kurama. I hadn't noticed Hi's odd behavior nor had I noticed the lackluster attitude of the locals. Too much shock and a strong desire to belong have made me careless. Having Kurama with me will make me feel safer. I think he knows it too because he squeezes my hand and gives me a reassuring smile.
We make to follow Hi when I notice Kori is still sitting. "Grandfather?"
"I can't go where she's taking you," he replies, a soft smile on his face. Too warm for me."
I frown at his words before waving farewell and letting Hi lead Kurama and me down a series of long, twisting, dark hallways, lit only by flames in wall sconces every fifty feet or so. The flickering gets brighter and brighter as we go until I swear I feel it in my own chest.
That feeling gets harder to ignore the more we walk, and I almost feel like I'm going to explode with energy by the time we reach a solid wood door. The wood is pitch black, almost like charcoal, but much sturdier.
"Brace yourself, little flame," Hi says to me as she puts a hand on the door. "The heart lies beyond this door."
"The…heart?" Her words don't mean anything to me, but when I say them, I find they feel right in my mouth, sound right in the air.
"The heart." Hi pushes the door open and steps inside the room. Kurama gently nudges me forward, and I step in behind her, my breath catching in my throat at the sight before me.
"Is that…."
Hi turns to look at me, blue fire dancing in her eyes. "The Original Flame."
A/N: Cursed writer. Fop of a writer. Where are the updates, writer? Not in my brain, that's for sure.