As they arrived at the small town where Blaze Flame lived, Zahira covered her bunny eras with a cap to avoid suspicion. Zoe was surprised to see buildings in construction and streets damaged. Yet the citizens acted like it was all in the norm. Ricky asked around about the towns' condition while Zahira kept examining everything. Zoe pulled out the files and read Blaze's address. 'Well if there's anything I'm certain of, Blaze would be able to answer any of our questions regarding this place and its condition.'
Zoe and the two sisters finally reached Blazes' address and faced a rather pleasant surprise. It was a normal terrace house with a beautiful front yard with red rose bushes. The curtains were pulled closed so they couldn't see the interior. The trio gave each other glances that became a silent conversation. They were debating whether the eldest was at home or not. Eventually, they all agreed with curt nods and Zoe stepped forward and reached out to press the doorbell.
They heard a short reply ('Wait a sec!') before the door opened. A red hair girl with orange eyes stood in the doorway with a polite smile. Her profile was just like the picture in the files. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, her clothes were her favorite brown jumper which hung by her elbows, and the brown short shirt that revealed her fit stomach. She had the usual smile, which she would offer to anyone who wasn't a threat in her eyes.
"Ricky! Zahira! What's going on? Who's she?" The red hair bombed the duo with questions while her eyes examined Zoe.
"Blaze, this is Zoe; Miss Samanthas' daughter. She had told us that mom wants to meet us to talk about the throne and we need you" Zahira quickly explained in a god-like speed, surprising the duo who backed off at such speed.
Blaze took a step back in an inviting manner before Zahira and the other two entered. Zoe joined Zahira on the couch while Ricky headed straight for a drawer with frames standing on it. Blaze locked the door and joined the duo across them before smiling softly.
"Honestly, Zahira. Slow down a bit. That sort of speech speed will cause me a migraine." She chuckled. "Slow down a bit. And come join us, Ricky. There's nothing interesting over there."
"Who's this piece of work?" Ricky asked while lifting a particular shelly covered frame. "I've seen him with you a couple of times but I don't think you've ever introduced us to him yet, am I correct?" She asked while leaning towards Blaze.
"Oh, that's just Silver…" Blaze blushed bright red while pulling the frame from her hand. "He and I are just… Well… Friends…"
Zoe, Zahira, and Ricky stared at her for a moment before laughing out loud. Zoe could hardly stand and slumped into the chair beside Zahira who was leaning over and clenching her aching stomach. Flustered by her sisters' reactions, Blaze grabbed the photo frame from Rickys' hand.
"Oh quiet you guys. I'm sure you both have boyfriends, right?" she asked hoping to change the topic and cause the others to also feel awkward.
"Well, I'm a nerd so I can't get 'romantically involved' with just anyone, Blaze" Zoe chuckled while handing the file over to her. "But enough of that. We came here to talk about your mother, Blaze," Zoe began to talk stoically after giving the two youngsters a dangerous glare.
"From Zahiras' words, it seems to be about the throne. Not like I'm going to reject you though," Blaze said while flipped through the file she was given. "Any other questions before I head upstairs for my bag?"
Zoe thought this question thoroughly before sitting up straight and looking around at the three sisters that stood in front of her. There was something bugging her about the files and this town in particular.
"Why is this town in debris? The amount of battle reports is more than the others. Is that one of the causes of this town's poor conditions?" she asked while leaning in with curiosity bouncing off her expression.
Blaze's smile grew at her question. 'She truly is Samantha's daughter. She's very precise at what she says…' Blaze pulled a hand outwards and summoned a blade of flames. Zoe jolted back into the sofa in fear while the two younger siblings ohh-ed in awe.
"As you can see, I have a certain condition that lets our battles go haywire," explained the eldest girl in the room while swinging it back and forward. "When I fight in the streets, I tend to miss my target when they move too fast and cause a mess."
Zahira suddenly scoffed very loudly and tried to disguise it as an unintentional cough but failed miserably when Blaze glared at her with fire escaping the tips of her hair. "Oh come on, Blaze. You just love showing off your dumb power to your boyfriend, you forget the entire world is on fire!"
This made Ricky laugh and Blaze blush darker than her hair. She lunged towards Zahira in an attempt to shut her mouth, only to choke as Zoe grabbed her collar. She yanked her back to avoid a useless argument before clearing her throat.
"There's no way in hell am I going to let you idiots just start a random fight and cause more work for the citizens…" She sighed in annoyance. "Go pack up, Blaze. We're heading to Jane's place later."
Blaze nodded in agreement and hurried upstairs to pack. As she opened her door, she made sure nobody was watching behind her back before closing it and sighed. Her room was divided into two by a silk curtain and she slowly pushed it aside, revealing loads of maps, history books about the Flame Kingdom, and notes. Among them all, a picture of four friends was pinned on the top and she slowly pulled it off with a nostalgic look. 'This is it. If I can get into the castle, I'm sure I'll be able to track down the truth and conclude my investigation with them. Just you wait, Noah, Roy, Yuki.'
Blaze neatly packed all of the documents into boxes and taped them swiftly. She then stuffed a bunch of clothes into a backpack and gave the room a warily look. 'This is it. I hope I get to see this place again…' She gave the key a turn before pocketing it. Blaze slowly pulled her hand away from the doorknob and began her way downstairs where her sisters and new friend awaited her. They had their hands on their hips; looking smug about something Blaze was sure she would regret asking about.
"Okay, you guys. What is this all about?" She asked while dragging her luggage to the main room. "You guys planned something behind my back, right?"
"Oh, sis. Of course, we would!" Zahira grinned, having a newly profound affection for annoying her big sister. "We want you to deal with Jane!"
"Oh…you guys haven't been to J-J's yet?" Blaze questioned while leaning on the stair knob with her arms crossed. "Let me guess, you guys are worried you're too… what's the word? Weak?" she sneered at the steaming Zahira.
Before Zahira could pounce, Ricky held her by the armpits and laughed slightly, hiding the irritation irk on her forehead. "Nope. That's why we need you, sis.." Ricky answered.
"Okay. It's nice to meet you, by the way, Zoe. I'll help you get my little J-J as long as you keep your promise not to smack me at my amazing remarks of Zahira's weakness," Blaze said smugly
Still being held back by Ricky, Zahira struggled to attack and Zoe nodded solemnly. If there were anything she wanted, they would have to comply because they knew one thing for sure. Talking Janetta Flame will have no ends. Certain actions must be taken to fulfill the task.
"I know. And if anything bad happens, I'll take full responsibilities!" Zoe smiled without hesitation. As the leader of the joint, she would face any punishment if such were given.
As they exited Blaze's house, they turned to face the entire townsfolk. They all seemed to be a concern of the trio that had come to take their precious heroine away. Blaze noticed their expressions and slowly walked in front of her siblings to face them with the truth. She kneeled down at a teary-eyed child and gently caressed her tears.
"What's wrong, Mary? Why are you crying?" she asked lowly while the girl began to sob. "Are you worried about me?"
"Didn't you promise to play with me, Blaze?" The small girl cried while leaning into her chest. "Where are you going? Are you going to leave us to SMS?"
Blaze was taken back by the girls' fourth question and she laughed softly, getting the attention of them all as she stood up. She faced them all and spoke loudly everything assuring.
"You don't need to worry, everyone!" she began. "I have a business back home and I'll be back soon!"
"Back home? Are you saying you have another home? Then what is this place then?" A certain florist asked while lifting a bouquet of roses above the crowd to be seen. "Are we just your temporary fellow villagers?"
Zoe wanted to step forward and fix the misunderstanding, but Zahira held her back while lifting a finger to her lips slowly. The message was clear. 'The leader must do what she ought to do to reassure her people. If she can't fulfill such a task, she is not fit to be a leader from the start.' Blaze had straightened up her jacket and lifted her head up high.
"What are you guys kidding about? I would never leave you all! You all are my friends!" She shouted for them all to hear. "SMS won't hurt you without me there to annoy them so you have nothing to worry about. I promise I'll be back for everything I'll miss at the royal lifestyle. But for now, I shall depart!"
At her final sentence, a cheer erupted from the people and they began clapping while making way for the four friends to pass by. Zahira gave them all smiles while Ricky high-fived a few kids. Zoe smiled at this remarkable sight. She understood something. These three are good at talking to people. 'I'm sure they'll make a great leader's in the future.' And so, they made their way back to Zoe's first destination, Janetta Flames' house in the ninja village.