"Why is there smoke!?" white puffs covered Asobi's face; the three of them headed into grasslands from the city, tyres trudging through snow as if it were simply road.
"They set fire to our house!?" Jotou peered; they were not too far away.
Hotaru's ears caught something in the grass—footsteps. "Jotou!" she warned. The blonde twisted the handle, redirecting herself to whatever was sneaking across the snowy grass.
Two yellow glows met Jotou's glare. "Crash!" The yellow was hit by a bike at full enchanted speed. The assassin grunted as the tyre bounced off his body and Jotou fell to the side.
She groaned up from the bicycle and stomped over. Before he could make his next breath, a hand chocked his neck. Only then did the blonde notice, dozens of assassins retreating the way they came, escaping like gazelles in danger.
Hotaru and Asobi steered up to the two. "If you value your life, talk! Did you set fire to the house!? What were your orders!?"
The redhead stared with furrowed brows—Asobi with an unsure expression watching… The assassin, put his hands up, coughing, "Our orders are to retreat! Don't know where yet!"
"The fire, answer her," Hotaru added.
"Mataya!" he chocked, "Mataya set fire to the house. We were supposed to catch a girl with brown hair when she escaped," he tried grabbing Jotou's wrist to lighten her grip.
"We surrounded her, but we didn't see any shadow magic and she couldn't have slipped past us. She never left the house-" her hand lifted off his neck; only for a sparking fist come crashing down into his face.
Asobi hid behind her hat as Jotou got up, wide-eyed. "Hotaru, make sure he's not dead. If Meko's still in there… She wouldn't! Why would she stay in there!?"
Hotaru leaned down, placing two fingers next to his neck, "There's a pulse," the redhead stared to Jotou's side, "Jotou, you have a cut." How could she not have noticed before?
The blood had frozen over her cheek as Hotaru traced a finger along it. Jotou picked up her bike, but Hotaru held her in place first, healing over the wound. "I'll be fine! We need to get Meko!"
She could see the spark in the blonde's eyes as she held her head in place, "Think Jotou, don't go rushing into a fire. Meko's smart, they could be wrong."
"Or they could be right," she tried to nudge Hotaru off.
"We have to save Meko!!!" Asobi leaked rainbowish tears.
Hotaru's efforts to steady their minds were in vain, seeing the blonde's fists clenched and the elf quaking. She knew how reckless Jotou could be… but, "Aegis-Aura," a bright blue surrounded the three.
"Let's go," Jotou got on the bicycle and three chains ripped like they were going to eject out any second. They arrived at the burning abode—door caved in.
The grass around had wilted, if not turned to ash; black beams barred the entrance, still on fire. The front was engulfed by a magical flame, bits of glass shimmering in the orange.
'No… NO!' Jotou threw the bike aside and dashed to the sides of the building. The fire had not caught on till the end, though it was approaching.
Panting in a frantic panic, not even feeling the heat from the blue aura surrounding her, "Okay, okay! If Meko's not in there, we're fine, but if she is."
Jotou pointed to Hotaru, "Take Asobi to the back, near the bathroom's water tank. Lift it to Fumeko's window and put it out, the flames are catching there. I'm going in!"
Jotou turned around, readying herself to go through the blocked door by force. She was turned around again however.
"I don't want to lose anyone else," Hotaru gripped Jotou's shoulders, "Be careful," her voice quivered.
"Hey, your magic's something special," the blonde forced a smile. "Asobi, Sobi?" they both gazed to her.
Rainbow tears streamed down her face, "Our… house… Meko…" her mouth whimpered. Hotaru rushed over and held onto Asobi.
"Come on, we still have things to do Sobi," the redhead shook her out of it.
"Huh? Right, right! Jotou, good luck!" Asobi was pulled away. Hotaru never lost sight of the blonde till she was past the house.
"Meko… if there's any time to slip away and trick me… it better be now," shoulder first, she rushed into the side. "Thud! Crumble…"
One more budge! "Crash!" The burning wood snapped and crumbled, letting the blonde step in. Glowing blue from head to toe, she surveyed the inside…
Parts of the roof had fallen apart onto the sofas, cupboards and cabinets, long charred in the kitchen; beams had fallen down the hall… Something stung in Jotou's heart.
How she would sit upon the roof to gaze at the stars, Fumeko constantly in the kitchen, the night she consoled Hotaru, Asobi's illusionary antics everyday…
Yeah it stung… The one place she called home and truly meant it… It definitely beat calling a room with a laptop next to a bed 'home'. She wiped little tears off her eyes. This was no time to cry.
Black and blue she could feel all over her, but. 'Meko, need to make sure.' Before more memories were turned to ash, she pushed her way through the hall, stepping over the holes in the floorboards.
The cold breaths, moved into heated sweats; the spell was being put to the test, the orange became more yellow as she leapt through them, the smoke deflected off her spelled eyes.
The heat, the flame, it was getting too much; she coughed—how long could the spell last again? Brown eyes peered into her room, smoked and missing.
The magician's room no better, but the flames had not caught onto two more doors. Trailing like snakes, it was almost as if the flames were sentient—making sure every bit it touched was burned before moving on.
Sweat dripped past her lips. Doors, all of them open except one… 'No, there's no chance.' Convincing herself didn't matter; she panted down the hall and pushed into Fumeko's door.
Fires danced from the walls onto her bed; one side of her room was already engulfed, the window was surrounded in flame, but there, sat against her wardrobe…
A sack stuffed to the brim, arms around her knees, sobbing into them. The purple headband glimmered in the flames coming to consume her.
"Meko!" "COUGH!" she rushed into the room, knelt next to the brunette and shook her by the shoulder, "The hell are you doing in here!? Let's go!" Oh wait… the brunette couldn't leave till that window was free…
Her sobbing came to a stop, not even shifting her head she mumbled, "Jotou…? Just… leave me… This was meant to happen anyway…"
Jotou had seen her meek and unconfident before, but this… This voice she had come to recognize herself multiple times…
"What!? Are you stupid!? Let's get out of here!"
"Yeah… I'm stupid…"
"Oh hell, Meko, this is not the time! Please, let's get out of here!" Jotou pried her hands into the slender arms, but stiff as a rock, she refused to budge.
Eyes watering she lifted her head, eyes puffed up and red, "Stop! Jotou! I'm scared of fire! Please!"
Jotou was forced to let go. "Then why are you here!? The bathroom; the bathroom has a window, we can still-" "CRASH!" The hall out the door crashed, blocking their exit in a burning pile, "Really!?"
"Jotou…" she looked at the blonde, soot over Jotou's skin, just as dark as the ends of her hair. "I can't blink… The spell isn't working. I looked out the windows and saw assassins, I couldn't run."
"When has that stopped you from trying!?"
"Jotou… Moren told me everything. I thought I did something, but I was playing right into the game he was controlling. Aru, Sobi, go save them."
Jotou's eyes softened. 'Shit, what am I doing. I can't spark an exit, I'm not sure what happens with that and fire. Meko won't budge… And she's ready to give up her life…? I need to get her out of here.'
"Fumeko," Jotou shook her, "Hotaru and Asobi are outside, they're safe. The Regime's on the run, we exposed them, didn't you hear Asobi? I mean me?"
"Huh? What do you mean hear you?" the tears stopped for a second, her eyes narrowed and her eyebrow cocked. It then hit Jotou how far Asobi's voice actually travelled—not to mention muffled by the flames.
"You mean, everything's saved?" a weak smile painted on her, "Of course you did. Wrong again Fumeko…"
Jotou looked to the fire, gently spreading—no escape other than that window. Whatever clouded over Fumeko. 'I need to snap her out of it, right now.'
"Meko," the blonde gazed, "I'm listening."
She scoffed a sniffle, "Why would you listen to me? Everything I do, I always end up doing it wrong… Maybe you're right, I could've escaped, but I would've been wrong again…
I left my father in a fight and gave him a wild goose chase," she stared into the fire, "Who am I kidding, he probably knows and just wanted to get rid of a brat like me at this point.
He was right too obviously. I'm not prepared for this world… They even found out I was scared of fire… I fell right into their hoaxes like a rat caught in a trap," the fire…
Her arrogance, burned away with her self-confidence. It was so warm. Jotou glanced at her and around. "Well, sorry to say that you're wrong again.
I don't think you want to be left here. Otherwise why would you make sure to stay with your sack of things?"
Fumeko furrowed her brows, "It's not just mine; I saved as much as I could from everyone's rooms- What!? What are you doing!?" annoyed, she felt the blonde's hair drifting over her skin.
Jotou held her in a hug, "I'm not going to leave you here and you know that for a fact. In fact, you've been right about plenty of things.
I don't know what you need to hear, but there's a lot of things to unpack. And we can talk about it all some other day; eating delicious food watching the clouds.
We can't do that if we're stuck here. Your confidence may be cute, but I know it's genuine. I don't know about your dad, but you were so confident that you ran away.
You think anyone else could've just done that? Not to mention, living and eating food, making friends and basically owning a house? You always try and you can't be right every single time. Don't lose your confidence.
You always get back up with hope; this is the first time I've ever seen you like this, but I still refuse to believe you've lost all hope. You're the best detective I know—cute as a bunny and smart as, well, as a you.
You cracked the case; who cares about the means? You did it." Jotou sighed, "Let's prove Moren wrong. I don't know what else is waiting for me and us out there. But I need my detective with me."
Fumeko's pupils glistened, tear after tear, letting the blonde hold her. That night, in her room; not this but the one she jumped out the window of…
A note on her magenta sheets, lowering a sack down her house, out the window onto the street. Where would she begin? Cravolta? Luxinor? Well, where else but the City of New Beginnings?
She left that house, knowing not if she would return. There she sat, hugged by her first true friend; staring as flame ate away at the wood. Her desire to see what this world truly holds, instead of being told…
What was she doing!? What was she thinking!? The brunette's eyes jolted open, "Jotou!"
Jotou glanced up, "Fumeko?"
"Who else you idiot!?" The blonde's eyes widened. Her smile deflected the tears washing the soot away. "Stop smiling! Is there a way out of here!?"
Jotou laughed in the flame, coughing as she stopped. Fumeko angry and in a panic was a welcome sight, "The window, Aru and Sobi."
Fumeko stared at the window, cracking from the flame. She turned and hugged Jotou, "Thank you," she squeaked, "I can't believe I almost did that. Thank you for not leaving me…"
"I'd never."
"CRASH!" The black plastic came breaking through the window, about half the size of her wardrobe—water rushed through the broken glass right as.
They looked at the gap as Jotou covered Fumeko with her coat; an exit lead to Hotaru and Asobi. "Go!" to Jotou's shout in her ear she joggled up.
Shadows took over where she stood; Fumeko stared at it, shock filling her view. One moment she was there and the next, outside. Jotou got up in a grin.
That exit was not going to hold up long. She glanced at the sack… "Geh!" she threw it onto the grass, extinguished by the water.
Looking once more to the home she would not see again, "It was nice knowing you house," she sprinted out the doused flames and out the other side- "CRASH!" Just before that gap fell apart and blocked it off.