Burnt Bonds

  The scent of ash clung to the city like regret.

  We didn’t have time to rest after the last mission. Aika was still recovering, bandages hidden beneath her uniform, but she refused to stay behind. We all did. That’s what being in VFO meant.

  Our teacher—and commander—Ms. Natsume, called us in the middle of the night. An outbreak of corruption in Kurasaki Dojo. Civilian casualties, fires erupting block by block. And according to intel, the source wielded flames hot enough to melt reinforced steel.

  We all knew who it was before he said the name.

  “Shou Yamadera .”

  Takeshi hadn’t said a word since.

  We arrived to a city choking on smoke. The streets were empty except for flickering lights and the hum of flames devouring everything. The fire danced unnaturally controlled. This wasn’t chaos. It was precision.

  “This... This is his style,” Takeshi finally murmured. His eyes, normally full of reckless energy, were dull.

  “Shou’s doing this?” Haruto asked.

  Yuki stepped forward, her tone clipped but soft. “Your flames always burned to protect. His… don’t.”

  Takeshi didn’t answer.

  We moved in formation. Haruto used his water to clear a path; Yuki dropped the temperature with a wave of her hand to calm the heat distortion. Aika held the line behind us, prepared to stop falling rubble with her earth walls.

  I sparked with lightning at my fingertips, senses alert. Mina’s voice played softly in my earpiece, her echolocation guiding us from the command room.

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  “Three hostiles. One central heat signature. It’s… angry.”

  I nodded. “Got it. Moving in.”

  Shou stood in the center of the destruction, fire coiling around him like a serpent. His red hair had grown longer, his body covered in soot and burn scars. But it was his eyes that hit Takeshi the hardest.

  Empty. Hollow.

  “Yo,” Shou said, almost playfully. “Been a while, buddy.” Takeshi stepped forward.

  “Why?” Shou laughed. “You left me, remember? When your powers awoke… they said I wasn’t good enough. So I burned. I burned until they noticed me.”

  Fire erupted in a spiral, forcing us to scatter. Yuki slid across ice, catching Takeshi before the flames hit. “Focus!” she snapped.

  “This isn’t the time to drown in guilt.” “I can’t fight him!” Takeshi shouted. “He was like my brother!” “You’re not fighting him,” Yuki said, frost gathering at her fingertips.

  “You’re saving him.

  ”Their eyes locked. Something passed between them—anger, understanding, and something warmer. I gritted my teeth and leapt forward, lightning surging down my arm.

  “We’ll hold him. Just wake him up, Takeshi.”

  We fought in unison—ice slowing the flames, water dousing hot spots, earth shielding us. Aika stayed close to Haruto, bruised but determined. I could see how he looked at her, always watching her back, always a second too late to say what he felt.

  Takeshi stood motionless.

  Shou unleashed a torrent of green fire, screaming. “YOU LEFT ME!” And finally, Takeshi moved. His flames met Shou’s midair, clashing like dragons. For a moment, it felt like the city paused—watching two brothers burn through the lies.

  “I never wanted to leave you behind!” Takeshi roared. “But I won’t let you keep hurting people!

  ”Shou staggered. “You think you’re better?!”

  “No,” Takeshi whispered, tears mixing with ash. “I just never stopped caring for you.”

  “ You‘re like a brother to me!” Shou stood there quietly. Yuki appeared behind him, hand on his shoulder.

  “Then show him.”

  With her ice and his fire, they created steam—cleansing and soft. Takeshi stepped through the mist and landed a single punch. Shou collapsed. The corruption hissed, like a demon exorcised.

  His flames died.

  After the mission, we sat on the rooftop as dawn broke over a scarred skyline. Yuki handed Takeshi a water bottle and sat beside him, her icy exterior softened.

  “Don’t ever freeze up like that again,” she said.

  “You’re an idiot, but... you’re our idiot.” Takeshi smirked. “You care.”

  “Shut up.” They didn’t touch. But their shoulders brushed. That was enough to say how much they cared .

  Mina’s voice crackled over the comms. “Everyone okay?”

  I looked at my team—burned, exhausted, but alive. “We’re still standing.”

  And we were.

  Even if the world kept burning.