Chapter Text
Fire Temple, 2011
I watched Kai leave, a sense of betrayal and resigned acceptance radiating in me. I knew I wasn’t important enough to be chosen above the fangblade, but I had thought we were friends, buddies, part of the same team. It hurt and not just emotionally, either. The rock I was on was about to go fully into the lava, and I would be gone, leaving only Kai to know the full truth. I felt a bit of lava hit the rock and I blacked out. The last thing I remember was a light green shade emitting from the spot from where I was.
….
I opened my eyes blearily, seeing two figures pick me up, whispering to each other. I couldn’t make out what they’re saying, but it was clear they were here to help me. I struggled to keep my eyes open. I just wanted to rest. Yes, rest sounded good. My skin was hurting and rest seemed like the only thing that could help. I closed my eyes and darkness overtook me once more.
….
I opened my eyes and sat up. I was on a couch, covered by a blanket, and a pillow where my head would have been. On my knees was a girl about my age. I backed up and tried to get away, but a pain in my side stopped me. I groaned. The girl was just staring at me intensely. Then she spoke. “What’s your name? My parents found you near the Fire Temple. What were you doing near a volcano? Why do you have burn marks? Were you inside,” she asked, speaking a mile a minute. I opened my mouth to respond, only to find I couldn’t. My voice wouldn’t work. I closed my mouth, unsure how I would communicate. The girl stared at me. “What’s wrong? Can’t you speak,” she asked softly. I shook my head and the girl’s eyes widened. She ran into another room and got a couple I assumed were her parents. They began asking me questions and I couldn’t answer a single one. They called the doctor and he looked at me and decided that I had damaged my vocal cords in the incident. The police interviewed me but couldn’t determine what had happened to me. Eventually, they dropped the case.
The girl’s parents took me to this old mysterious lady who gave me potions to drink to help me get better. And while they healed the burn scars, they couldn’t heal my voice. One day, while the girl was playing with me, her parents came home, having signed some papers that legally made me part of their family. They had taken to calling me Kazuki, not knowing my real name. They had also used their last name as my own. That was the day I ventured to ask the girl her name. “Harumi,” she said. My name’s Harumi.”