The Blue Fire Vigilante
Splashing water echoed through the tunnel as a woman ran, her eyes glowing bright blue and trained ahead. “Shit, shit, shit.” She mumbled, as she kept running, using all her speed to keep ahead of that thing. Her tail danced in the air as she moved, and her ears twitched. And suddenly, without warning her, body twitched and eyes widened and she dived forward, blue flames propelling her.
The wall next to where she was exploded, and from it emerged a beast a giant ghastly wolf head with a trail of fur behind it, floating in the air, it stared and snarled at the woman as she landed roughly and then immediately and spun around, locking eyes with it.
She then turned and ran, directly towards the light that could be seen at the end of the tunnel.
The beast roared as it dashed at her. It was faster, far faster. But as it reached close, the floor under the water a blue glow appeared, and suddenly, blue flames erupted, forcing the beast to stop as it roared in pain.
The woman looked back, before she turned her head back and continued running, making a mad dash to the now visible grating. As she got closer flames began to dance up her arm, and a roar echoed behind her, “Come on, come on, come on.” And then the flames grew and shifted, forming a ring around her palm as lines of flames busted from her hand, “THERE! STRIKE BLAZE!” And her palm hit the gratings and light filled the tunnel.
Just as the beast leapt on her with its gaping maw.
An explosion ripped through the sewer grating, and from the blaze a person flew out. Fire exploded from her palms, propelling her and making her land on the opposite side of the small channel they found themselves at.
She fell to her knee and began to pant, “A bit too close for my liking.” She mumbled bitterly, with a scowl on her face. Before her ears twitched and she looked up, and glared.
From the smoke it almost seemed to slither, emerging with its fur trail moving like tail. Oily black, colored with the filth of the world, hate, despair, madness, all of those things clung to it like white on rice. The worst part was the permeable feeling of hunger, filling the air around it, like it was about to consume anything and everything. Slowly it emerged from the cloud, all the while its eyes locked on the delectable morsel before it, its eyes burning with hunger and hate. From its mouth black drool dropped which burned slightly as it touched the ground.
“Fucking kid.” The girl growled, before she rose to her feet and held her hands out in front of her, as if she was holding a ball. In the center of the hands a flame formed and surged, growing until it danced out of grasp though the gaps between her fingers and hands. And then, at that moment she smashed them together and swung them apart. A line of flames formed, before it began to coalesce, taking the form of numerous spheres that hovered in front of her, “Will o’ Wisp, Magatama Formation!” She called out, as her and the beast continued their stare down.
Then it exploded into movement. The beast dashed though the air dashing along the water that separated them, and in the moment the girl threw one of her hands forward, and a ball of flame followed her command. The ball flew, but the beast was faster, dancing around it with a hunter’s instinct, only for other to be in its path the moment it moved. Unable to dodge, it took it head on, the ball exploding and burning away at it. But it did not care.
Roaring the beast kept moving, undeterred, and was on her in a flash, its fangs attempting to rip open her neck. And the girl reacted, her hands moved, directing the remaining flames to seek down the beast, to track it down. A few were able to strike at the beast, as she girl dove to the side doing flips to build extra distance. Once she landed, she swung her hand and sending the rest of the spheres at the beast, each one finding its mark after it was knocked away.
Swinging her hands to the side, she focused her flames, and two more spheres formed in her palms. And with a flick of her arms she threw them right at it. The beast saw it coming and moved, but the girl continued to let them lose, ball after ball, forming and being released again.
The beast evaded them all, moving in unpredictable patterns as the balls tried will all their might to catch it. That is, until two of them smashed into the water and exploded. The explosion of steam and flames blinded and scalded the beast, causing it to let loose a monstrous roar that rattled the ground, but it was in that moment a voice called out, “STRIKE CANNON!” and a blast was release, a combination of two forms of flame, a ball of fire, propelled from a burst from her palm. It was shot like cannonball, released from the girl’s now outstretched palm, seeking its target, the roar giving the girl the location.
The fireball hit, and a great explosion racked the channel, sending the beast flying back. However, the moment it landed it began to float back up again, shaking its head to clear itself of the confusion caused by the blast.
“HYAAAAA” the beast looked up, its eyes enraged, only to see the sight of the girl the sun at her back, blinding the beast. In the air the girl roared, her hand glowing with flames, the same ones she used to break open the grate, while lightning and light surged around it, emanating from a talisman stuck to her forearm.
And then she struck “STRIKE BLAZE!” the fist. And the flames exploded in a spiraling wave, swallowing the beast. The beast roared in pain, a hallowing scream, and suddenly it stopped. The girl landed, panting heavily as the hurried to rip the talisman off her arm, proceeding to crumple it and throwing it onto the ground, where it slowly began to burn up into ash. She took a moment to cradle her arm, rubbing it a bit, and take a breath, before she looked to where the beast once was.
But now there was only a boy, a small child, no older than 5, “Well, let’s get you home. Before someone shows up.” She muttered bitterly, before picking up the child, grimacing slightly as she had to use her right arm.
And with the boy in her arm, she ran into the city, away from the sound of sirens that began to be heard.
“Thank you so much” A woman spoke, bowing to the girl as she let herself be sprawled over a couch, taking deep breaths and letting her eyes close. “I am so sorry you had to clean this up.” The woman told her, the regret obvious in her voice.
“It’s-“ Pant “-alright-” pant “-don’t-” pant “-worry about it.” Her exhaustion was apparent; as she let out a groan as she let her head fall backward after a moment of silence. “Man that kid was strong, what have you been feeding him?” She was able to make out, seeming finally having caught her breath.
“It’s my fault; I did not take the proper precautions, if I had only done something…” The woman told her, her eyes slightly moist.
The girl looked at her, for a moment, before a look of realization crossed her features. “He, your husband, he doesn’t know.” It wasn’t a question, but it was confirmed when the woman looked down in shame. “You didn’t even tell him his kid isn’t human, do you know how dangerous that was?!” Her tail was swaying erratically now.
There was anger in her voice, but there was also disappointment. The silence the woman had in response only increased her ire more. “I swear to…” she grumbled, before sitting up and letting her head fall into her palms.
Silence filled the room for a few moments before the girl took her hand away from her face and patted her knees, getting up from her sitting position. “You’re going to tell him, when he gets back from work. You’re going to tell him and work things out. You’re going to explain your feelings; you’re going to explain what you had to go though, what you had to overcome. And then you’re going to apologize. Every day, you’re going to apologize. If he truly loves you, then it shouldn’t matter in the end.”
She said all this as she walked up to a picture, it was a man and woman, dressed up, and standing next to one another. It was a marriage photo. They looked so happy. As she looked at it the girl’s eyes softened, her tail became more subdued in its movements, and eventually she sighed.
“It will be fine. If… if he won’t listen, tell him to talk to me. I will fix him straight. My mom had nine… so I know what it can be like, I guess” She said softly, “Don’t worry too much.” Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small talisman, a charm, like one would put on their backpack, “Here, this should help subdue his urges, but it won’t work forever, the sooner you teach him to control it, the better.”
The woman took it, looking at it before grasping it between her hands, like it was something of unimaginable value. “T-thank you.” She was crying, the tears flowing down her eyes. “Thank you so much Miss Nanashi. I won’t forget this. Thank you.”
The girl, Nanashi, looked uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot, and scratching the back of her head, a slight blush on her face. “I-its fine, don’t worry about it.” She told her, “I would do it for anyone, so, don’t harp on it.” She turned away and began to leave.
As she began to open the door, the woman called out again, “Please, if you ever need anything, anything, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Nanashi looked like she wanted to say something, but she bit her lips and nodded. “Got it, I will see you around.” And with that, the girl left, into the city, leaving behind a crying but smiling woman, who was slowly stroking the hair of the sleeping boy.
