Chapter 26: — “The Fire in the Distance”

Mika fell into step beside Riku as the bell rang and students spilled into the streets.

“Riku… can I go with Sakura and Miyuki for a bit?” she asked, her voice quiet, almost hesitant.

Riku froze. He glanced at her, then down the street.

He could feel the weight of what happened during the death game pressing on him again.

Every instinct screamed caution.

He didn’t answer right away.

Mika shifted, nervously fiddling with her bag straps.

Finally, he spoke, voice low. “Mika… you can go, but only if Sakura and Miyuki promise me something.”

Her brow furrowed. “What is it?”

“That they protect you. At all costs,” he said, his eyes locking onto hers.

Mika blinked. Relief washed over her face, but there was also a flash of worry.

“They’ll do it,” she said softly.

Riku nodded slowly, satisfied for the moment, but he didn’t relax. Not yet.

He turned to the girls, who had been lingering a few steps behind.

“This isn’t a joke,” he said firmly. “Mika is not to be harmed. Under any circumstances. Do you understand?”

Sakura and Miyuki’s expressions hardened. They both nodded, almost in unison.

“Yes,” Miyuki said, her tone sharper than usual. “We won’t let anything happen.”

Riku’s eyes lingered on them for a moment, making sure the promise was serious.

“Good,” he said finally, stepping aside so Mika could walk with them.

She gave him a small, grateful smile and fell into step with Sakura and Miyuki.

Riku turned to Kenji. “Ready to go?”

Kenji nodded, and they started walking home together, taking the long way through the quieter streets.

For a while, neither spoke. The soft shuffle of their shoes on the pavement was the only sound.

Riku kept scanning the streets, not fully at ease.

“Did anything weird happen in class today?” Kenji finally asked.

Riku shook his head. “No, just… tension. Everyone’s on edge. Including Mika. She’s… different now. You can see it if you look closely.”

Kenji smirked. “Understatement of the year.”

Riku couldn’t help the faint, tight laugh that escaped him. “Yeah. She’s… she’s trying to be normal. But it’s like there’s a storm behind her eyes.”

Kenji nodded, serious. “And we’re supposed to just… let her walk around like that?”

Riku stayed silent for a beat, thinking.

“We watch. Carefully. But we don’t overstep. Let the girls take care of her for now. They know what they’re doing.”

Kenji nodded again, but then frowned.

“Hold up,” he said, stopping abruptly. “I gotta pee.”

Riku turned to him, annoyed. “Go pee in a bush or something. Just get it over with.”

Kenji shook his head. “Nope. You’re coming with me.”

Riku’s face went red. “W-WHAT? I’m NOT standing next to you while you pee, idiot!”

Kenji crossed his arms, refusing to budge. “I said I’m not doing this alone. Come on.”

Riku groaned and stormed toward a nearby bench, muttering under his breath.

While Kenji crouched behind a tree, Riku’s eyes scanned the streets again.

And then he saw it.

A distant figure, barely visible, just past the next alley.

Red eyes glowed in the fading sunlight.

The heat seemed to ripple from it, warm but unnatural, almost like the air itself was bending around the presence.

Riku’s heart seized.

He stepped closer, instinctively drawn to it, eyes locked.

The figure shimmered.

Then vanished.

A sudden burst of fire lingered where it had been, the flames licking the air for a heartbeat before disappearing completely.

Riku stumbled back, breath coming fast.

“Kenji!” he yelled, panic edging his voice. “You… you won’t believe this!”

Kenji’s head popped up from behind the tree. “What? What happened?”

“I saw it. Red eyes… fire… it disappeared, but it was real!” Riku shouted.

Kenji blinks, then chuckles. “What? You’re messing with me, right?”

Riku grabs him by the shoulders, shaking him, voice cracking with fear. “I’m not kidding! I saw it! Heat, red eyes, flames! You don’t understand!”

Kenji’s laughter falters, replaced by disbelief. “Uh… Riku… calm down…”

“No! You don’t get it! You have to listen!” Riku screams, his heart hammering, eyes wide.

Kenji finally sees the intensity in Riku’s face, pure terror. The kind that doesn’t lie.

“W-What… no… no, no, no…” Kenji stammers, swallowing hard. “Okay… okay… we’re telling no one else. Not Mika, not the others. Only Mika’s witch sister. Agreed?”

Riku exhales shakily. “Akari is her name… but agreed. She’ll know what to do.”

After coming home, Riku entered Mika’s room to find Akari standing by the window, her posture tense and alert.

“Akari,” he said as he closed the door behind him, “something happened. Something… I don’t know how to explain.”

Akari turned from the window, her expression calm but alert.

“Start from the beginning,” she said.

Riku ran a hand through his hair, his voice tense. “While walking home, I saw… a figure. Red eyes. Heat… like it was radiating fire. Then, it vanished in flames. I thought I was imagining it, but Kenji, he wasn’t with me then. I don’t know what it is, but it wasn’t normal.”

Akari’s eyes narrowed. “Red eyes… fire?”

Riku swallowed hard. “I’m serious, Akari. I’ve never, nothing I’ve ever seen… it was terrifying. I don’t want Mika to know, or anyone else. They’d panic.”

Akari stepped closer, her tone firm. “Then we keep it secret. Just between us. Now tell me everything you saw, every detail.”

Riku exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. “It was distant at first. I could just make out the eyes, they glowed like coals. Then the air… it shimmered with heat. And then, fire. Like the world itself burned in that instant. It disappeared as fast as it came, but…” He clenched his fists. “I swear, Akari… it felt alive. Malicious.”

Akari’s gaze hardened. “That aligns with the prophecy.”

Riku blinked. “Prophecy?”

She turned toward him, voice low but unwavering. “Your mother… well, my mother and I. There’s a warning she left. About Mika and me. About you.”

Riku frowned. “What warning?”

Akari’s expression darkened. “‘The demon with crimson eyes will rise when the guardian falters. When the seventh flame burns, the hunter will be the hunted.’”

Riku’s heart thudded. “The… the demon you mean—”

“Yes,” Akari interrupted. “It’s what you saw. And it’s only going to get worse. That’s why we have to act now. I swear, Riku, I will hunt it down, and protect you at all cost.”

Riku nodded slowly, a mix of fear and relief washing over him. “Then we keep Mika out of this, for now. She doesn’t need to know… not yet.”

Akari’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Agreed. But we prepare. There’s no time to hesitate.”

Riku turned to leave, his mind still racing.

Akari stepped to the window, her eyes scanning the darkening streets outside. Her face was cold, determined, unyielding. The fire in the distance might have vanished for now, but she would not.