Towards a Devil

"I'm not proud of who I was, very few people are. When you're young you don't see the bigger picture, the world is just the little bubble around you." Frank says, wiping his nose on the back of his hand as he sighs.

Nodding Atlas didn't say anything. Interested in just listening. It was his dimension so he knew what was going on, he knew that Hoshi was outside.

The boy had let his back slide down the wall as he sat down just outside of the door. Keenly listening in on what Frank was saying, every time his parent's names were mentioned he relaxed or tensed. Clear emotions ran through him with each passing word.

This must have been the first time he heard about their past.

Turning his attention back to Frank Atlas finally spoke up, "I mean, I can see where you were coming from but that doesn't mean that I agree with it. What happened next then?"

--- 1984 ---

Sitting on the grass next to a building Frank stared at Stacy and Hikaru who were sparing in the distance. They clearly weren't trying to learn anything, he was just using it as an excuse to talk with her and get all handsy as he showed her how to stand.

Glaring at the other boy, the cause of all of his problems he couldn't help but feel defeated.

It had been months and he still wasn't able to say sorry to Stacy… he just didn't feel that he was wrong. She should be, after all the help he had given her before they came here she should be the one to say sorry to him. She should be apologizing for just leaving him.

She didn't even try to talk to him anymore that much… His Japanese wasn't good enough to hold a proper conversation with any other student so he just… didn't try.

He had never felt so lonely.

Picking at the grass by his feet he couldn't help but feel his energy start to leak out, the grass singing along the edges. Small wisps of smoke rising from the coiling blades.

Hearing footsteps coming from in front of him he looked up to see Hikaru looking at him. "You alright. Your technique is searing the wood so it would be best if you were going to practice… do it away from the buildings."

Staring up at Hikaru, Frank wanted to do nothing more but ignore him and burn the building down. He was this close, he just wanted to punch that fucking blank face of the boy.

He wasn't even trying to be friendly anymore! At least he had acted nice at the start but since Stacy stopped caring about Frank, Hikaru didn't need to pretend to be nice either he guessed.

Standing up he didn't say anything, responding in English would just validate the prick that had learned the language and responding in Japanese would just embarrass him.

Marching off to another yard Frank slowly faded from sight before smoke started to rise into the sky… the air rippling in the distance from the ambient heat.

Looking at it Hikaru sighed as he approached Stacy, his face morphing into one of annoyance. "What is his problem? Like really, he does nothing but cause problems for himself."

"He's… He's just upset that I have friends now apparently." Stacy said, her foot kicking back and forth as she looked at the grass by her feet. Her hands dropped limply into her pockets as she shook her head.

Seeing this Hikaru smiled a bit, his eyes saddening as he said. "It's alright Stacy, It's nothing you need to feel guilty for, his attitude is causing him problems. Not you."

Responding with a sigh she looked up a him and started to say, "I know but you know, he's my friend. And I said some mean things-"

"You didn't say anything wrong. He snapped at you, you know that, you know that he is the one that should say sorry for what HE said. Yes, he helped you in the past, and that was good of him. And it shows his true character in a way. But just because he did something good doesn't mean that he deserves you to put up with his shit for the rest of your life. I am sure he will come around." Hikaru interrupted as he looked over at the other yard again.

Staring at the yard as well Stacy could start to feel the heat from here. It was actually a bit insane. "At least he is motivated again…" She sighed as she turned back to Hikaru. "We should get back to practising too."

"You know bulls are my favourite animal but bullheaded people like Frank aren't cool at all," Hikaru says.

Raising an eyebrow Stacy says, "Is that right?"

"Yeah…" Hikaru says with an awkward nod.

---

The world was ablaze around him. The coiling flames moved like dancing devils and the air shimmered and crackled with the intense heat that burned the grass to ash and heated the dirt to the point that it glew red even under the intense sun.

Screaming Frank pushed himself to the edge, he needed it to be hotter. He needed to control it. He needed to be able to make this blaze burn everything, he would go to the edge of what he thought possible. He would go beyond what he thought he could do.

Hot wasn't good enough anymore.

Collapsing to his knees the surrounding heat vanished, the glowing dirt rapidly cooling as he panted, his chest heaving with effort. Each breath of his sent tongues of fire licking from the corner of his lips, his torso glowing a dull red as his veins shone against his skin with a firey light. Each rib was a shadow against his blazing chest.

Looking up he saw Stacy and Hikaru on the edge of the yard looking in shock and concern. A gloating smile appeared on his face as he sat on the ground and stretched his legs out in front of him.

He could still feel the heat pulsating off his skin, the remaining remnants of his technique lingering under his skin with his cursed energy.

It felt amazing. He felt stronger than he ever had before. The desolation of this yard was proof of his power. Was evidence of his effort. The ground was scorched, dirt and mud baked to a solid cracked layer across the entire yard.

This was his training space, and no one else would use it. And in his isolation, he was determined to find strength.

It has also helped him clear his head over the past couple of months. Their first year was coming to an end. And with it, a lot of the tension between the 3 third-years was fading.

Honestly, he was feeling bad about what he said to Stacy, he always had. He was still bitter don't get him wrong. But she shouldn't be the target of his anger. Hikaru was. It was his fault that any of this happened in the first place.

Seeing them start to approach he stood up and dusted his chest off, getting rid of the flakes of dirt that clung to the sweat on his skin.

It was surprising that despite all the heat he still sweat and his clothes didn't burn. The immediate area around him was immune to the heat he made as if a film of his energy protected it. He wondered if he could give it to others?

"Are you alright?" Stacy asked, her voice somewhat hesitant. Staring at him with a mixture of shock and confusion as she watched his glowing veins and heart slowly cool down. The light faded until he looked normal once again.

His physique was a lot more toned than she remembered, while he was still lanky but he wasn't so… scrawny anymore.

Smiling Frank said, "Yeah, I'm alright. Help me up Hikaru will you?" As he held his hand out towards the other boy as he showed a bit of confusion. Frank didn't smile that much anymore.

Reaching forward and not thinking about it too much he just grabbed Frank's hand but before he could even pull him up he recoiled as a sudden pain shot through his hand. Staring at his palm he looked at it as it was already starting to blister.

"Ow! What the fuck man!" Hikaru said as he pulled his hand back. Stacy looked back and forth between them shocked but before she could yell at Frank he spoke up.

"Sorry, just wanted to get back at you a bit. I won't do it again." His smile didn't fade one bit as he pushed himself to his feet. Seeing them both back away a step he laughed as he started walking towards the river that flowed past the school so he could cool down.

"Oh don't worry. I just hate his guts right now." Frank said, his oddly merry mood confusing the duo as they looked at each other and then back at their classmate who was walking away.

Shaking her head in a mixture of confusion and shock she grabbed Hikaru's wrist and pulled it towards her saying, "Come on let me see. Let's go to the first aid room… some bandages and salve will make it feel better." Her eyes showed sympathy and annoyance, being careful not to hurt it anymore.

Turning around Frank saw this and shook his head. Damn, he hated that… oh well, it wasn't his place to get in the way of Stacy's life. Sure he was jealous, really jealous. But he would rather be her friend than just push her away because he couldn't have what he wanted.

And he was an idiot for doing that before.

Still hated Hikaru's guts though.

Getting to the river he jumped in. Feeling the cool water instantly soothed the heat that leaked from his body. The sizzling of water against his skin resulted in a puff of steam that quickly dispersed before he had even fully submerged himself.

Crawling from the water he lay on the grass and just stared at the sky.

"Things are just a bit brighter aren't they?" Frank muttered to himself, a smile really and truly spreading across his lips for the first time in forever.

--- Current ---

"I guess that in the end I just… when I found that strength, that heat. That power that I always thought I had, validated my sense of self. It let me look at things more objectively." Frank explained, "I was able to quickly become friends with Stacy again, and soon me and Hikaru were not so… aggressive towards each other."

"Really? Hikaru doesn't sound like a bad guy at all from what you have said." Atlas questioned as he smirked slightly.

"Oh trust me, if I had more time you would realize he was just as bad as I was… he used his technique more than once to make it hard for me to even get around school. If it wasn't for Stacy we probably would have killed each other." Frank admits, a fond smile on his face as he remembers his friend.

"Although back to what happened, now that you have context… maybe too much. But you asked so… anyway." Frank interrupted whatever thoughts he was having. "This is when things started to change. We were maybe a month, probably even less, away from the end of our first year. We received a mission, a hard one. But me and Hikaru who were praised as the most talented students in a long time were told that we would be able to handle it."

Watching Atlas saw Frank's posture start to… fall, his shoulders slumping again as his eyes grew. Cold. "They buttered up our egos with praise and told us that as third-years and the strongest students in the school. We could take on this suspected special grade. Of course, as young boys who hated each other, neither wanted to admit defeat… although deep down I think we knew it was a bad idea." Frank started to reveal.

"Me and Stacy had always faced… prejudice," Frank said, taking a moment to find the right word, "for not being Japanese. The Higher-Ups had started to view me as less of a potential sorcerer and more of an upstart since I didn't even know Japanese and was steadily becoming stronger than Hikaru who was their most talented student in a long time." With his eyes clouding in old resentment he finished with. "They wanted me gone..."

--- 1984 ---

"In the end, we believe that you are the best choice for this mission. Most of the Sorcerers are already busy and away on missions. We need you to help before countless lives are lost." Gakuganji, their principal said to them. Both Hikaru and Stacy nodded their heads.

Realizing something Stacy turned to Frank and translated, getting a glare from the principal as she did so. One that only Hikaru noticed. He knew that the principal never liked them both, especially Frank since he had given up on learning Japanese.

Being ready to translate for Frank now Stacy moved her chair back a bit so that she was next to him, since there were only two chairs available Frank had been made to stand behind them both. Something they thought nothing of.

Clearing his throat Gakuganji continued. "The spirit may be special-grade but we don't think that is the case. The possibility is low, but it is there." He revealed before moving on. "You will be leaving in half an hour, it is in the industrial area to the north of Tokyo. We suspect that it has something to do with fire and heat. Hence Frank is our first pick as he is almost immune to anything hot now." Gakuganji says, motioning to the smug-looking boy who had just received the reluctant translation from Stacy.

"Don't let it fuel your ego too much," Stacy added as she glared at her friend.

Smirking he said, "My fires already burning too hot already. I don't need any more fuel."

Cringing at the comment Hikaru ignored the bickering as he got the rest of the details. Being praised for being the reasonable one in their year level.

With the last information exchanged and them being told that a ride would be waiting for them outside the campus when they were ready they all left the office. Just as he was about to walk through the door however Hikaru heard his name be called out.

Turning to look at Gakuganji he asked, "sir?" waiting for whatever it was the principal had to say. Seeing the hesitance on the man's face he tilted an odd sense of foreboding welled in his gut.

"Thank you, for your sacrifice," Gakuganji said, his voice low and quiet.

Smiling as he thought nothing of it at the time Hikaru responded confidently. "Don't worry sir, even if it is a special grade I will make sure we all come back."

Turning he walked away leaving Gakuganji alone in his office. Looking out of the window his eyes saddened. He thought that the Higher-Ups were being too harsh. Yes, Hikaru had changed since he started spending more time with Stacy, but he wasn't betraying them… he shouldn't be involved in this, but orders were orders, and he would follow them.

Catching up to his friend and Frank, Hikaru tuned in on their bickering telling the two to settle down. Excited to prove himself on this mission. The words of Gakuganji played in his head however, something about it just wasn't… right. Sacrifice, that word was too serious for what he was doing right?

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind he just continued to the car with his classmates. Everything would be alright, he would make sure they all came back alive.

Rubbing the palm of his hand as it still hurt from the somewhat fresh burn he wished that they had someone who could use the reverse curse technique externally. But they didn't, he would be fine though.