Fires at Icy Midnight

Band: The Guzmania&Acme (ex.DIV) with Moran, heidi., Kalafina, Nightmare, Ganglion and Band-Maid in the background

Pairing: Chobi&Chisa with Ivy&Vivi in the background

Rating: 17+

Genre: romance, fantasy, AU

Series: "Fires at Icy Midnight"

Warnings: magic, violence

Notka autorska: "Fairies, according to legends, are small, cute creatures, who live among the trees, drink nectar from flowers and fly on bumble-bees. When people think about fairies, the last thing they think of are strict rules about mixed offsprings and magic controled by them."

Fairies, according to legends, are small, cute creatures, who live among the trees, drink nectar from flowers and fly on bumble-bees. When people think about fairies, the last thing they think of are strict rules about mixed offsprings and magic controled by them.

There are four original magic elements - water, fire, earth and air. Fairies controling them have butterfly wings and wands with a rose and a diamond. Every element has its colour - water is navy, fire is red, earth is green and air is violet. Fairies have wings, wands and clothes in all of shades of them.

And then we have their mixed offsprings.

Every offspring has wings of a moth and wand with its glass counterpart. Water makes mist with fire, mud with earth and ice with air. Fire and earth are lava, fire and air are light, but earth and air make its opposite element - darkness. When all elements mix, a pixie is born - a fairy without wings, who uses offsprings' wand.

Offsprings aren't liked in society, like always. But light fairies are glorified and spoiled. Light magic is considered as sacred and that's why light fairies are the only offsprings with butterfly wings and rosie wands.

It was one problem with offsprings. Ice, lava and darkness fairies rarely control their powers, so everytime, when something happens, they're sent to the watch centre. It usually works out and after a year of living here, a fairy comes back to the good side of spreading shining dust around.

But sometimes there are fairies who are bullied by other over and over lose control constantly...

I'm an ice fairy. I've spent almost all my life in the watch centre. I can't control my powers for longer than a week. And Ryu, the darkness fairy, is the main reason for that. He loves torturing me.

I jumped from one branch to another and sat down on a leaf. I saw other villagers behind a fence, spending happily their time in park. I was surprised, when I noticed that a representative of almost every element in our small community was there.

Siblings - Chobi and Meiko from the fire clan and Kiri from the air clan. By the way, these two clans were replacing each other on the throne all the time.

Another siblings - Jin and Ivy from the earth clan.

And finally Saiki from the water clan.

There were some mixed offsprings too. The light fairy Hikaru, the mist fairy Akane, the mud fairy Yoshihiko... Oh, and even the lava fairy Vivi and the pixie Ni~ya.

And me, the ice fairy Chisa, hiding behind a fence and watching longingly those, who are free. Just like some butterfly dreaming about flying.

* * *

I left the Watch Centre, folding and unfolding a belt attached to my bag. I could leave, but for how long? Three days? Three hours? I'm going to return there and watch the world through the fence again.

I don't know life outside the Watch Centre. I don't know life in peace. I don't know, how it is to be free.

Suddenly something fell to my feet. I looked at this.

"Chestnut?" I was surprised, picking up the chestnut.

It was immediately covered in frost.

I dropped it. I have to calm down. I can't lose control again. I left the Watch Centre only about three minutes ago!

"Hey~!" I heard and I looked up.

Oh, right. Chobi from the fire clan. He's nice to everyone and probably likes everyone too. Even if he doesn't know them.

Like me.

"Hi" I replied and I felt that the strap of my bag is freezing.

"Oh, my chestnut" Chobi picked it up, but it slipped out of his hands and fell on his foot. "Ouch...

"I'm sorry" I said. "I think I froze your chestnut..."

"No, you just frosted it a little" Chobi smiled brightly and burned the chestnut, which caused it to thaw. "What's your name? I'm Chobi."

"Chisa" I replied.

"Are you going home from the Watch Centre?" asked Chobi, following me.

Go away. Talking to me won't end well for you.

"Yeah" I nodded and he was still following me with his chestnut.

"I rarely see you" Chobi was still talking. "You know, I know everyone. Hotaka is your brother, right? I often see him, when he's going mushroom picking. But he goes there earlier. He's nice, it's a good boy. Is an age gap between you big?"

"Three years" I replied.

"I have a sister, Meiko. But she's three years younger, not older" Chobi smiled slightly.

Oh, so you think that Hotaka is older? Not first time in my life.

"We're going fishing with Ivy. Do you want to go with us?" asked Chobi and I just sighed.

"I can go" I said quietly and followed Chobi to the riverside.

* * *

"Gotch ya!" Ivy lunged at the zander, which immediately knocked it off its back. "Or not. I'll catch another one!"

"Wouldn't it be easier for you with vines?" asked Chobi, creating a bow and an arrow from the flames that pierced the fence.

The fish fell back into the water with a loud splash.

"I made a bet with Vivi that I can do it without it" replied Ivy, grabbing the perch by the tail and letting it drag him for a while.

I was sitting at the riverside and just looking at them. I didn't want to use my strengh or powers or to invest my emotions in this duel.

"Chisa, watch out!" called me Chobi suddenly and I looked up.

A large fish, probably a pike, jumped out of the water and flew straight towards me.

Shhuush. Icicles cut through the air and pierced the fish and nearby trees, cutting down flowers and cutting grass within a radius of several meters.

The fish fell with a thud right in front of my feet, its blood staining our clothes and the river water.

"Awesome" whispered Ivy, holding a bass, who tried to break free from the trap. "We're going to have a party tonight!"

"This pike is going to feed us for a good week" said Chobi, approaching the carcass. "We need to call a few more people, because we can't carry this huge fish on our own."

"I'm sorry, I got scared..." I mumbled under my breath.

"What? No, it's amazing!" exclaimed Chobi, patting my shoulder. "Good job, Chisa. Come with me, we need help. Ivy, kill this fish already, it's getting tired."

"Can't I make it my pet? I would feed it worms" said Ivy, making Chobi laugh.

"If you want it as a pet, I don't care, but I don't know, what would your parents say."

"Mum won't let me, fish are too slimy..."

"You answered your own question" Chobi grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a village. "And now watch these fish or some bear will eat them!"

Ivy nodded.

And I thought that if not Chobi's call, this fish would crash me...

* * *

I sat at the end of the table covered with dishes from the fish we had caught and listened to the happy conversations and watched the emerging romances.

I looked at Ryu, who had been watching me the whole time.

Despite his origins, he was never sent to a control center.

Never.

I felt the cutlery freeze. I thought about it immediately.

I can't let it happen. Calm down, Chisa.

"Are you okay?" asked my mum, looking at me in worry.

I nodded. She had such beautiful, navy wings. Dad had violet ones.

I sighed.

"I have to relax, I'll be fine" I announced, getting up from the table.

Hotaka looked at me, a little worried, but then I noticed that he started to eat my food, which I barely touched.

I leaned against a tree and the bark froze instantly. Chisa, for fuck's sake! Control yourself! This psychopath just looked at you!

"What happened, Chisa?" I heard next to my ear, which made me freeze grass around me. "Whoops?"

I looked at Ryu. He was petting frozen grass, breaking it.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"To get rid of you once again" explained Ryu calmly. "What are you looking at, Chisa? Are you are afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid of you" I replied, although the crackling of the slowly freezing forest denied this. "I just don't like your company."

"That's rude of you to say that" said Ryu. "Very rude."

He grabbed my shoulder and pinned me to the tree. Frost covered his hand.

"You're very naughty, Chisa" Ryu chucked. "I have to tell autorities, what you're doing."

"Hey, leave him alone!" I heard Chobi's voice, who just ran to us, breaking grass on his way. "Let him go."

"Of course" Ryu took his hand off my shoulder. "I wanted to go anyway."

And he flew away, leaving us alone.

"Are you okay?" asked Chobi, walking to me. "Chisa?"

He grabbed my wrist.

"Don't touch me!" I jumped off him like he burned me, but his hand was covered in frost anyway. "I can't control my powers, I don't know, how to do it."

"It's normal, you're so young, kids..."

"I'm seventeen, Chobi."

He was silent for a moment.

"Seventeen?" repeated Chobi after a while. "You said that Hotaka..."

"That there is an age gap of three years between us. But I'm the older one" I corrected.

Chobi looked at me like I've just told him that we can't fly on swallows.

"Awesome" Chobi laughed. "So we haven't met for past 17 years?"

"Yeah."

"How?" asked Chobi. "How is that even possible?"

"You see? I told you, everything is frozen" Ryu returned with two employees from the watch centre.

"It was your fault, I saw that!" yelled Chobi.

"Children are too loyal to their friends" Ryu smiled maliciously and the watch centre guards grabbed my shoulders.

"I don't want to come back" I cried.

"You have to control your powers first. You won't have to then" replied one man.

"Hey, leave him alone! It's not his fault!" shouted Chobi, but no one listened to him.

And I felt that someting stung my shoulder and fainted...

* * *

I was laying on the bed, drawing in my sketchbook. I've survived outside of the Watch Centre just almost a day. I knew that it's going to be like this.

I heard knocking on the door.

"Come in" I said.

Vivi stood in the treshold, vissibly not pleased because of this situation.

"Hi" he said, closing the door behind him.

"Hey. Have you lost control too?" I was shocked.

Vivi has been in the watch centre once. A long time ago, when we were still children.

"Ivy got mad" started Vivi, sitting on the chair. "I mean, when they took you. Chobi told him, what Ryu has done. I was angry too and then I tried to stop Ivy from fighting with the watch centre's security, but I failed. They knocked Ivy out and I... I lost control, because I was worried about him."

"I see" I nodded, not stopping my drawing. "But you can lose control once a few years."

"You're right" Vivi smiled slightly. "But I'm glad that things turned out like this. Now I can ask you some questions."

"What questions?" I didn't understand, what he's talking about.

"Does Ryu always bring you here?" he asked and I nodded. "Since when?"

"Since I was four" I replied. "He hit my face with sand, when we were sitting in the sandbox. He loved guards taking me to the watch centre so much that I was outside for, I think..."

I thought for a moment.

"Don't tell me that you don't leave this place at all..." Vivi opened his eyes wide.

"Summing this up..." I took a piece of paper and a pen, then I counted days of freedom. "Twenty nine days."

"In one year?"

"Since I was sent there for the first time" I smiled sarcastically and put the paper away.

Vivi looked defeated.

"You're kidding me..."

"No" I shook my head. "Since thirteen years they're keep putting me here and, to be honest, I can control my powers less and less, because..."

"You're so scared that you're going to be sent here that you lose control again" Vivi finished my thoughts. "That's why Hotaka was here only once. It's not genes' fault, but this psycho's."

I nodded and then I heard knocking on the door.

"Come in."

"It's dinner time" announced Hikaru, who worked there. "Oh, Vivi. You're here. So I don't have to visit your room."

"We'll be here in one minute" said Vivi.

I walked to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"What I've just told is a secret, okay?" I looked at him firmly.

"But..."

"I don't want anyone to pity me" I explained. "Don't tell anyone. Please."

Vivi fell silent. I didn't know, how to interpret this...

* * *

Several days later I sat under the fence and started drawing again. Suddenly I felt that something stung me through the net. I turned around abruptly and saw Chobi.

By the way, the fence was now covered with frost...

"Oh, sorry..." Chobi stepped back from the fence. "You won't have problems because of this, will you?"

"Not here" I replied. "Why are you here?"

"Don't be mean, I came here for you" Chobi puffed his cheeks a little. "Vivi told us about your situation."

"I told him not to do it!"

"But he told us. And it’s good that he did" Chobi knelt next to fthe ence and sat down on his heels. "Chisa, you spent only twenty nine days free, since this psycho started bullyomg you!"

"And what are you going to do? No one believes me, everyone likes him" I sighed.

"I thought that I can at least show you, how it is" he said.

"What do you mean?"

"I can come here and talk to you" he explained. "They shouldn't forbid us to do it, right?"

"Until I lose control, it's fine" I replied.

Chobi smiled brightly.

* * *

Chobi and Ivy were meeting with us everyday. They've been giving us sweets, talking with us, telling jokes and playing games. The fence was the only thing, which prevented us from touching them. And I wanted to do it more and more. But I knew that if someone saw us, they would lock me in my room.

And then a whole year has passed. They let me and Vivi go the same day. Ivy and Chobi waited for us.

"Do you want to go to the riverside?" asked Ivy.

"Tomorrow. Today I want to spend time with my family" replied Vivi.

"Of course" Ivy embraced Vivi with his arm. "I'll walk you home, my lava girl."

"I'm not a girl, Ivy."

"But you're sweet."

"Ivy!"

I laughed and looked at Chobi. He was smiling like always.

"Should I walk you home?" he asked.

"If you want to..." I replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

Chobi led me to my home. I thanked him, we said our byes and I walked inside. I welcomed my family, we had a dinner, then we sat down in front of the fireplace, where we ate cake, which my mum baked specially for my return.

I went to my room. I used to be here so rarely that almost nothing changed since I was a kid. Besides my bed.

I finished a book I started reading in the watch centre already, I ate supper with my family, played some games with Hotaka and went to sleep.

It was nice to sleep in my own bed. But I knew that it was a matter of time until Ryu was going to take this from me again...

* * *

The next day we went to the riverside. Ivy pulled out a fishing rod and sat down with Vivi closer to the shore. I prefered not to touch the water.

"Something happened, Chisa?" asked Chobi, sitting next to me. "Don't you want join them?"

"I don't want to risk freezing the water" I explained.

"Don't panic" Chobi sighed. "When was the last time you had lost control?"

"Yesterday, when I was brushing my teeth" I replied, making Chobi blink. "I'm a hopeless case. I'm stressing out because of my reflection.in the mirror"

"I don't even know, what to say" said Chobi.

We were just sitting there and staring at flowing water. Suddenly we heard Ivy's happy voice.

"Yeah, I caught you, little fish!" he shouted, pulling fishing rod to himself. "Vivi, help me, this fish is stubborn as hell."

Vivi grabbed the fishing rod with Ivy, but this fish was too strong. Chobi ran to help them and then...

SHOOST.

Fish pulled everyone underwater. And pixies are the only fairies, who can swim, so...

"No!" I screamed, jumping on my feet.

Grass around me froze within a radius of about half a meter. I ran towards the river, freezing everything around, and ran into the river, but I didn't even get wet.

Surface was already covered with ice.

"Chobi! Vivi! Ivy!" I tried to find them, but I couldn't.

Only after a while I saw Chobi's red clothes. I fell to my knees and melted the ice there, then I pulled everyone out.

The river froze completely after this and that's why ice didn't break under us.

* * *

"It was terrifying" said Ivy, holding a cup of hot tea in his hands.

We were at Chobi's place and parents of all three fairies practically knelt on the floor in front of me after we explained, what happened.

Even if I still was a little nervous and the armchair I was sitting in was covered with frost...

"You saved our sons" Chobi's mum looked at me gratefully. "I don't know, how to even thank you."

"Well, your mind was cool in such a stressing situation" said Ivy's dad.

"Don't even start with your silly puns again" Vivi's mum threatened him with her finger.

"They’re funny to me" Vivi's dad shrugged.

"Men and their sense of humour..." mumbled Ivy's mum.

"Who wants cake?" Chobi's dad walked into the room with a shortcake he just made.

"I just hope you didn't get in trouble because of us" said Chobi, staring at his cup.

"Why are you so worried about this?" asked his mum.

"He didn't control, what he was doing" explained Vivi. "Well, he still can't control it..."

Everyone looked at the armchair I was sitting in.

"We won't say anything" promised Chobi's dad. "Nothing is going on, it's just frost. It'll melt."

"I could be worse, if Vivi were the one, who lost control" said Hotaka. "Then you wouldn’t be able to save this armchair."

"And floor" added Vivi's dad, making his wife nudge him in his ribs.

"Are you really going to keep this a secret?" asked my dad.

Everyone just nodded.

"Don't you dare even try backing out of it!" warned them my mum. "If you do, I'm going to flood this village!"

"Tsukiko" scolded her my dad.

After afternoon tea, we came back home. I went to sleep, hoping for a better future.

But like they say, hope is a mother of stupid people...

* * *

I was returning with Chobi from mushroom picking. Chobi proudly rolled a large porcino, I settled for a small chanterelle. And then none other than Ryu stood in our way.

"I heard about your heroic adventure yesterday, Chisa" he said calmly, walking towards us. "The whole village is praising you."

"Don't even walk closer" Chobi stood between me and him. "Get out. You can't stress him only because you like it!"

"Bullshit" Ryu grabbed his shirt and threw him away.

Confused Chobi fell on the ground and glared at Ryu, furious.

"Don't throw me like some bones for dogs!" he shouted, burning grass around him.

"Boring" said Ryu and in this moment everything faded to black.

"Chobi, get out from here!" I yelled and then I felt that Ryu punched my stomach.

I curled up and fell on the ground, then I grabbed Ryu's ankle.

"What the fuck are you doing, you ice freak?!" I heard his voice suddenly.

What have I done? I don't know, what. I didn't see anything.

...until the shadows disappeared.

Ryu was almost frozen. He stepped back and his frozen clothes were screeching, breaking like twigs. He couldn't move his left leg at all, after I grabbed it.

"You know what? On the other hand, it couldn't end better" Ryu smiled and ruffled his frosty hair.

"If you're going to call people from the watch centre..." Chobi wanted to punch him, but Ryu did it first.

"Then what? I can blame our little icicle for everything, so I can hurt you even more, you know?" Ryu laughed and flew away.

My powers didn't reach his wings.

"Chisa..." whispered Chobi, then he walked to me and hugged me. "He..."

"Step away!" I yelled, but Chobi didn't listen to me. "Being in my presence is dangerous! Ryu is going to kill you and blame me!"

"I don't care about it" said Chobi.

I pushed him away.

"You saw, what I had just done. Well, you see it all the time. I loose control everytime. I freeze furniture, chopsticks and plants, because I get scared over something trivial!"

"It's all because of him" said Chobi firmly. "It's his fault, not yours."

"I froze your armchair yesterday, because I was still stressed by the lake situation. I didn't notice you or Vivi making holes in floor and you were the ones, who almost died!"

"You're just sensitive, that's all."

"I'm a mixed offspring. You're a pure-blood."

"Vivi is an offspring too."

"But he can control himself! Do you really think I killed this fish, because I wanted to do it?!"

Chobi glared at me.

"You didn't?"

"No. I just wanted to protect myself. And I could've hurt you or Ivy. I didn't control it."

Chobi clenched his fists.

"I can't let him hurt you" I said. "I can't lose you."

"But if they lock you in the watch centre again, I’ll lose you" Chobi stomped his leg like some angry bunny. "And I don't want it!"

"Why?"

"I like you. Very much. Very, very much" explained Chobi. "And that's why I don't want you to return there. I want a normal life for you, not sitting behind the bars all the time."

"But I'm dangerous, why can't you understand that?!"

"Ryu is the dangerous one!"

"Really? So look around us and tell me that you feel safe."

Chobi looked around. He was staring at frozen plants and frosted trees. His porcino was completely frozen. My chanterelle too.

"You were scared. It's because of him."

"Were you scared too, Chobi?"

"Yes..."

"Exactly. And you're not burning forest right now" I sighed and moved away from Chobi, but he grabbed my hand.

"Chisa, there has to be something..."

"Don't touch me!"

Blood splashed over my face, arms, legs, clothes... I was looking in Chobi's wide open eyes. I was watching as he fell on the frozen ground, coughing with blood. He probably tried to understand, why icycles pierced him through and got stuck in a tree behind him. He also tried to call my name, but he couldn't do it and just stopped moving.

And I couldn't do anything, I couldn't even move, I just watched.

Until frightened guards from the Watch Centre didn't inject me with doubled sleeping potion.

* * *

I woke up in a cell...

Wait a minute.

I blinked. It really was a cell. I wasn't in the Watch Centre. I was in jail.

"Good afternoon" I heard someone's voice.

I got up. Guard was looking at me with an emotionless expression.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Light fairies revived your victim" he announced, opening the cell. "He's fine."

"Glad to hear it" I said, when the guard grabbed my shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"You're going to be executed. I want to watch" replied the guard, smiling maliciously.

He didn't even flinch, when I froze his hand.

So that's how I'm going to die.

I don't know, why, but I thought "Finally"...

* * *

I got tied to the trunk surrounded with dry twigs. Funny death for the ice fairy, right? As a total opposite to my powers.

Well, not exactly. They would have to pour lava on me.

"Chisa, the child of water and air, fairy of ice" I heard loud voice of the judge. "You're guilty of murdering Chobi, the child of fire, fairy of fire. Do you admit that you killed him with cold blood?"

I nodded. My mum fainted.

"Well, good night" said the judge and snapped his fingers at executor.

Executor walked to me, lit a flame on his finger and lit up the wood.

I closed my eyes. This is going to hurt. But at least I can finally rest, right?

"No!" I suddenly heard a voice.

I opened my eyes and through smoke I saw Chobi in his pajamas going towards me, pushing other people away.

I felt tears in my eyes, when flames reached my legs.

It hurt.

It hurt like hell.

I closed my eyes.

I was losing my mind.

And probably started crying.

But then fire burned out. I felt someone untying me, picking me up and jumping from the stake with me.

"Don't come closer or I'm going to burn this village to the ground" growled Chobi, still holding me in his arms.

"Chobi, my dear..." I heard his mum's voice. "He killed you..."

"Accidentally" Chobi interrupted her. "He lost control and it was my fault. Well, not only mine, but Ryu's too."

"Ryu?"

"Darkness fairy. He provokes him all the time, just to put him in this mental hospital again! He's obsessed with bullying him!"

"What do you have to say, Ryu?" the judge glared at him.

Ryu just shrugged.

"I just think this ice freak brainwashed him."

"That's not true!" shouted Hotaka. "I've seen you many times, scaring him!"

"I saw it too!" confirmed Saiki. "Akane was with me back then!"

"He's doing everything to make Chisa lose his control" added Akane.

"And we've always been telling you about it" reminded them Saiki.

"But no one listened to us!" shouted Ni~ya. "Because he was acting like this usually only among offsprings."

"You ignored even pure-bloods' words" added Yoshihiko.

"It's really hecking unfair, you know..." said Kiri quietly.

"I can confirm" Hikari nodded. "You have to start listenong to us."

"I understand that teenagers are just children in your eyes, but that doesn't mean that we can't see, what's going on" said Ni~ya.

Ryu just laughed.

"See? You can see? Good luck."

All we could see was darkness. Deep and frightening.

"That's why marriages between earth and air fairies scare me!" cried my dad. "Do you see, what's going on?!"

"Well, we're not, in fact" I heard Ivy's dad voice.

"Dad!" this time it was Ivy himself.

And then we heard a thud, short scream and another thud.

We could see again after that and we saw Meiko, who was leaning over Ryu, holding a torch in her hand.

"I hit him" she announced. "He was annoying and he didn't even notice that I'm blind."

Meanwhile Ryu was a little burned, unconscious and finally defenseless.

* * *

Light fairies healed me, so I could leave the hospital quickly. Ryu was executed, but I didn't ask, how. I really didn't care.

I went with my parents and Hotaka to the park. Today it was a Firefly Festival, so the whole village was there to observe it.

It was almost midnight. I was looking at one of the fireflies, sipping grape juice, when Hotaka nudged my cheek.

"Look" my brother pointed on Chobi, who was standing there with his friends and discussing about something with them happily.

I got up, gave my juice to Hotaka and walked towards Chobi. Ivy saw me first and patted Chobi's shoulder, pointing on me.

"Chisa" Chobi looked at the ground. "You're causing ear;y winter."

"Because of emotions" I started to walk towards him. "Why did you save me?"

"I've told you before. I like you. Very much" replied Chobi, but Vivi smacked his head. "Ouch! Alright, alright. I love you. Are  y o u  happy?"

Ivy and Vivi laughed under their breath.

"What?" I blinked.

"I fell in love with you. That's why I couldn't lose you" explained Chobi.

I walked to him, freezing everything around me.

"And you're not scared?"

"No. I have fire powers. I can melt this everytime" Chobi smiled radiantly.

"Good, because I can become too emotional right now" I said, putting my hands on his cheeks and kissing his lips.

But I think Chobi didn't care about his frosty hair, if he kissed me back.

Melting everything around us, because even pureblood fairies can't control their emotions in such situations.

The end