«|| 01: Joke

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 Firey flowers of all colors floated in the air, with Hibana in the middle of it, with a rather smug look adorning her features.

"Ugh, Hibana's flaunting her stupid powers again. Does she ever get tired of all the attention?" you asked to no one but yourself. Of course, the girl next to you still heard what you said, and hit the back of your head, making you flinch. Hard.

"Ow! What was that for!?"

"Shh!" She shushes harshly. You roll your eyes.

You stood next to Clematis, one of the many Sisters at the orphanage, and watched as Hibana stood in the center of the small crowd she attracted while creating colorful flowers made out of her flames once more. You were the only male at this church you called home. The sisters always questioned why a boy was present alongside countless girls, but no one ever voiced their opinions.

"They're amazing, Sister Hibana!" one girl would say.

"Wow~, they're so pretty!" another voice would chime in.

Hibana only hummed in agreement as she continued to flaunt her flames. She pulled out a small glass container labeled 'Na.' At this point, the girls were practically on their toes. You rolled your eyes again.

"Take a look at this Sister Clematis," Hibana called out to the girl, "If I sprinkle just a bit of this sodium solution, it will cause a flame reaction and..."

She dropped a couple of droplets onto one of the flowers as all the girls watched eagerly watched it blossom into a vibrant yellow.

"Ooh! Now it turned a little yellow!" one girl, named Sister Clematis, exclaimed rather loudly.

Hibana continued to do this, changing each of her flowers made up of flames colors to fit each specific person.

"And this one's for you, [ name ]."

Flames were one of the things you slowly began to despise. They were the leading cause of your unexplained sorrow even.

Why?

You didn't know. For some odd reason, you just couldn't remember. But looking at the flower Hibana made, made you forget the pain you associated fire with - even if it was just for a little bit, even if Hibana tends to 'show off'. The fire - flowers danced in the sky gracefully, the sun reflecting their colors oh so nicely, almost making it seem like they had minds of their own and danced just for the sisters and you.

With your hand stretched outward, you reached out to touch the flower Hibana made for you, totally forgetting that fire does harm. Unsurprisingly, you retracted your hand quickly with a soft hiss due to the contact, but not even a second after you had touched the said flower, the pain went away as soon as it came along with the burn marks you had received. This left you confused, but you just shook it off, paying no mind to it.

You heard the other sisters continue to chatter about the beautiful display of flowers that lay in front of them, and you watched them giggle and play in the grass as well. From the corner of your eye, you notice a girl with blond tresses and big blue doe-like eyes, peeking from the edge of the building. From the shy-ish nature they were showing, you assume that it's Iris. Hibana saw this as well and beckoned her over.

"Iris! There's no need to hide, come take a closer look!" Hibana shouted.

The girl who was once hiding behind the wall now wore a broad smile and a faint embarrassed blush, bounded up to the older between the two.

At this point, you began to grow bored already, and walked away from the group, not too far, and decided to sit in the shade of a tree. This was your favorite spot, and you practically came here every day. For some reason, you'd constantly find yourself thinking about how it never felt like you were supposed to be here, among all the others who weren't like you at all; out of place.

Why you were here, was the question you'd always find yourself asking, but you were pulled out of the depths of your mind when you heard the voice of Sister Sumire screaming rather loudly at Hibana, startling the said girl.

Oh great. This again.

"AHEM! SISTER HIBANA, PLAYING WITH YOUR FIRE ABILITIES ONCE AGAIN, ARE WE? YOU NEVER LEARN!" As Hibana's flowers wilted, Sister Sumire then ordered the young girls into the chapel, in which they reluctantly agreed. "As for you, Sister Hibana," she started, "Those powers have been bestowed unto you by the venerable Sun God, and are not to be used so casually! If you make even the slightest mistake, it could become gravely dangerous!"

With eyes closed and her nose pointed to the air, Hibana simply told her not to worry. Sister Sumire only shook her head in dismay and walked back into the chapel to tend to the other girls, not before stopping and facing your direction.

"That means you too, Brother [ name ]. Get up, please."

Sighing, you reluctantly picked yourself off of the ground, dusted yourself off, and made your way over. Once you finally made your way in front of Sister Sumire, she placed her hands on your shoulders and leaned forward, too close for your liking. Still, you resisted the urge to push her away, as much as you were itching to.

"You will become the greatest pillar there is, I can feel it, just follow Her grace's and the other's footsteps, and she will reward you, and this time, maybe we could just make it happen. You've escaped once, and it won't happen again, now that we know that you are harboring something great." She gave an unsettling smile, and walked away briskly, almost as if she didn't say anything mildly uncomforting.

You stood in place for a while, thinking over what she had said, confusion written all over your features. Me, a pillar? The old hag must have some screws loose; I can't support a building. Like, at all. And what would I have escaped from in the first place? Daisy's tea parties? I'd do that in a heartbeat!

You only shook your head, thinking little of the statement the elder Sister declared.

"What a joke."

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It's a short chapter, I know! But it's also my first! When I get the hang of it, I'm sure they'll get longer aha :'''''''''0

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