Chasing Dreams (Discontinued)

Chapter 201: Forged By Fire

My world is burning.

Natsumi stared at the wall of fire. The flames were hot, rich, and burned with blue passion.

They are hotter today. Natsumi frowned, turning away from the inferno. Several days had passed since Ren left her in the ring of fire, and she was starting to feel weak.

The weather on Crescent Island was already harsh enough. The days were hot and ruthless, and the heatwaves attacked them relentlessly like a blacksmith striking iron.

The sunlight was especially harsh for Natsumi, who already had a weak constitution towards the heat. Natsumi wasn't like her predecessors. She didn't feel strong underneath the sun. If anything, she felt greater beneath the moon. In the night she became Marionette, she donned her bandage mask and swung across the skies, knowing nothing could restrain her.

The summer winds felt like hell for Natsumi. The blistering winds charred her skin, and the sun rays left her looking red and raw.

Natsumi hoped the nights would be better. She hoped the dark skies would cool down the island and protect it with a chilling ocean breeze. But unfortunately, Natsumi never was graced with favorable weather.

The nights on Crescent Island were balmy and unbearable. The air was sticky and dense as if it were being fucked by a fat and sweaty man. Natsumi found the nights grueling. Every night she was drenched in sweat and covered in bug bites.

The insects loved Natsumi. They visited her throughout the dark hours of the night. They leeched onto Natsumi's skin and fed on her flesh, leaving behind love marks that irritated her for days on end.

God, these fuckers are annoying. Natsumi grumbled, scratching at her forearm. She was grateful the smoke warded off the insects, preventing them from making her bug bites any worse.

However, in return, Natsumi was cursed with an insufferable heat that was becoming impossible to bear.

"Come on Ren, give your sister a break will ya?" Natsumi sighed. "I'm sorry okay. I should've killed Jacen when I had the chance. I'm sorry Nyssa got hurt. I fucked up okay. Just let me out of here. If you let me out I'll push what happened between us under the rug. We can go back to the way how things used to be. When it was just the two of us. You and me verses the world remember? I had your back and you had mine."

"Don't you remember when you asked me to depend on you? Well here I am. I'm depending on you to free me from this shitty prison you created." Natsumi cocked a smile. She knew Ren couldn't resist saving someone. His instincts as a hero were too strong to ignore.

Come on, Ren. I know you. I know you better than anyone. You wouldn't leave me here. Not like this. I know you love me too much to leave me here to die. I know you want to save me from Michael. I know you want to save me from the Hero Association. If you leave me in this prison, I'll die, and what would that mean for you? You'd be as bad as Michael, if not worse. You don't want that do you? You don't want to become like him. You want to be better than him. So show the world that you are better than him by saving me!

But I am better than him, Natsu. Natsumi felt Ren's reply. She sensed it in the flames and resonated with his words as if they were real. If I want to become better than Michael, then I need to know what it's like to be him. I need to know how it feels like to be on top. I want to know what it feels like to be King. I want to save you, and the only way I can save you is by doing this.

"No fuck off you know that isn't true." Natsumi rambled. "This is absolute bullshit. You are leaving me here because you hate me. You are acting like a fucking brat and throwing a fit just over a little mistake."