Floor Burner and Cake Killer

Fate's Fanning the Flames

"Hoo yeah, baby! I am feelin' good today!" Rika shouted, stretching her arms and back, confident smile on her tan, sun-kissed face.

"Meanwhile, I've been dreading this day forever...!" Saori sighed heavily, shoulders slumping in resignation.

"Now, now, Saorin!" Marika sing-songed with a giggle, "you know our beloved Rikachi has been looking forward to this ever since—!"

"—since her mini-me had her own first Ceremony of the Elements, I know, I know," Saori interrupted with another sigh, hands on her hips as she frowned. Then her pout became a look of dismay as she remembered why exactly she was dreading Rika's CotE so much. "Rika... with that much access to that much literal firepower..." The purple-haired DJ shuddered at the mere thought.

"Might not be fire, though," Dalia shrugged. Saori looked completely skeptical. Dalia was right that there was no connection between personality and element, but sometimes they lined up terrifyingly well. Dalia was one such example, the first of M4 to have her CotE, her internal elemental revealed as Earth. The rest of M4 was in firm agreement that it was a perfect match for Dalia.

The thing about the elements and ceremony, though, was that no one truly knew anything about how or why they worked the way they did. No matter what theories arose, or what patterns seemed to exist, it was ultimately left in the hands of fate. There was nothing any of them could do to control what element they discovered, or when. If Rika wound up following in Dalia's footsteps, becoming a Fire-wielder after all, they were all in agreement that it would be as perfect of a pair as Dalia and her Earth element. Even Saori had to agree, though the idea terrified her.

For better or worse, if there was any girl who embodied the heat and light of summer and beach, it was Rika, glowing and golden. Dalia was the rich brown sand on shore, and Rika was the scorching, shining sun above. While Dalia was low-voiced and down to earth, Rika was passionate and spontaneous. Dalia was slow, steady, sturdy, and strong while Rika was exuberant and bright, literally and metaphorically. Dalia was the immovable object and Rika was the unstoppable force.

As Dalia was trying to remind them, though, just because they thought they saw a connection didn't mean one actually existed. Peaky was a prime example. Any one of them would've been a worthy wielder of Fire, but in the end, Kyoko was the one who had it. This genuinely surprised people, especially those who expected Shinobu or Yuka to have the fire. It just went to show, the only way to know for sure what inner element one had was the CotE. That was why Rika was so desperate for her own, especially since Rinku already had hers, as Saori and Marika noted earlier.

Rinku was actually the first to discover her inner element, though Rika was falling into the trap of assuming that just because they were similar, their elemental journeys would also be similar. Aside from Dalia's reminder that there was no connection or predictability with the elements and their wielders, Rinku's inner element was Air. If Rika really wanted Fire, shouldn't she want her journey to be different than Rinku's?

The CotE always occurred in the chapel, even though neither the ceremony nor the elements were in the slightest bit religious. A table sat at the head of the chapel, four bowls sitting on top of it. One held a candle, the next water, the third rocks, and the fourth air. Rika was instructed to stand over the table and mentally call out to each of the four elements. Whichever one recognized itself within her would obey her commands.

"Imma make this baby dance!" Rika's eyes glittered, reflecting the flickering flame coming from the bowl with the candle.

"Careful, Rika. Things aren't always as they seem," Aoi chuckled. All the other units had come to celebrate this most exciting and special day for Rika. Like Kyoko, Aoi was the only one of her unit with an element, and it was Fire, much to the surprise of her and a few others. "I expected Earth, because I thought Tsubaki would be Fire," RONDO's DJ admitted, bright and dark blue flames flickering up from her fingertips.

Of the rest of the units, only Hapiara and Lyrilily had all of their elements. Haruna and Muni had Fire, Miiko and Rei Water, Maho and Kurumi Earth, and Rinku and Miyu Air. In Photon, Ibuki, Saki, and Noa had Air, Fire, and Earth respectively. Process of elimination spoiled the surprise of what Towa's inner element was.

Once the ceremony finally began, Rika stretched out a hand over the four bowls. She was instructed to try to keep her hand as equidistant from every bowl as possible, but her eyes were glued to the dancing candle flame. She took a deep breath in, then a deep breath out, eyes drifting shut naturally. Surely you can feel it too, right? Rika silently asked the tiny fire. Our special connection? We were fated to be!

First, Rika heard a hissing sound, then a billow of white smoke obscured her vision as something massive rose up out of the little bowl before her. The entire chapel reared back in their pews, gasping in awe and wonder. What towered over all of their heads was a massive wall of...

W-water?! WHAT?! The giant, immobile wave began to snake back into the tiny bowl. All around Rika, she could hear cheers and clapping. Even Saori and Tsubaki were on their feet, laughing supportively. In a cruel and ironic twist of fate, now, Rika was the only one who wasn't smiling.

Oh, Rikachi...! Marika giggled, standing between Saori and Dalia. I think fate's fanning the flames with you! But to be fair, we tried to warn you...

Rika was frozen, slack-jawed and bug-eyed in horror, staring up at the giant, hissing wave as it slowly receded back into its bowl. Her hand lowered itself at the same time, without her mind's awareness. So... it wasn't white smoke that had curled between her fingers, but mist. That was also why Rika felt no heat after first calling upon the elements. The fire would not have burned her if it chose her, but she still should've felt some heat. The reason she felt nothing at all was because Fire was not the element that answered her call. "Disappointed" didn't even begin to describe it.

I don't think I've EVER been so betrayed in my LIFE! Rika pouted and scuffed her foot against the floor.

As her shoulders finally started to slump, reality finally sinking in, several of the girls in the pews behind her exchanged money, half of them looking smug while half looked just as upset as Rika. Marika's purple eyes were still locked on her unit-mate's bright, orange pigtails.

Poor Rikachi. Marika touched her face, smiling sympathetically. You may be a bright, burning blaze, the hottest girl I've ever known, and our eternal sunshine, but you are also... Typhoon Rika!

AN: Happy b-day, you orange-haired hothead! My friends and I have a lot of inside jokes about Rika and fire, despite M4 having a water theme, so I thought it would be funny if Rika was all hyped up to get a fire element only to wind up with water instead, LOL

(AKA my first reaction to Petit Mix 20 when M4 had the element of water instead of fire, LOL)

For an OFFICIAL elemental breakdown, I headcanon:

Fire: Muni, Kyoko, Saki, Rika, Aoi, Haruna, Mana, Lumina, Weronika

Water: Rei, Yuka, Towa, Saori, Tsubaki, Miiko, Toka, Hayate, Neo

Earth: Maho, Shinobu, Noa, Dalia, Nagisa, Kurumi, Shano, Michiru, Elsie

Air: Rinku, Esora, Ibuki, Marika, Hiiro, Miyu, Airi, Kokoa, Sophia

Thoughts?