A Few Needed Adjustments

OUR C A M P F I R E S O N G SONG

Natsume didn't even have time to process the few remaining words of her father's sentence before an orange of fire, about half her size, was flung at her, aiming for the head. Nor did she have time to panic before a deepseeded need to not die painfully kicked in.

Or, it least it attempted to.

Years of not being used made that survival part of her brain a bit rusty at doing it's job.

So, instead of making a fluid dive straight for the ground, Natsume instead did the half assed version of ducking in which she just squatted and covered her face.

It took only a second after doing the pitiful excuse for an evasion did she feel her body make contact with the blistering ball.

Instead of being ongoing and moving anymore once it hit Natsume, the gaseous inferno instead stopped dead in it's tracks, evenly being a warm enough temperature to cause second degree burns.

The watch holder expected to be eaten up by the bonfire as it engulfed.

But she didn't get burned to a crispy piece of human spam. In fact, she didn't even feel the heat at first. After a few seconds, she began to feel it a bit more. But only a bit, feeling more like it was a sunny day instead of one hundred and fifty degrees and up of blistering heat. She could feel it rising up fast, probably 5 degrees a second. She passed the time waiting for this inferno to actually become hot by listening to her father and brother talking.

"Jesus Jenny! What the hell are you doing to her!"

"Kid, she'll be fine, she's half kitsune. Our bodies can naturally handle the heat. To a point. That's why I'm trying to test the waters with Natsume. I don't wanna go overboard later and accidentally burn or, God forbid, kill her."

A quiet gulp could be heard from Keisuke.

"Hey Natsume," Kyubi called out, "how do you feel? Any burning sensations?"

"Erm, no, not really. It feels more like a warmish day."

"Ok. If you feel any pain, tell me or do something that indicates it."

"Got it."

Natsume moved to a sitting position for comfort while the flames roared on. She glad she left her phone in her backpack, as now it would've been melted in the palm of her hand, but at the same time she was a bit...bored. She never thought she'd think that when she was literally being burned.

Then again, she was half kitsune, and they could easily handle this. And she herself could handle things that would usually kill others. Stress, food poisoning, stress, getting chased by dogs, stress, stress...

The thoughts of the forbidden S-word were pushed out quickly. She didn't need to think about that now. That thought of it just overwhelming her was... overwhelming in recent times. Yet Natsume still pushed it off. She had helping other for years now, taking a piece of their burden with her. She has been the one to fight for others, defend them, listen to them. And all of that would come crumbling down because some insignificant part of her psyche was doubting her work and wanting her to get "help"? No, she wasn't going for that at-

OWOWOWOWOW, SHIT SHIT SHIT! The flames were probably at a point to melt stuff like iron and they were beginning to give Natsume a superficial, but still painful, first degree burn. Her skin flared up into an angry red color. Now, most people when in the process of getting a first degree burn would scream in agony or try to get help. And Natsume did exactly both. But, the part of her mind keeping her from seeking professional help for her unhealthy emotion bottling tried to stifle this at first. Best to not bother others. Fortunately, she more animalistic ID in her quickly punched that idea out the window and made Natsume scream "OW, FUCKING, OW!".

"HOLY SHIT!" she heard her brother cry out. Natsume could hear him running to her, but suddenly stopping. It was at that moment when he stopped that she was instead swallowed up by a course blanket around her body. The flames were quickly snuffed out and Natsume returned to normal temperature.

Even if the rough blanket and sudden cold air hurt her now sensitive skin, the teen was thankful that the fire was finally gone.

Looking up, she saw her father's green eyes looking down at her, tinted with a cocktail of worry, relief, and disbelief.

"Natsume...we need to talk inside."

Kyubi's bathroom was the epitome of the saying "clean enough to eat off of.".

The white tiles, tub, sink and toilet all glistened in the overhead light, no spot of dirt or anything could be seen on them.

But she wasn't eating anything now, much less on the bathroom floor, despite it's cleanliness. She instead now was rubbing handful after handful of aloe vera lotion upon her burnt skin. The cooling green gel soothed the pain that stretched across her body.

Keisuke was now in the living room, waiting for her come out. Kyubi was outside door also waiting and to do another check up if needed.

She didn't want to face him now. Not after the face he gave her after the burning. No words could match the...the...

It was hard to describe it. It was his eyes that communicated a feeling. A feeling of... scrutiny? Transparency? A mix of both?

No matter that words to describe it, she knew that those eyes could cut through her mind and see more about her. They could probably even see how she lied. For the better, of course. Of course.

"Hey, umm, Natsume."

"Yes?"

"I'm so sorry."

Natsume stiffened up as she slathered the stuff on her leg.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you squirm when it got hotter. I thought you were just adjusting yourself at first, but no. You were in pain. God, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's not your fault, don't blame yourself."

"But I do!"

His fist slammed against the floor outside.

"You could've have been burned up to ash and I didn't notice! You could've been scarred for life or seriously injured! I take this seriously because your my daughter and I care about you!"

"Kyubi...no."

"Huh?"

"No, acted like I was just adjusting my position because...I thought I could handle it. I thought that toughing it out was normal."

"But it's not."

"I know. I'm just always used to toughing out the flames because I know I'm a resilient person."

"Even in pain?"

"Yep."

A few moments of silence passed as Natsume began on the left leg.

"That's...that's not good."

A/N: Idk if this counts as a cliffhanger, so pretend it is.