Born to burn

8. WHAT WAS BURIED. _________________________

FEZ’S PLACE – EARLY AFTERNOON. MONDAY.

•

The door swings open with a creak, half-kicked and full of attitude. Fez steps inside, boots heavy, leather jacket slung over one shoulder, a cigarette half-smoked and still burning between his teeth. His hair’s damp from the drizzle outside, curls tugged loose by the wind, and there’s something off in his eyes, like he felt the silence before he heard it. The house smells like cereal, weed, and leftover adrenaline.

„Where the f.uck’s the chaos gremlin?” He mutters, flicking ash into the tray as he tosses his keys on the counter. His tone is casual, but his eyes are already scanning like he expects something wrong. He pauses and scans the living room. A blanket is tossed carelessly over the side of the couch, and the faint scent of smoke and Phoenix still clings to the air. She’s gone.

„You let her leave?” Fez asks, but he already knows the answer. His voice is too calm, too flat, like he’s clenching something behind his teeth. Ash is curled on the couch, phone glowing in his hands.

„She didn’t exactly ask for permission, you know?” He says without looking up. There’s no guilt in his tone. Just facts.

„Of course not.” Fez sighs. He sinks onto the couch, elbows on his knees, eyes distant. Smoke leaks from his lips in a slow stream, like his thoughts are trying to escape through it. Kimi’s perched on the windowsill, legs folded beneath her, braids lit up in the shaft of light slicing through the curtain. She’s still in the oversized tee from last night, hoops in, mascara smudged from sleep and laughter.

„Motherf.ucker… one party alone and you bring home some f.reak-a.ss b.itch?” She scoffs, arching an eyebrow. Her voice is sharp, teasing, but not cruel. Fez shoots her a look, all smirk and no shame.

„I knew you’d like her.” His voice is low, like a secret tucked between teeth. Kimi leans forward with a scoff.

„Don’t start, c.unt.” She snaps. There’s no heat behind it. Just rhythm. Just them. Fez chokes on the smoke, coughing and laughing as his eyes water from the surprise.

„Okay, d.amn. Y’all want some answers, huh?” He says, waving smoke from his face. But no one laughs now. Kimi’s already standing, pacing like her brain’s trying to outrun itself.

„Duh. Seriously, like what the f.uck, Fez? Who is this girl? She thinks she’s a human? Like… full-on clueless?” She asks, frowning hard. Her tone is sharp with disbelief, edged with unease. Ash sits forward, elbows on knees.

„She smelled weird. Didn’t sense the wards. Didn’t flinch when I whispered a binding under my breath… full-on human. That’s freaky, bro. That’s not normal…” He mutters, intense now. There’s curiosity in his eyes and something like fear.

„She didn’t even look at the runes on the wall…” Kimi adds quickly. She’s thinking fast, connecting dots.

„Like she didn’t see them. Like her blood blocked it. That s.hit doesn’t just happen.” She finishes, voice tight. Her arms are crossed now. Defensive. Unsettled. Fez leans back, staring at the ceiling like it might offer answers.

„Yeah. She doesn’t know what she is.” He says finally. His voice is flat. Certain. Like it’s the one thing he’s absolutely sure of.

„She’s not hiding it and she’s not glamoured. She believes she’s just a girl with a f.ucked-up life and an attitude to match.” He adds, still staring up. There’s something hollow in the way he says it. Like it bothers him more than he wants it to.

„I don’t know how f.ucked-up her life is, but I mean, you saw her face, right?” He asks, quieter now. The kind of quiet that hits hard. They both freeze. Of course, they saw the busted lip. The almost two black eyes. One of them was swollen nearly shut. They didn’t mention it. But it’s burned into their memory. After another silence, as Fez’s words sink in, Kimi folds her arms and says…

„So how the h.ell does that happen? And what the f.uck is she, anyway? That much power doesn’t just… sit quietly. She didn’t smell like anything. And yet everything. It was weird as f.uck, Fez.” She says, pacing again. Her voice is soft now. Almost afraid to be right. Ash narrows his eyes, thinking hard. Fez goes still.

„Maybe someone buried it. Or bound it.” Ash says, voice low. He’s not joking anymore.

„You think? Like… inside her?” Kimi asks, eyes widening. It lands heavy. Heavier than either of them wanted.

„That’s f.ucked up.” She adds, staring at the floor. And for once, her voice is almost a whisper. Fez doesn’t answer. Not right away. The cigarette burns slowly between his fingers, untouched. He’s somewhere else, deep in the memory vault, chasing something old.

„I don’t know…” He says finally. Quietly. Seriously.

„I don’t know what happened to her. Why did she end up like this, but it’s not normal. Someone is behind this. Someone erased her mind. Someone went to great lengths to keep her power hidden. And also to hide her from the Magical world.” He says, pacing slowly. Each word is more certain than the last. Kimi’s expression darkens. Her brows furrow hard.

„But why? Who the f.uck is she?” She asks, breath catching. Her voice is almost soft. Almost scared. Fez just exhales. Eyes widening a little. Because he doesn’t know. Not yet. But something inside him is starting to guess.

„That smells like trouble.” Kimi whispers. The words feel like a warning.

„S.hut up and focus.” Fez snaps suddenly. It’s not anger. It’s urgent. He’s locked in now.

„I need you both on this. Hard. No distractions. Pull every file. Hack what you have to… clan archives. Foster agency records. Birth certificate files. If they even exist. Dig deep. Get into the Council archives too. We need everything.” He barks out orders, already moving.

„Council archives? That’s dangerous business, bro…” Ash mutters, but he’s smirking at Kimi. He’s already in.

„Scared?” Fez growls, teeth flashing.

„Me? Pfff… f.uck you. I was born for breaking laws.” Ash grins, stretching like a cat with knives. Fez keeps going, voice sharp with urgency.

„I want to know who covered this up. Who she really is. What they didn’t want her to remember. Who’s her mother? Her father. Her bloodline. Everything. Find it. Now.” He commands, tone steel. Kimi grins, wicked and ready.

„We’re gonna need more coffee and candles.” She says, cracking her knuckles. Fez finally exhales, smoke curling from his mouth like a storm trying to escape.

„And a f.ucking miracle.”

•

FEZ’S PLACE – 9 HOURS LATER

2:47 A.M. TUSEDAY

•

The living room looked like a war ritual gone wrong. Screens blinked in exhausted sync, casting eerie light on the mess below. Candles had bled themselves into misshapen wax islands. Crumpled sticky notes lay across arcane symbols chalked into the table, and the faint metallic hiss of overworked tech mingled with the scent of burnt herbs and old coffee. A warded flash drive buzzed faintly near a smoking protection crystal, humming like it was dreaming in a language no one should know. Ash hadn’t moved in hours. Kimi looked like she’d clawed her eyeliner on with warpaint. Fez’s shirt was half-unbuttoned, hair chaos-curled from fingers that wouldn’t stop raking through it. He stood hunched, eyes bloodshot, the kind of tired that lived in the bones, not the skin.

„Well… f.uck.” He muttered, voice flat and dry like he was too tired to yell. Ash exhaled like he’d just surfaced from a two-hour drowning.

„That’s real f.ucked up, bro.” He said, his voice low, eyes still glued to the blinking document on screen. Kimi didn’t say anything. She just flicked a blackened sticky note onto the stack of encrypted scrolls, jaw tight like a blade trying not to scream.

„Her whole file? Buried. Not even under standard Council protocol. We’re talking deep vault. Dead zone. Mandragora-class encryption.” Ash said slowly, eyes flickering. Fez sat slowly, a folder trembling in his hands. The paper was worn at the edges, sealed by glyphs no human record should ever hold. He opened it like it might bleed. The pages whispered against each other like secrets not meant to be heard. His knuckles went white as he pulled the cover back, and read out loud as speaking it gave the truth weight.

„Phoenix Fay Blackwood. Age sixteen. In and out of the system since she was five… after a car crash. Driver’s death. Woman. Unknown identity.” He read, voice low, haunted. Kimi froze. The air turned thick.

„A woman?” She asked, voice dropping, trembling with recognition. Fez nodded once, sharp.

„After that? Over a dozen foster placements. Abuse reports. Neglect. ER visits. Fractures. Black eyes. Malnourishment. Starvation. Medical redactions. Sealed court orders. Medical records scrubbed or conveniently 'misplaced.' And no flag on her magic. Nothing. It’s all here. But sealed. Redacted.” He said, almost too calm. Ash flicked another note onto the pile.

„It’s like someone didn’t just hide her. They erased her. Like she wasn’t supposed to exist.” He said, leaning forward like the truth was finally catching fire.

„But her birth name? It’s real. Phoenix Fay Blackwood. Born in Washington.” He added, with a sharp breath through his nose.

„Birth mother: Yahiko Nagatto.” Kimi rolled her eyes, rubbing her temples like the name insulted her.

„Fake name. Sounds like a forged spirit tag.” She said, jaw tight. Ash nodded in agreement, already typing.

„Real name?” He asked, turning to Fez.

He stared at them both, not blinking. Kimi was already on her feet.

„What’s her real name, Fez?” She asked again, voice sharper now. Ash narrowed his eyes, anticipation vibrating under his skin.

„Are you sitting?” Fez asked, smirking, but behind his eyes was something else. Not fear. Something heavier. Something sacred.

„Spit it the f.uck out.” Ash snapped, already bracing.

„Alright, chill. Just trying to sound dramatic… Her mother’s real name was Himari Fujiwara.” Fez said, voice low and final. Silence. Kimi slammed her hand against the table, a mug tipping and rolling toward the edge.

„F.uck. Are you s.hitting me?” She barked, eyes wide. Ash shook his head slowly, gravity anchoring every word.

„Nope.” Fez said simply, lips tight. The room went still. Like even the walls were holding their breath. He leaned forward. His voice dropped to steel.

„Fujiwara.” The silence cracked like thunder. Kimi stood too fast. Her rings clinked against her mug as she stared, wide-eyed.

„You’re serious? That’s not just some fake a.ss spirit name?” Ash blinked.

„You mean like… Fujiwara as in the Fujiwara? As in 'we thought they were wiped off the f.ucking map' Fujiwara?” Fez nodded once.

„Yeah. That one.” Kimi dragged a hand over her face, then dropped it like it weighed fifty pounds.

„F.uck. That’s… That’s old blood. Forbidden blood.” She looked at Ash. Then back to Fez.

„I mean… the Council’s Purge wasn’t just politics. It was genocide.” Ash frowned, gears turning.

„Wasn’t that like, fifty years ago? When did the Council drop the Purity Codex?” Fez tapped ash into the tray.

„Exactly. That law made hybrid bloodlines illegal overnight. Said they were unstable. Dangerous. Couldn’t be allowed to multiply.” His tone twisted around the words like they were poison.

„It was a blood-cleansing campaign, dressed up like a safety act.” Kimi nodded, jaw clenched.

„And before the Codex? Hybrids were already hunted. But the Fujiwara? They were something else.” Ash raised an eyebrow.

„You mean like… what? Just high-level hybrids?”

„No.” Fez said.

„They were experimental.” Kimi cut in.

„Last magical f.uck-you to the system. They tried what everyone else was too scared to even think about.” Fez’s voice went low. Reverent.

„Multi-blood integration. Demon. Mage. Siren. Fae. Lycan. Vampire. Elemental. One kid, bloodlines as much as it was possible. Each generation is stronger than the last. Each one a gamble.” Ash whistled, low and long.

„No wonder the Council lost their s.hit.”

„They didn’t just lose it.” Kimi muttered.

„They burned records. Sent Gravesingers. Erased entire towns.” Fez nodded.

„Until the world went quiet and the name Fujiwara was just a whisper. A ghost story.” And then he looked up. Eyes sharp. Unblinking.

„And now? One’s back.”