Nanami came back home with a gloomy face and headed upstairs as soon as she stepped over the threshold. Upon entering her room, she threw her bag on the floor, lay on her stomach, and let out a big sigh.
I can't believe I'm not allowed to practice firebending anymore...
She had tried to look good in front of her friends and her brother, but now that she was alone in her room, she couldn't pretend anymore.
What's wrong with me? Why can't I firebend like everyone else?
A tear rolled down her round cheek and the little girl sniffed quietly, as the tear dampened her bedsheets. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, feeling frustrated and depressed.
I wasn't even good at it... Maybe I should just forget about firebending and only train in martial arts.
"Nanami, come down! We're eating now!" her sister yelled from the bottom of the stairs, interrupting her train of thoughts.
Nanami quickly wiped a hand across her face and went down the steps one by one.
"What's wrong, sweetie? You don't look as cheerful as usual. Are you not hungry? You haven't eaten anything yet," her father commented, seeing his daughter's mournful look.
"I've been made exempt from firebending practice. I'll be training in martial arts instead," Nanami told her family, head down, staring at her still full plate.
"What? Why?" her sister inquired, her chopsticks clattering to the table in her surprise.
"They said that it was to avoid unwanted accidents and that they'll look into the matter."
"That's okay, my little princess. I'm sure you'll be allowed to go back to firebending training soon enough. They can't miss a firebender as talented as you," her grandfather comforted her and, as he was sitting besides her, he patted her head.
"I have no talent Grandpa... I couldn't even do the simplest moves..." she replied, looking up at him with teary eyes.
"Nanami, my little child. You are still young and have a lot to learn. You'll have to be patient to see the results of your training. Don't give up just because you failed once. You must work harder to succeed," Grandfather Nobuo advised.
Nanami nodded, giving him a smile. She was now feeling a little better and started to eat her dinner.
❁
A few days later, during lunch break, Nanami and her friends were sitting at the fountain in the main courtyard. The four first-years were enjoying their break time, leisurely talking about trivial matters.
A band of students from their group popped up out of nowhere, interrupting their discussion.
"Hey, look guys! That's the loser who's been expelled from firebending lessons," a boy, who seemed to be their leader, sneered at Nanami, accompanied by his followers' smirks.
"She was already in the weakest group, and she couldn't even stay in that lame group," a girl mocked her.
"What do you want from me?" Nanami demanded oldly, glaring at them.
"Just wanted to see from up close what a real life loser looked like," the boy replied arrogantly.
"Go away if you're just going to be an idiot," Nanami said, her voice raising but managing to restrain her anger.
"And then what? Will you chase us away with your weak firebending?" he sneered at her again.
Nanami couldn't stand listening to their taunts anymore. She stood, ready to throw her fist in his snobbish face, but a hand on her wrist prevented her from doing so.
"Don't do it, Nanami," Saki said. "He's not worth it."
Nanami looked back at Saki. Her brows were knitted together and her eyes were unblinking, telling Nanami that her friend was just as angry as her.
"Saki! Why are you with that bunch of losers? You're from a wealthy family like we are. Join us instead, we'll be much better friends for you!" he told her, offering her his hand.
"Thank you, but I prefer staying with them," she replied haughtily. "Anyway, they're so much better than all of you."
The boy raised an eyebrow, surprised by her choice, and answered scornfully, "Do whatever you want. But you'll regret it later Saki."
The boy turned his back to them and headed towards his friends. However, after taking a few steps, he spun around and threw a fire punch at the four.
Startled by the sudden attack, Saki, Miya, Hiroki and Nanami responded to the instinct to protect their faces, crossing their arms in front of them. The fire was luckily not that powerful and didn't reach them, only blowing hot air towards them. Nanami rushed straight at him, fuming, and threw her fist at his face.
The lanky boy barely dodged her punch, rapidly backpedaling, but in his panic he stumbled, tripping over his own feet and face-planting. The girl who laughed at Nanami earlier quickly came to his rescue, while another of his group took his place in the fight.
The new guy was more muscular than his leader, but didn't seem as smart. He took a fighting stance, fists guarding his face, and after a few seconds he swiftly moved closer to his opponent and launched a stream of fire at Nanami's face.
Damn, it's hot! That guy didn't hold back!
Nanami closed her eyes, as the blow reached her, protecting her face with her arms. She felt a warm sensation, like hot air was surrounding her, but she didn't feel any irritation from a burn. When she opened her eyes back, all eyes were on her. The little girl didn't get burned by the fire.
Shocked by his uninjured challenger, the boy threw back a volley of blasts to make sure his attack reached her this time, but in vain. No matter how many blows he sent her way, none of them had any effect on her.
Seeing his attacks were ineffective, he decided to go with brute force. Launching into a run, he jumped and landed a kick in her stomach.
Not yet agile enough, Nanami couldn't ward off the attack and flew back several meters away, before crashing to the ground. Her friends hurried to her side, helping her up. Her stomach hurt badly, making her want to throw up, but she held it back.
"Hmph, you're so weak!" he exclaimed, gasping his exertions.
Nanami glared at him and wiped away the dust he'd left on her uniform.
"You're going to pay for that!"
She charged, and tried to kick him, but he was more experienced in fighting and easily dodged the attack. Nanami kept on striking from all directions, leaving him no respite.
She only had a few martial arts lessons so she wasn't skilled yet, but her anger was guiding her in this fight and Nanami could fluidly connect her movements, allowing her to fight on equal footing with the nasty firebender.
Neither of them was ahead in the fight, but the boy was starting to show signs of exhaustion, while Nanami was still full of energy, letting her rage drive her on. When she began to successfully parry his blows, the boy used firebending again and sent her multiple strikes from his fists and feet.
Completely immersed in the fight, Nanami let her body move by itself and ended up firebending, violating the headmaster's ban. A flame burst out from her fist – the very same move she couldn't perform a few days ago – and shot at her opponent's face, who was luckily too far for the fire to reach him.
Her fighting spirit took control of her, pushing her limits, and making her unaware of her surroundings and actions. Nanami created a ring of fire that encircled the young boy, not hearing her friends shouts to stop.
Other students had gathered in the main courtyard to watch the scene, causing an uproar. The crowd howled and cheered on the two opponents.
Alerted by the cries coming from the courtyard, the professors hastening to see what was happening were stunned to see two students fighting – or more like, to see one student trapped in a ring of fire, while the other was not letting up her assault.
Toh recognised Nanami as one of the fighters and ran to her.
"You again! You were forbidden to use firebending! What are you doing?" he scolded her harshly. "Stop right now, and come with me to the Headmaster's office!"
As she was not answering him, Toh grabbed her shoulder to make her look at him, only to have his hand pushed away.
"Hey! You must stop immediat–" he began to say but broke off his sentence when he saw her eyes.
Her eyes were shining bright, the irises illuminated a vibrant golden; but they were completely unfocused, as if she was unconscious.
Toh shook her, calling out her name to bring her back to her senses, and after a few seconds the young girl emerged from her unconscious state, staring around her with bewilderment.
All Nanami could see was frightened faces and wide eyes, focused on her. Whispers could also be heard around her, and one word came out from the crowd's mouths over and over.
"Monster."
A/N: I tried to write a fighting scene lol sorry it's not good >.<
I hope you enjoyed the chapter 7 though 😄 Everyone is getting scared of her now ☹️
Don't forget to comment to let me know your thoughts and vote if you liked the chapter :)
See you in next chapter!
Credit for picture: GIPHY