The first thing Kazuya Hinote noticed when he opened his eyes was the smell of damp earth and pine needles. It was a peculiar fragrance, one that he hadn't quite smelled before, but his senses were too sluggish to process much. He groggily rubbed his eyes, feeling the soft grass beneath him, and immediately tried to sit up, only to find his limbs weak from some unknown exhaustion.
"Ugh, what the hell…?"
Kazuya blinked, his mind still hazy. A soft breeze rustled the trees around him, and as he slowly raised his head, the dense forest came into focus. Towering, ancient trees surrounded him like silent guardians, their leaves filtering the sun's light into a soft, greenish glow. The air was cool and fresh, almost unnaturally so.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the endless canopy above, unsure of where he was or how he'd gotten there.
"Okay," Kazuya muttered to himself, groaning as he pushed himself to his feet. "This is weird. Did I pass out on a camping trip or something?"
He brushed off the grass and dirt from his jacket, his mind still struggling to come to terms with the bizarre situation. Nothing in his pocket felt familiar. No wallet, no phone, no keychain with that stupid cat key ring his sister had bought him.
"Guess I should be freaked out, huh?" he mused, but there wasn't a hint of panic in his voice. "I mean, this is a forest in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly a place you'd forget to be, right? Whatever, I'm sure I'll figure it out."
He took a few steps forward, not even bothering to look around for any sign of civilization. The strange, otherworldly birds that chirped from above weren't alarming, and the occasional rustle in the bushes seemed less like danger and more like background noise.
"Right," Kazuya continued, more to himself than anyone else, "not a big deal. Could be a dream... Maybe just went to bed after a late-night anime binge and this is one of those stupid lucid dreams. Or maybe... I dunno, some isekai thing happened."
Kazuya is downplaying his current situation, not remembering much about the events before he appears here in an undisclosed forest with nothing on him. He scratches his head in confusion and sighed deeply. Now forcing his body to stand up, he then looks around and saw nothing but trees.
Kazuya just went straight ahead, hoping to find a road and ask for some directions. But just as he went to take 8 steps from where he's been, a sudden noise came from one of the bushes. His head jerks towards the sound quickly as it startled him.
"What the hell is that?" Kazuya asked himself. "Welp... Rule 1 of Horror movies... Don't ever check it out, just leave immediately!" He said to himself as he tries to hurriedly leave the place, but as he takes another step, the thing hiding in the bushes came out and showed its appearance.
It has a form of a dog, or something similar to it, Kazuya saw it's appearance and his instincts tells him that this "dog" is dangerous, as in DANGEROUS! He tries to ran away but in a swift moment of reflexes, his body dodged to the left unconsciously.
That dark dog just spat fire?! Kazuya was stunned at it. This was no dream, nor anything similar to Augmented Reality, this is real, and for some reason that he cant explain... If he doesn't get out of there... It will mean death.
"What the hell is going on!!!" He screamed as he run, "What is that thing?! That shitty dog just blasted some fire and shits at me! What the heck is that!" He screams.
Kazuya's heart hammered in his chest as he stumbled through the forest, branches slashing against his skin. His breaths were ragged, his legs threatening to give out under the relentless pace he was forcing himself to maintain. The Hellhound was still behind him. He could hear it—its thunderous paws pounding the earth, its growls vibrating through the air. The beast was closing in fast.
He pushed harder, his shoes slipping on the slick, muddy ground. He dared not look back. The dog's fiery breath had scorched the air, nearly singeing the hairs from his body, but it had missed him... for now.
Then, just as he rounded a corner of gnarled trees, the ground seemed to shake. He glanced over his shoulder—and there it was. The Hellhound lunged, its massive jaws open wide. Before he could even react, a stream of flame erupted from its mouth, blasting toward him.
"NO!"
He couldn't dodge. The fire hit him full force.
A scream tore from his throat as the searing heat slammed into his back, scorching his skin, singeing his clothes. Pain coursed through him in waves. It felt as though his very bones were being boiled alive. His muscles locked up from the shock of the flame, and for a moment, he thought he might pass out from the agony.
But just as the heat became unbearable, something strange happened.
He felt it—a pulse, an odd sensation deep in his chest. It was warmth, but not from the flames. It was like an echo of fire, stirring inside him. He gasped, his mind racing as the pain continued to radiate through his body. But then, the heat… shifted.
His heart pounded harder, the fire burning through his body, but this time, it wasn't just pain. His entire body was alive with it. He clenched his fists involuntarily, and the air around him began to hum with a strange energy. It was like the fire from the dog had awakened something within him. Something powerful.
The flames that had seared him began to feel… distant.
Kazuya's hands trembled, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the spot where the fire had hit him. It wasn't healing—no, it was something else. The sensation inside him intensified, like heat and energy flowing from his core outward, radiating through his skin.
"What the hell is happening?"
Suddenly, his chest tightened as the heat surged. His whole body thrummed with energy. Desperately, he pushed his hands out in front of him, as though trying to grip the air itself. The world around him blurred with golden light, and he felt it—felt the energy building in his palms.
"Wait, no…"
Without warning, a flare of bright golden heat erupted from his hands. It wasn't like the dog's fire, not at all. It wasn't mindless destruction; it was controlled, like a beam of pure, concentrated energy. It shot forward, carving a path through the air in front of him, and slammed into the ground, leaving the earth scorched in its wake.
Kazuya staggered back, his eyes wide. The flare of power was still fading from his fingertips, leaving trails of golden light in the air. It was gone in an instant, but he could still feel it—the lingering warmth in his chest, the echo of that energy within him.
He panted, trying to steady himself, his mind racing. What was that?
His heart was still thundering in his chest, but the pain from the flames had already begun to subside, his skin knitting itself back together. It was like something deep inside him was healing him faster. He flexed his hands again, as though testing what just happened.
Another flicker of light. It wasn't as intense, but it was there. His own fire, alive and waiting for him to call it.
The Hellhound was still stalking him, its growls echoing through the forest, but Kazuya wasn't as afraid anymore. Something had shifted within him. He had survived its fire, and now… he had his own. He hadn't just endured the Hellhound's attack—he had discovered something inside himself.
A power.
Kazuya raised his hand, and this time, as he focused, the air around his palm grew warmer. The heat didn't feel like it was coming from the world around him, but from deep within his core. It was his. His to control.
And as the Hellhound snarled and lunged again, Kazuya's eyes glowed with golden light. He wasn't helpless anymore. He had fire of his own.
"I don't know what's happening but!" Kazuya begins by pulling his arm back, gathering energy and momentum.
As he swiftly thrusts his fist forward, his entire arm ignites with intense flames, the fire flickering around his clenched fist. The movement is fluid and explosive, delivering a concentrated punch of fiery force.
Upon impact, the flames burst outward in a violent explosion, engulfing the target with searing heat. Ace's body remains steady and controlled throughout, emphasizing both the speed and power of his attack, as the flames linger momentarily before dissipating. The whole motion is a mix of precision, power, and fiery intensity.
"TAKE THIS!" Kazuya screamed along with the hate he accumulated for the dog.
That fire he made, which he couldn't explain well or how it happened, tore through and burned the dog into ashes and having the trees in the way destroyed as well.
Kazuya's breath began to stabilize as he felt his body relaxes, he just went down on his back and looked at the sky. Seeing this phenomenon, he finally remembers the thing that has been bothering him the most.
"I... Died already... It's hazy but I remember that dying part well... Was I transported to another world?" He asked himself as he stares at his hand.
"I created fire, from this hand. Isekai, that's the only explanation for this to happen. And this kind of power. Was this like the Flare Flare Fruit? I remember not getting hurt by that dog's fire attack, or was it because..." he paused midway. He then tries to gather that same feeling in his hands again and indeed it was, fire appeared in his hands.
"Flare Flare ability." Kazuya's eyes sparkled with excitement.
He backs up his arms again, preparing to shoot another wave of fiery fire from his hands, his smiles contains that excitement that is waiting to burst out, and with a swift punch in the air.
"FIRE FIST!"
Author's note:
Hi, this is my first time writing these kinds of thing, well, It's my first time writing a fanfic at all. please bear with me if there are some parts you couldn't understand or irks you for some reason, it also irks me but I cant pinpoint on how to fix it.
I'll try my best to make it longer, but yeah... I'm only 15