Maru Family
The heat rolled over him in suffocating waves, blistering his skin even from meters away, but Ezequiel didn't move. He couldn't look away, not even as the roof groaned-- a terrible, bone-deep sound-- before collapsing inward with a roar that sent sparks spiraling into the night like dying stars.
His knees buckled. .
For a heartbeat, he felt nothing but the vibration of the ground beneath him, the echo of the collapse rattling up his spine and hollowing him out from the inside, His parents' voice -- voice he had grown up hearing in two languages, always laughing, always auguring -- were swallowed whole by the flames.
"Apa! Eomma!"
the scream tore out of him raw, cracking in the middle
It was the first sound he had made in minutes.
It didn't matter
The fire didn't care
He took one step forward, ready to throw himself into the burning skeleton of the house,
because logic didn't live here anymore -- only desperation did.
a car door slammed.
"Oppa!"
A small voice, muffled but frantic
Sarang had somehow unblocked herself and her twin and they both stumbled out of the SUV. They ran towards him on there shaky toddler legs, Kyunio standing right next to her holding her hand, as thee cheeks streaked with tears and soot.
Ezequiel spun around, the instinct to protect kicking in like a punch to the chest. he caught them both before they both fell, sweeping them right into his arms just as they both let out a sob so loud it shook their whole body. They both buried there faces into his shoulder, there tiny hands clutching at his shirt, clinging to him like he was the only solid thing left in the world.
"Appa. .eomma. . where. . ?" they cried, the worlds barely formed.
He couldn't answer
Hit throat was ash.
Behind them, Seojoon wailed from the car seat, his legs kicking helplessly, his face red and blotchy. the flames reflected in his wet eyes, turning them into fragile, trembling mirrors.
Ezequiel swallowed hard and forced his voice to work.
"Its okay," he lied, the worlds tasting like fire " I'm here. I'm right here. "
But nothing was okay.
The fire department arrived in a chaos of flashing lights and shouting voice. firefighters rushed past him, Pulling hoses, dragging equipment, yelling orders he couldn't process. someone tried to pull him back, away from the danger.
"Sir, you need to step behind the barrier!"
He didn't move
He clutched the twins tighter.
"I have to make sure--"
His voice cracked. " I have to know."
the firefighter's expression softened
He had seen this before
"Son. . nobody could survive that"
The worlds hit harder than the heat.
He felt his world tilt.
His legs gave out, and he sank to the round on the gravel, still holding Sarang and Kyunio. They curled into him, crying themselves into hiccups. Seojoon's cries grew more frantic until another firefighter gently lifted him from the car to bring him over.
Ezequiel gathered all three children, one on each side, and another one in the middle, their small bodies pressed against his. He felt the weight of them -- alive, warm, terrified. the only things that still breathed in the ashes of his life.
He stared at the fire until his eyes burned.
the house -- The place his parents had worked their whole lives for, the place he had grown up -- crumbled in to itself, swallowed entirely. all their memories, their photos, their voice, their future plans. . gone
and for the first time since he was old enough to understand anything about the world, Ezequiel felt truly, utterly alone
A paramedic knelt beside home
"Do you have anyone we can call?"
Her voice was gentle
Ezequiel opened his mouth.
closed it
Opened it again.
there was only one answer
". .No."
A whisper
Barley a sound
He tighten his grip on the children, their sobs quieting into exhausted shivers.
He didn't know how to raise three babies.
He didn't know how to be strong alone.
He didn't know how to breathe in a world without his parents
But he knew one thing:
He wasn't leaving Sarang, Kyunio, or Seojoon
Not for a second
Not ever.
and through the sirens, the smoke, the collapse of everything he had known, a single promise took root inside him-- heavy, terrible and unbreakable:
Whatever comes next,
I will survive it
For them. .
Years later. .
The trains pulled into Karakura station just after sunset.
The brakes hissed.
The whistle echoed between narrow streets and distant hills. A soft orange glow spread over the town, the kind of warm, quiet light that felt almost unreal after years of chaos and rebuilding. the gentle rumbled beneath the platform marked more than just a stop -- it marked the beginning of a new chapter of the maru family.
Ezequiel stepped off first.
He stood tall, shoulders squared, a single duffel bag slung over one arm. His eyes scanned the skin line with a mix of caution and hope. Karakura was nothing like Seoul-- quieter, smaller, slower, a place where the past couldn't chase them so easily.
At least, that's what he prayed
Behind him, the rest oof his family stepped off in the same order they always moved -- not out of choreographed habit, but years of instinctive formation. A formation built from survival.
Kyunio Maru stepped off next -- the twin older by three minutes, though he worse his age like h was three years older instead. His posture was confident yet gentle, a quiet strength in the way he adjusted the strap of his backpack and surveyed the small station. His eyes, sharp but warm, flicked immediately toward the tracks, counting heads as he always did -- Sarang.. Seojoon...Ezequiel.. all here. all safe.
Sarang Maru followed, her steps softer, more thoughtful. where Kyunio carried steadiness, Sarang carried calm. Her long dark hair brushed her shoulders as she looked around, soaking in the colors, the sounds, then unfamiliar-but-peaceful air of Karakura. She tugged her sweater sleeves nervously but smiled anyway -- a small hopeful smile that reached her eyes.
Lasty came Seojoon Maru, no longer the toddler who once cried in front of a burning home, Now he stepped off the train with headphones around his neck, a sketchbook under his arm, and a curious spark in his eyes. fourteen years old -- bright, restless, still carrying piece of the baby he used to be in the softness of his features.
He paused beside his siblings, breathing in deeply.
"smells...different." Seojoon muttered
Kyunio snorted lightly.
"everything smells different when its not Seoul, Joon"
Seojoon elbowed him.
"Yeah, well it's better than that old apartment hallway."
Sarang nudged them both.
"Stop. We literally just got here."
Their small bickering made Ezequiel's lips twitch -- a rare, tired smile. Not a perfect family, not a healed one, but still a family.
Fa family survived.
He turned toward them, his voice steady.
"Aright," He said, " this is home now. Karakura. Fresh start. No running, no looking over our shoulders. Just....living."
Kyunio nodded.
Sarang looked relieved.
Seojoon raised an eyebrow.
"Do we get our own rooms?"
Ezequiel sighed.
". . .We'll see."
Sarang laughted softly - the kind of laugh she used to never have the strength for.
they gathered their bags and walked towatd the exit of the platform, all four moving together. The golden light faded into the blue of early evening, streetlamps flickering on one by one.
Ahead of them waited a small rented house. New neighbors. New school. New routines. New memories waiting to be written.
Behind them was everything they had survived - ashes, flames, grief, fear, and the years spent piecing themselves back together.
Karakura didnt know who they were
Karakura didnt know what they had been through
Karakura didn't know what hey carried
But the maru family was here
And their story wasn't ending
It was starting over