Shakugan no Shana IV – Torch Restoration
It seemed as if everything had gone back to the way things were before Shana had shown up, except Yuji was gone – off to Xanadu with Shana. Something was stirring in the depths, however...
"Hey, Kazumi?" Yukari Hirai leaned over my desk. "Wanna go out to Karaoke with the gang?" Eita Tanaka, Matake Ogata, Keisaku Sato (Marjorie had somehow convinced Sato to finish up his school and not to forsake his friends), Kimiko Nakamura, and Hayato Ike.
"Um, sorry. I have to stop be Chigasu's." I apologized.
"You've been acting weird for the past few days. Something up?" Yukari asked.
"Well, um..."
"Hey, I know! Why don't you and I stop by, and we can meet up the others in about an hour?"
I smiled. "Okay."
It felt strange heading over to Chigusa's house with the real Yukari, but Chigusa wouldn't remember her anyway...or would she? If Shana had given back her remnants, maybe some of Shana's memories with Chigusa would remain. I didn't know. I had not seen her since the restoration four days ago. It was too painful. It took Tanaka holding me like a blubbering idiot to gather the strength to see her. Some of our shared memories were with her son and Shana.
"Kazumi, please come in." Chigusa motioned, not inviting Yukari, probably because she was out of Chigusa's line of sight. "My husband had to run off to work again. Luckily, his company is allowing him to work closer to home for the time being."
"That's good." I handed Chigusa the bento I used for Yuji. "Hope you enjoy. I made some puree for the baby as well."
"Goodness, you're back! I missed you." Chigusa addressed Yukari.
"Sorry, have we met?"
"Come now, Shana, don't be that way. Even with your hair in tiny pigtails, you can't fool me."
I stared in shock at Chigusa. She remembered. My eyes started watering up.
"Hey, Kazumi, what's up?" Yukari grabbed my shoulders.
"Kazumi, are you okay, dear?"
"You remember?"
"Of course, but Shana looks different today. Not just her hair either..." Chigusa looked her up and down.
"Sorry, I know I haven't seen you in a few days, but I have to be somewhere soon. I'll see you again tomorrow." I wanted to ask, but I was too afraid. His name was on the tip of my tongue, but if I were to say it...
Yukari and I raced to the Karaoke Hall.
"Hey! Slow down. When did you get so fast? Have you been working out with Matake?"
Even though we were running at top speed, Yukari was still asking questions.
"Was that lady a friend of yours?" and "Why did she call me Shana?"
I threw open the door to the room our group was in. Everyone looked at me in surprise. I was sweating and huffing like crazy.
"Kazumi? You okay?"
"Geez, you didn't have to rush. You're still early." Matake said.
"Tanaka, Sato! It's Shana!" I shouted between breaths.
"What?" The two stood up in shock.
"Chigusa remembers Shana!" I started crying, sinking to the floor.
"Hey, easy. You want me to take you home?" Matake grabbed my hand.
Tanaka pulled her up as Matake watched.
"Eita?" Matake sounded concerned.
"It's alright, Matake. Me and Sato are aware of the situation. We'll make sure she gets home."
"Um, kay."
Sato whipped out the communication bookmark as we walked into a narrow ally. "Marjorie?"
Marchosias – her "Oxford dictionary" – answered the bookmark. "Sorry, she's in a drunken stupor again. But what did you expect? She's not sleeping, so she's drinking."
"Tell her it's important. It's about Shana."
"This is most interesting." Marjorie swooshed her mug. "Shana should have been forgotten when Yukari's remnant was returned." She paused and looked at me. I know what she was gonna ask. "Any sign of her remembering Yuji?"
"I, uh, didn't ask."
"You may not have to. Just look at any pictures that you have together."
"Ike's house is close by. He has all of the pictures from the amusement park."
"Yeah, but maybe I should go alone. He may get the wrong idea from two guys following me."
"Do you have a thing for him?" Tanaka asked.
"I turned him down on Christmas Eve, but he may not remember as the memory was intertwined with Yuji's."
"That really doesn't..."
"I'll be back soon!"
I ran out Sato's place and to Ike's. It was already 8:00 and the sun was down since it was still late winter. I had never gone to his place, but knew where it was at after stalking – I mean, performing reconnaissance – on Yuji Sakai. I arrived 20 minutes later and pounded on the door.
A young lady with glasses answered the door. "Oh, you must be a friend from school." She called upstairs. "Haya-chan! You have a visitor. It's a girl!"
"Mom, don't call me Haya-chan!" Ike ran downstairs and stopped in his tracks upon seeing me.
"Um, hi, Haya-chan." I smiled.
"Yoshida? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Say, do you have any pictures from the amusement park?"
"Of course, I got quite a bit. Lots of us together too."
Creepy. I thought, but I knew he liked me so I let it go. After all, I was the same with Yuji, okay well, not as bad.
Ike handed me an envelope. "I still haven't got a new picture album yet."
I thumbed through the pictures and dropped them.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
My whole body and eyes were trembling.
"Kazumi?" Ike grabbed my arms.
I pulled him in tightly to a hug.
"Are you okay? Not that I mind hugging you or anything."
"Ko-ko-ko..."
Ike picked up the top picture from the stack I dropped. "Oh, yeah. That's Konoe. Don't tell me you forgot. She just had to travel with her family for a bit. She actually comes back tomorrow."
Hecate's "remnant" or whatever she was was coming back.
I walked to school the following morning alone. I had told everyone the night prior and even Marjorie couldn't explain. She said she would try to call Shana, but couldn't be sure of the connection.
"Okay, everyone. Before I call attendance, I think we should all welcome back Fumina Konoe from her sabbatical from school. I trust you studied in your absence?" The teacher asked.
Konoe nodded and took her seat. She noticed me staring and smiled at me.
"Let's see..." the teacher read his list to himself. "Yes, we have one transfer student as well and I hope you will all welcome back Yuji Sakai from his three week vacation in...Xanadu?"
"Uh, yes, uh..." Yuji strolled in as my heart stopped. Yuji.
"Nice to see you man." Ike and the others said.
"You too, Konoe." Others said.
"Sorry, Xanadu?" The teacher persisted.
Shana walked in after Yuji. "It's a newly established country in the South Sea. It is not recognized by the UN, so don't expect to find it on a map just yet." Shana looked at Yukari and her seat, but picked an empty one in the back.
"Shana, what's going on?" I blurted. "Why are Hecate/Konoe, Yuji, and you here?"
"Hey, you don't have to be rude." Matake said.
"Do you even remember Shana?"
"Well, yeah. We hung out a few times. I suggested she transfer schools here." Matake paused. "No offence, Yukari, but sometimes I can't remember if it was you or Shana I was hanging out with. Your cuteness' is just too similar." She gave a silly-me expression.
Yuji walked through my aisle and whispered in my ear. "I'll explain later. Come to my house and bring the others."
"Was that a love confession?" Matake continued.
"Sakai! We can't just go to your house. You're mom doesn't remember you." I pleaded as the gang headed towards his house. This will tear Chigusa up. As much as I cared for Yuji, I would not let him hurt Chigusa. I grabbed Yuji by the arm and knocked him to the ground, probably catching him by surprise.
"Yoshida!"
"Kazumi, what are you doing?" Tanaka asked.
"I won't let him hurt Chigusa."
Shana tried to pull me off gently, but I smacked her away – my first mistake. I found myself sitting by a stone fence a few metres where we fought. My clothes were dirty and bloody.
"Shana, I can't believe you did that to her." Tanaka said, helping me up.
"Yoshida, it is alright." Yuji tried to reassure me. "You'll see." He started to walk away.
"I won't make them suffer, you piece of trash!" Those words escaped my mouth, probably what I was feeling when he first left Chigusa alone.
Shana punched me in the stomach as I vomited blood. I kept on. I grabbed on to Yuji, getting blood on his uniform.
"STOP!" Tanaka blocked Shana. "I won't let you hurt her!"
"Please trust me." Yuji said.
"There you are! I have tea waiting if you're thirsty." Chigusa called out to us.
"Chigusa?" I muttered.
"Kazumi? Oh dear. Get inside, hurry. Who did this to you?"
"It was my fault. I did not scale back the level of training. I fought her at Yuji's level."
Chigusa took me to the restroom as she dressed my wounds. "Honey, you shouldn't be training so hard. You're lucky you don't need stitches."
I looked in the mirror. My hair was still wet from washing out the blood in the back. I had a minor cut on my cheek and a bruise on my lower ribs and back. It could have been worse. I guess she was holding back. My uniform was in the laundry basket and, unless Chigusa had magical detergent, was ruined from excessive blood & dirt, and tears in the back.
I headed back to the living room and everybody stared at me in concern. "Sorry, Yuji, the uniform is shot so I had to use some of your clothes."
"Yeah, no problem. I'm sorry this happened." He avoided eye contact.
"Where's Chigusa?"
"In the kitchen making snacks."
Tanaka handed me a picture off the counter – a family photo – and Yuji was in it.
"Once I left this world, my existence was fully restored. Everyone's memories of me, including when I was a torch, have been restored. I may have been a special case having the Midnight Lost Child, or something, I don't know."
"What about Shana?" Tanaka asked.
"Yeah, and Konoe?" Sato chimed in.
Shana started. "I am a special case as well. I have lived as Yukari for so long, yet insisted on being called Shana as well as having different personalities, so people remember me and Yukari both, but as you have seen, some events people can't remember who was where."
"What about the pictures?" I asked.
"The pictures appear to be telling the truth. Wherever I was interacting, the picture shows me, wherever Yukari was, she appears. People will be able to sort it out by looking at the photos." Shana finished.
"And Konoe?"
"Kazumi, I think that it because of your desire." Yuji said. "You helped rebuild this world with memories and you liked Konoe. With Hecate's death, her remnant may have been freed and joined this world."
"One more question." Sato asked. "Where is your home now?"
"I go to Misaki High School and have a little brother to take care of. I also have Wilhelmina to look out for. We have restricted visitations to a set number per day, but we have priority. I'll be at school most days, unless there's an emergency or something. And, we can hang out more."
"I vote for the amusement park again." Shana smiled.
"We'll invite the whole gang, including mom and Wilhelmina."
"And Junko!" Shana raised her hand.
"Who?" Yuji asked.
"You'll see."