Well, Standard disclaimers apply- so there!
Well, this is my first story in this category so please bear with me- and the terms i have used are based from wikipedia's SnS article.
Prologue: The Firey Hunter and the Icy Reaper
Flame Haze- A title given to the top steward in the house of a crimson lord, bound by a contract either by will, force, liking or need. They are bound to hunt wayward denizens of their realm that disturb the balance of the world. He or she is bound to the lord's every will until the day the haze, as the container, is destroyed. 'Manipulator of Objects', 'Ritually- Dressed Chaser', 'Interpreter of Condolence'- are some of the titles bestowed upon these stewards of the flame. But the most powerful, prolific and eccentric of them, is the 'Flame- Haired, Burning- Hot- Eyed Hunter' of the crimson demigod Alastor. Not only can the hunter draw her strength from the flame inside, but also from the burning will of the people around and above all others, from her pure emotions. Yes folks, our hunter is a she... and she's in love- though she does not know it yet- or does she?
Death Agents (shinigami) - A designation given to an agent that reaps lives according to the whims of the Muses of Death- Disaster, Plague, Murder, Suicide- these are some of the muses. Death agents have no title and work alone, despite the masses they often take. But ever since the wayward denizens of crimson crossed the line of dimensions, they have created their own hunter to take them down- and she have made a personal mission to hunt those who take the souls of the living wrongly- as well as doing her duties as death, for if the overworld (combined heaven and hell / underworld) does not do its fated duty, the balance and fabric of the world will shatter- even if the overworld itself has no knowledge of what the agent does. The one they call the 'Snow- Haired, Freezing- Cold- Eyed Reaper'- the coldest girl ever to walk the underworld, is the one who is tasked to do this thing. And she is bound until the ice inside of her melts...
These two designates, different in form and function, are seemed not bound, but something binds them from the beginning of their time... and they have never crossed paths in the planes of existence- that is until four years ago.
Four years ago- Rome, Italy. The current hunter- Nietono no Shana, in her quest to eliminate those who unbalance the world- the tomogara (wayward crimson denizens), manages to land herself in one of the more useful hougu (tools)- called flame trap, set up by someone named Marianne.
"Now my master will be proud of me..." Marianne sort of gloated as the hunter was unable to move, or say anything for that matter- just a frustrated look on her face.
The hougu was in the middle of a fuusetsu- locked Coliseum, a spell being used to hold it in place while it did the job of containing the haze.
"Now be extinguished, Flame Haze!"
Then suddenly, a sudden drop in temperature occurred- which was rare in that space, the only thing that can make that shift is someone who can control the powers of existence. Then, the normally dark violet / black / crimson color of the space began to change to a somewhat white / grey color- definitely someone who can control that power- but not a haze or tomogara either- something much more diverse than what she was told about.
"What the!" Marianne alarmed as she tried to get more souls from the frozen tourists, as a means to regain control over the lock that she had opened earlier, but ice suddenly covered all of them, preventing her from getting any more. "I could not get more... what is happening? Why you flame haze!"
She managed to lift a stone block and hurl it towards the hunter but then, ice in the form of stalagmites appeared out of the ground, blocking it.
"Ice? This isn't right..." The Flame of Heaven Alastor's voice came from the hunter's jinki (divine vessel), Cocytus- which she had on her neck- as a necklace.
"What you are doing is not right... you even beat me to an old man who's about to die..." a female, somewhat cheerful yet angry voice came in. "And since you have done it, I might as well remove you- you are interrupting or better yet, disrupting my job."
Then suddenly, the hougu pieces that make the trap began to freeze, weakening the trap on the flame haze, allowing her to break free. Then, the voice again spoke.
"Oh dear... and you've even hurt her that much as well. Now I'm really mad... and now you will pay for hurting my sister!"
"Sister?" the hunter wandered, as suddenly from out of nowhere, a flexible arrow of light made its was into the scene and started to attack Marianne, forcing the tomogara to pull out a fan- shaped hougu- Razor Fan.
Then after a few moments, a lock occurred with the stranger and the enemy. The arrow manifested itself into someone with a white trench coat, snow- white hair and freezing cold eyes- in fact, she was like the hunter, only personified in ice and a bit shorter as well. And she was holding a spear that was like a source of blizzards, for strands of cold came out from it.
"Why you flame haze!" Marianne began to become angrier.
The stranger winced at the remark and knocks off the fan off. Then, three interlocking spell insignia appeared and wrapped around the stranger as she raised her spear.
"I'm... not... a... flame... haze!" the icy stranger barked as she swung her spear four times, hitting the tomogara and sort of transferring the spells to it / her in the first three hits and finally a critical hit on the fourth- making the enemy bleed flame. "Vanish!"
Then she swung her spear down, cutting thru Marianne cleanly. She screamed while her body was consumed and a small crystal flew out of the now burning body, flying to wherever or whenever random space or time. After a few moments, she settled infront of our hunter, some distance away- like the traditional standoff or something on that plane. They both look with determined expression, one not yielding to the other- and they do really look almost alike- except that the snow- haired one was full of positive energy. Then, something glints to the hunter and the lord (via the jinki) - making Alastor stir, but unspoken. Then, that same snow- haired, freezing- cold- eyed one placed a crystal at her feet, instantly glowing after her hands left it, doing what a haze does after each battle, repair damage if there was any- noted though, there were no torches being created- she was no flame haze, like she said earlier. Then the hunter manages to ask something.
"Who are you? You are no flame haze and yet..."
"You take care of the rest now. And don't thank me for what I've done- I'm just doing my job. And I don't need any thanks or recognition from you- only being able to do one thing with you- if I'm able to do it, then I'm satisfied... As long as I can finally call you my sister, then I'm happy..."
"Sister?"
"Well then, until we meet again sister..." the cold one spoke as the fuusetsu lock began to shift back to its original color, with her vanishing.
Misaki city- Sakai residence, current time.
Shana woke up feeling sweaty and wondering. They say that the only time a flame haze dreams is when they receive premonitions- but this was a recollection rather than a premonition.
"What was that all about?" she thought as she panted hard.
In the meantime, Alastor- who was on the bedside table was stirring, but unspoken.
We now turn to Misaki city public hospital #1, where a snow white- haired, freezing- cold- eyed girl with a glowingwhite trench coat and an icy spear on her hands has just finished her job for the day, reaping out three old people. She walked out of the hospital, the white glow enveloping her, a spell to keep her hidden from the eyes of world.
"I don't like taking children." She spoke to herself as she began to vanish- even though she was already unseen. "Well, I'll just let the old ones be for a while again..."
I can feel your heart in motion,
Deep down in your mind and passion.
"Sister..." she then thought. "We shall meet again."
Life goes on and on,
We love each other in the sadness of time...