Shakugan no Shana: Crimson Denizen Shana!
Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana
Warning: I am still studying so please forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake
Warning: Since something had happened, the software I am now using don't have grammar checker so please forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake
Chapter 2
Shana
Laughter of little children playing beside the Mana river that divided Misaki city could be heard in a distance. The sky has faded from the clear blue sky to orange-red sunset. Seating on a bench, I watched the girl with a black coat bought something from a hawker-van (I don't know what was it called). Moments later, the girl with long black hair returned with a bag of melon bread in her arms.
Seating down beside me, the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter, like an innocent child, took out a melon bread from the plastic bag and happily took a bit to it. Biting into the bread happily, giving an atmosphere totally different from before. After a while, I decided to start the conversation.
"What is that?"
"...This? This is melon bread, something to eat. You don't even know such simple things?"
"Ah...no..."
I sighed from the tense atmosphere, unknown that I was the only one having. There was so much thing that I wanted to ask but I don't even know how to start a conversation. Sigh, I felt so useless when I was speechless.
?
An oddly sweet sensation filled my mouth as I realized that the girl seating beside my had stuffed a bread into my mouth. Taking a small bite before pulling it out, the girl started the conversation.
"You are thinking about what happened just now right? Take one then, it's going to take a while to explain everything."
"Ah...okay."
For a moment I felt very useless for letting the girl to start a conversation, however the feeling was quickly replaced as the girl started talking.
"Since you are a total idiot who don't know anything, I have to explain everything from the basic to you. Just now the red dimension just now is called Fuzetsu. It's a dimension that cut off any relationships of that dimension from the outside world. Basically, the outside world couldn't interfere in any activities taken place in a Fuzetsu. Crimson Denizens create Fuzetsu so that they can do what they want without being noticed.
What you saw just now are Rinnes, underlings of a Crimson Denizen. Crimson Denizens create Rinnes to help them in their troublesome tasks. Basically you can call them slaves of the Crimson Denizens."
"What is a Crimson Denizen?"
I asked as she explained to me about the Rinnes. However it seemed that I had made her angry but disrupting her explanation as I could felt a slight glare being directed towards me. I made a apology sigh as she started to continue.
"Crimson Denizens are inhabitants of a world called the Crimson Realm. They traveled from the Crimson Realm and started to live here. However to live here they must consume power of existence to manifest themselves in this world.
"What is-Hmm!"
Just as I was about to unintentionally disrupted her explanation, she quickly just stuffed another bread to my mouth and continued.
"Power of existence is basically every living and non-living thing in the world. Like I said before, Crimson Denizens need to feed on power of existence in order to live. Power of existence can be found on anyone. Normally those with bigger influence in their life have more power of existence. Those that lose their fixed existence called torch.
Torch are created by both Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens. Crimson Denizens create Torch to make their consumption less noticeable, and so they are not hunted and detected while Flame Hazes use this to soften the sudden "shift" the world would undergo, and prefer to make the change gradually by allowing the people's existence slowly fade away without any noticeable change. Ah good timing, look over there."
The girl suddenly stopped the explanation as she pointed towards a group of children playing together. I looked at them but could not found any-
Ah I found it, just beside the group of playing children there was one of them that didn't join in. His face could only be described as void of emotion. Then I noticed, the flame was very small. In just a few seconds, he was suddenly surrounded by blue flame and vanished, as if he was not there in the beginning.
How can this be? Someone was there just now...
"That is the fate of all Torches. Since in the beginning they are already dead, they lose their fixed existence and were unable to make any influence to anyone. People slowly forget their existence and carried on with their life. Flame Hazes make Torches so that the sudden disappearance of existence wouldn't disrupt the world."
The girl finished her bread as she started to get up. I followed as we left the bench and headed towards the bridge. Along the way, I started asking about questions in my mind.
"You haven't explain to me what is a Flame Haze, are they almost the same to Crimson Denizens?"
"No, actually quite the opposite."
She stopped in the middle of the bridge and looked up into the sky. The once orange-red sky was not replaced by the starry night. Thousand of yellow lights could be seen in the city. I felt that she was looking at something even beyond these skies before she continued.
"While Crimson Denizens feed on power of existence to live, in order to maintain the order of the existence in the world, Flame Haze existed to hunt to Crimson Denizens that feed on them. Basically Flame Hazes are hunters. They simply existed to attack, hunt and kill. In some way they are even worse that Crimson Denizens, only have the emotion of hatred inside them."
"...Then are you a flame haze? That could explain why-"
Why she was being attacked by Rinnes. It all make sense it she was a fl-
"I am not."
...Huh?
I turned my face from the scenery and looked towards her. She was still looking at the starry sky, as if it felt nostalgic to her. However that was a lonely face she was having. She turned herself away from the sky and looked at me in the eyes and said.
"Even though it might feel strange to you but, the truth is I am a Crimson Denizen. Those that came from the Crimson Realm and feed on power of existence."
"...Then why are you attacked by the Rinnes just now?"
"Even though Crimson Denizens may be the same race, but there are times we didn't get along with each other. To the master of those Rinnes, my existence here is a nuisance. Unlike other Crimson Denizens, I do not feed largely on power of existence that would disrupt the balance of the world. I only feed on Torches that almost have their times up."
"Why do you do that?"
"Because of me."
"Huh!"
I let out my shock when I heard another voice came into our conversation. It was the same one as I heard from yesterday. The girl then lifted the red pendant that was hanging around her neck slightly and explained.
"This is Alastor, a crimson god that was once the leader of Bal Masque, a Crimson Denizen organization. However, after a great battle with the flame haze army, he was defeated and his body was sealed by the flame haze. Bal Masque was then disbanded as all the Crimson Denizens fled around the world. I was the only one left that managed to protect his existence and hid it away from the Flame Haze. To avoid detection I have to take as little power of existence as possible to avoid detection from the Flame Hazes, who I guessed that must be searching for us right now."
"I am sorry for all the trouble. Even though I promised a peaceful world for you all..."
"Don't mind about it, you are like a father to me. I wouldn't be able to make it this far without your guidance."
She said as she had a faint smile. I guessed that this Alastor person was very important to her. As much as I hated to disrupt this moment, I realized that I have forgotten to ask the most important question in my mind.
"Then what happened just now?"
"Just now?"
"When I was trying to protect you, I felt something taken out of me before you suddenly become stronger and defeated the Rinnes. Why did you suddenly become so powerful?"
Just as I asked that question, I could saw that her face started to form a small shade of red as if remembering something embarrassing. However that was quickly replaced with a face of uneasiness.
"...You should tell him. He has the right to know."
Alastor, in the form of a red pendant, then told her. Uneasiness could still be seen in her face, she then took a deep breath and sighed before telling me the answer.
"You told you already right? Crimson Denizens feed on power of existence to live in this world."
"Yes you did told me that."
"The left over amount of the power of existence used to manifest themselves in the world become their power. The more power of existence consumed, the stronger the Crimson Denizens are. Because I was hiding from the flame haze, I consumed little power of existence. So the power that I have that time was almost the same or even weaker then those Rinnes had. To save both of us, I had to be stronger...that's why...why..."
She tried to give me the final answer as more uneasiness could be seen from her face. She kept on stumbling in her speech as if the words were stuck in her mouth but...
I understand what she was trying to say already.
"That's why I...hrm..."
"That's okay."
"Huh?"
She suddenly had a blank look on her face when she heard me. I guessed that she must had felt very guilty about this. I flashed her a smile in an attempt to smooth her uneasiness as I said.
"I understand everything already."
"...Aren't you angry?"
I felt glad when I saw that her uneasiness had disappeared. We then started walking towards the residential area of Misaki city. I continued.
" Well, I did said that if I die I would want to protect you than die alone. Though funnily I was the one being protected in the end. It was still thanks to you that I managed to survive pass that. So I am not angry."
Though it may be a bit sad...
I looked down and saw that my flame was quite small, judging by the size I may only have a few more days to live before I disappear. I also saw that she had a small faint of red in her face before she face it away from me.
However, I am not angry and have no regrets.
We continued walking in silence as we reached a certain junction. A few more roads then I would have reached my house. The Crimson Denizen girl beside me then stopped in her tracks and said.
"I fear that we must part ways here."
"...So you are leaving?"
"Don't worry, I will still be in this city."
"How am I supposed to find you in this big city?"
I asked unconsciously just as she was about to turn her back against me. She looked towards me and replied,
"If you managed to find me, then I will tell you how."
With that final sentence, she left as she jumped up to the roof. I was shocked first but I guessed that jumping up the rough should have been an easy task for a Crimson Denizen. With her image in my mind, I started to head towards my home.
"Yuji, could you climb up the roof and fixes the antenna of the television? We haven't been receiving good signals recently. I guess that the antenna was off-balanced so can you go fix it?"
My mother awakened me from my thought as she called me from below. There was just so much to think about today. I started to got up from my bed and headed to the store room to take the ladder.
Since my room's balcony was closer to the roof, I placed the ladder against the wall and started climbing up the ladder. Maybe after I fixed the antenna I could rest on top of the roof and enjoy the-
"... ..."
"... ..."
I was speechless...
Just on the rooftop beside the antenna of the television, I saw the last person I ever thought that I would see again today.
Her brown eyes stared at my blue eyes as we stared at each other. The silence continued for a few seconds before she started asking.
"Why-Why are you here?"
"That was supposed to be my line!"
I argued back as I climbed up to the roof. I first fixed the antenna which was slightly out of place before facing towards her again.
"In such a large city, I never thought that we would have met you again. Not to mention that not even an hour had passed."
"So why are you here?"
She asked with a look that suggested that she was suspecting me. Not knowing how to answer to that I could only answered the most logical answer."
"Because this is my house's roof."
"... …"
"... ..."
"... ...Hahaha."
"What's the matter, Alastor?"
The girl asked when she heard Alastor suddenly laughed after the awkward silence. Now that I thought about it, Alastor didn't talk much during our conversation, this is also the first time I heard him laugh.
"It's nothing, it's just that the coincidence is very funny like fate. I never thought that something like this could happen."
"Fate...?"
She repeated the word as if it was mysterious word. Just as I was about to say something, I could hear the sound of my mother telling me to come down. Deciding that she must not know someone, a girl was living on the roof, I started to climb down. However before I climbed down, I realized something.
"Tell me your name."
I asked towards her the same question again. She looked at me strangely and replied.
"Didn't I tell you already, I don't have a name and don't need one. Just Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter or Nietono no Shana was enough already."
"Nietono no Shana?"
"It's the name of the sword she had."
"Nietono no Shana..."
"...What was it?"
As if annoyed by me, her tone felt like urging me to climb down. After repeating that name again, I said to her.
"Then you are Shana."
"Huh?"
She had a blank look in her face, even so I continued.
"If you don't have a name, then take Shana then. I will call you that from now on."
"Wai-Wait who are you to-"
"It's a good name."
"Eh?"
"Then I will be going down, good night Shana."
"...Shut up Shut up Shut up!"
She shouted as I started to climb down. However before I entered my room, I could her talking to me one last time for the night.
"...Good night Yuji."
… … …
… …
...
...Did she just called me by the first name?
A/N: Whew, finally finished explaining a few things. It took me three hours to write this time. Not to mention this chapter had breached 2,500 words, which was not in my expectation. I thank "xxx" for being my first reviewer. I was wondering should I continue this before I saw the review. Even though it was only one review but I am happy with it for a starting story. Hope anyone read this chapter like this chapter so
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