Following a Trail of Ashes...

I really do appologise for the lateness of my update but here is the next chapter. Please review, I hope you like it.

Distraught and alone, the burning eyed hunter retreated back home. She sat on the roof, staring up at the thickening cropping of dark black clouds above the city. They had not cleared since the fall of the battle, only grown to a greater shade of soulless black.

"Yuji..." Shana whispered beneath her breath, still coming in strained gasps. She was undoubtedly on edge ever since the man in black had appeared. His presence was barely traceable and he moved with the speed and grace of the wind. She couldn't even track his movements. He could sneak up on her at any time and take her away too.

That thought occurred promising to the young flame haze, but it eventually dawned upon her. The man in black would only collect the dead, such was his word. The only way he would show her this mysterious 'Soul Society' would be if she too was claimed by the impenetrable darkness of death. But to do that would be to fail herself and her promise to Yuji.

She had to stay alive to accomplish her duty. If the man in black returned she would have to defeat him. Surrender was not an option for her.

And so she returned to where she had started, stuck in a loop of confusion. With no plan, no leads, no clues, only a recent memory freshly burned into her mind.

Once again, Shana was lost...

"Yuji...Where are you? I...I..." Grief claimed the trembling young girl and she wept into her torn sleeve. The sky too shared in her grief, sending flooding rain to cleanse the dead from the ashes of the battlefield in Misaki city.

The Flame Haze would be almost finished in their battles now, the Tomogara likely already defeated. The Bal Masque had already fled from the battlefield leaving only their minions trapped behind. Those lucky enough to escape would live to lick their wounds but their dreams would be shattered from here on out.

Xanadu...Paradise...It was all but a dream. Now it was time to wake up and face reality.

The rain extinguished the blazing fire in Shana's heart and matted her glistening black hair to her pale face. She was drenched and cold, shivering. It only brought memories of her time with Yuji. The time he had found her squatting on his rooftop in the pouring rain. He had offered to let her inside and she reluctantly obliged just to get him to be quiet. How foolish she had been back then.

Now she wanted to be by his side more than ever before.

"Shana," Alastor spoke softly, barely heard over the rain, "perhaps we should head inside. You have had a rough day. You should rest."

Shana stared down at her feet, observing the rain drops bouncing off against the tiles and sliding in thin rivulets down to the gutters.

"Shana, please. I really think you should rest." Alastor pleaded.

The young maiden responded. She rose to her feet and scanned the horizon, eyes searching the dark. She remained stock still and remained focused on the rising columns of smoke in the distance. Alastor continued to beg for her to rest but it took some time for his words to finally reach her. The down-hearted warrior clambered down from the roof and stepped inside the small house she shared with her guardian and mentor Wilhelmina.

She stood alone in the darkness for a while, eventually raking a slender hand across the light switch and bathing the front room in dull fluorescent light which offered no warmth. Shana stood in the puddle left from the rainwater running off of her coat sleeves and dripping to the floor. Her shoes, soaked through leaked against the floor only spreading the stain of cold grey water.

"I'm having a bath." Shana said in a manner as cold as her shivering frame. She slipped off her pendant and left Alastor lying on the counter in the kitchen while she stumbled off into the bathroom.

When she was alone Shana wandered over to the bath and let if fill while she stared at her haggard reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red, not from her battle form but simply from the endless stream of tears. Her blazing red hair had returned to the smouldered colour of ashes, stuck to her body from the rain, it clung to her cheeks, her shoulders and ran down her back in a frayed black cape.

She despised the weak figure she saw in the mirror. It was a reflection of her every fault, every weakness. It was that figure in the mirror that could not save Yuji, could not see the truth behind Yuji's actions and couldn't pull back the blade as her beloved Yuji had done. It was this figure in the mirror that had caused this all!

But self-loathing was a useless venture for her. No matter how hard she beat herself up it would not solve her problems, it would not accomplish her goals or set her past mistakes right. It would only bring her down further.

Steam billowed out from the large ceramic tub and fogged up the mirror until Shana's reflection was only a blur. She closed her eyes and sighed. She undressed, peeling away the torn, blood-soaked clothes that had become glued to her skinny frame.

Her aching muscles cried out as she climbed into the tub and slowly lowered herself. The water was scalding but she bore the brunt of the pain and reclined in the stagnant water. The water cleansed her wounds, sending tiny trails of crimson mist to float up to the surface along with the dirt and grime and encrusted blood coating her wounded body. As the purifying flood drained away her pain she closed her eyes and took her much needed rest.

It was only when the aching chill of fluid long gone cold struck her that Shana finally rose and caught her bearings. When she returned to Alastor she was wrapped only in a towel. In most circumstances she would have been embarrassed in such a state, but as her memories served her she remembered once telling Yuji that she and Alastor were so close that neither shared any shame in such things.

She also remembered the burning in her cheeks when Yuji saw her naked. The bitter-sweet memory made her blush but feel empty as well.

Everything reminded her of her wonderful past with Yuji. She could not escape it.

But of course you cannot escape the past. However you can still challenge the future. Shana held those words close, igniting the flame once more. She had done away with her mourning. She had washed away her guilt and sorrow. Only her determination was set to remain. Only her blazing desire to find the boy she loved and bring him back. She would stand firm and fight with everything she had. She was prepared now to face her fears, her greatest challenges.

"Alastor," she said with renewed spirit, "I will find Yuji!"

If his face were visible within the pendant she would have seen Alastor's beaming smile. With a dry chuckle Alastor affirmed her wish, "Of course. Just what I would expect of the flame-haired, blazing-eyed hunter."

Shana's expression shifted. Not so much a smile, but the first sign of a frown now lifted. She nodded and in a flash of light Shana re-appeared dressed in her black clad battle dress. Nietono no Shana clasped tightly within her small finger, the young flame haze strolled confidently outside into the night air and stared at the rising sun beyond the mountains.

"It is almost morning..." Alastor muttered.

Shana nodded once again and pointed her blade towards the discoloured sky, "I shall be waiting for the Grim Reaper to appear once again. Then I will find my way into this...'Soul Society'...Wait for me Yuji, I will be there with you soon."

Almost as an afterthought, Shana added, "That's a promise!"


The sun rose early and the world resumed as if the great war had never occurred. Students went on their way to school; traffic flooded the streets and commuters made their way to work. The crater in the middle of the city was a bustling hive of construction workers, policemen and emergency crews all trying to clear the wreckage, treat any wounded (Fortunately there were none. Unfortunately that was because anyone caught within the area was long since dead.) and block the area off to keep the city running smoothly.

Shana walked purposefully down the busy shopping district, scanning the flickering flames of the torches. The attacks by the Tomogara left many torches behind and already many were already beginning to waver and burn out.

Shana trailed behind a businessman who slumped over sluggishly as he clawed his way towards the street corner. He collapsed in a heap before reaching it and simply vanished. Shana waited and staked out the area for an entire hour but no man in black arrived to claim the dead.

Shana followed another extinguished torch and again nothing. She followed yet another and another and another and none of them yielded the mysterious man in black. It was already the afternoon by then and Shana's search had been utterly fruitless.

The disappointed flame haze retired to the roof of a shopping mall and studied the street below with a sour expression.

"Damn! Where is he? He should have come to collect the dead by now!"

"Hang on," Alastor calmly interjected her tantrum, "We have never seen such beings around torches in the past. He must only collect fresh living souls. Torches are our replacements and must be of no use to them."

"So we need a freshly devoured victim then?" Shana asked with a groan. "The Tomogara are all but defeated and driven back to the Crimson Realm. Where are we going to find a fresh victim?"

"Hmm." Alastor gave pause and returned with a strange fault in his voice, "This may seem unusual and quite possibly mad, but perhaps the victim does not have to be devoured by a denizen? As long as the victim is killed..."

"Alastor! You're not suggesting I actually-"

"No, no, that would be awful! But accidents happen and tragedy strikes around every corner. The humans here are not immortal."

"I see..."

Shana glanced down at the busy street below. A child on his way to school ran along the pavement, laughing and cheering. He ran along the gutter, dangerously close to the oncoming traffic but he fearlessly continued his journey to school, however a middle aged man in a suit accidentally bumped into the boy and sent him tumbling out onto the road.

First came the jarring thud, then the screams.

Shana's eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. As much as she had witnessed of humans devoured by beasts from the Crimson Realm she had rarely been confronted with deaths such as this. She hovered over the edge and stared at the gathering crowd. Just as they began to congregate they scattered once again as the window of the mall beneath her was blown outwards and a lumpy object crashed into the pavement sending butterfly wings of gore from the corpse.

More screams. Gunshots now, yelling.

"What...What's going on?"

"A robbery perhaps?" Alastor suggested gravely.

Shana rushed down the fire escape and burst into the landing inside the shopping mall. She dove into the foray of stampeding citizens, all running away from the thunderous roar of gunfire which echoed across the wide open halls.

Nonsensical shouting came from a crazed gunman a hundred metres away. He was not trying to steal anything; he was merely on a violent, bloody rampage. Citizens were mowed down as the madman shot wildly into the crowd.

Shana grit her teeth and raced through the crowds. "That bastard! How dare he take innocent lives! He's worse than the denizens! I won't let him get away with this!" Shana roared like a caged animal as she made her way over to the madman. With her sword drawn Shana leapt through the air over the heads of the screaming shoppers and landed in the clearing between the piles of corpses and the rear flank of the fleeing people.

Two security guards were in a gunfight with the shooter now who was pinned down behind a stall selling jewellery. Shana made to approach him when she felt that same sinister presence from before. She seized up and glanced around in a frenzy, finally catching sight of the man in black standing at a safe distance. He did not act, merely watched on with folded arms.

Shana's anger towards the man in black had to wait and she pried herself away from his cold gaze and rushed towards the gunman. Surprised at the intruder in his game of life and death the gunman let out a bestial cry of panic as he whirled the gun around and unleashed a rain of bullets. Shana ducked under the worst of it, but a few of the bullets tore through her shoulder and side. She soldiered on however and charged.

The madman took his aim again and even with Shana's strength a direct burst at such short range would be fatal. As the shooter squeezed the trigger Shana wheeled around to the side and hacked down on the barrel of the gun. The lunatic continued to squeeze the trigger regardless and the mutilated weapon exploded in his face.

He staggered about in a daze only to be cut down by Shana's blade. She couldn't control herself. Never had she been in such a situation with a human enemy. She had never known how to react to human violence, only ever trained to destroy the Tomogara. This foe was one she had never faced before but panic, adrenaline, fear, anger, hatred and sadness all erupted out in one furious outburst. Her sword sliced through the gunman and he collapsed to the floor where Shana hacked into him, screaming hysterically.

"Shana! Shana, stop it! Leave him be! Shana!" Alastor's demands fell on deaf ears as Shana released everything she had pent up throughout her ordeal.

The mall security took aim and fired but a blazing aura incinerated the incoming bullets which turned to liquid and then ashes before they could reach her.

"SHANA!" Alastor roared, his voice thunderous in the great halls of the mall.

The blazing eyed Hunter's response was a wordless outburst of inhuman rage. She continued to cry hysterically as she carved up what little remained of the killer. The blaring sirens outside, the screaming citizens, Alastor's cries, the gunfire from all sides now. None of it registered to her within the walls of her flaming prison cell.

But it came crashing down in the next instant.

Shana's body froze with her arms crooked behind her back at awkward angles and an explosion around her made the security guards scatter like ants. The wild flame haze glared at the encroaching shadow, madder than ever.

It was the man in black.

"It's horrible isn't it? Seeing such violence. It makes you wonder what goes through some people's minds doesn't it?"

"You!" Shana shrieked, "Why did you stand by and do nothing? You could have saved them!"

The Grim Reaper laughed a sickening laugh, "Such foolish talk. Nature must run its course. People have to die or the balance for our world would be thrown off. That child outside, all those people in here. They all were destined to die here today. To interfere would be unnatural."

"Nonsense!"

"Hardly," the man quickly retorted, "As much as it pains me to see such things they are a necessity in this world. I have no choice but to stand back and watch. Besides, if I were to interfere, my personal emotions would only make matters worse. Such is your mistake young lady. Your judgement was clouded by anger your own sadness and now all you have created is another disaster."

"N-no! I only did-"

"You lost control of your power like the weak-willed child that you are. You should have held your sword at bay. This is exactly why I had to take away your friend last night."

The man in black smiled at his own comment.

Flames devoured the interior of the store.