Three.
umbra/igniculus

It was 10pm, just like they'd agreed, after exchanging phone numbers. Be there, OK? Judai's last text read.

It was a ridiculous time to be meeting someone. Shou found himself looking around far too much, anxious that he had been tricked. He alternated between his phone and the streets around him, wondering where Judai might be.

He'd been in the same place for ten minutes, and he'd seen no sight of the boy he'd met earlier that day. People seemed to pass by carelessly, ignoring the small-looking teenager in the shade, leaning back against a lamp-post. There had been a few awkward looks, but his refusal to meet anyone in the eye meant they'd just walked away and let him be.

He didn't know what to think. He'd snuck out, and his family wouldn't notice - he hoped. He'd felt terrible the night before. He hoped that Ryo and his father would realise he wasn't going against them. No, he decided, I'm just going to meet Judai, this strange person who knows about us and told me I smell.

Shou admitted he wasn't happy about the comment. He'd never smelled anything odd around himself or Ryo. He could tell good scents from bad, definitely - but he'd never thought exorcists had their own smell, of all the things…

"You showed up!"

Judai's cheerful tone resounded from behind him, making Shou jump in surprise. He turned around to see the other boy. He seemed to be just as cheerful as before, unfazed by the cold and the dark, smirking with confidence under a lamp-post.

"I guess…" Shou trailed off, not quite catching his enthusiasm. His heart had been thrumming with anxiety. What if he'd fallen for some elaborate prank? Even though Judai hadn't lied about meeting, his head was still filled with doubt and nagging worries.

He wondered what Judai had to show him this late in the evening, almost at night, and if the whole thing was even worth sneaking out so late for. His father and brother didn't care for what time he'd be back; as long as he didn't try to attack any shadows, they wouldn't care, and if he did, they'd care even less.

They wouldn't save him again. If he did it again, he'd probably actually die.

He prayed that Judai wouldn't get him to fight. He felt ill at the thought of disobeying his father's decision, and even shadows themselves. More than disobeying his family, the last thing he wanted was to die.

His thoughts were disrupted by a soft shove from Judai. Looking back at him, he couldn't see a trace of concern on the other boy's face, as if he had nothing to fear in the world. With his hands in his pockets and an expression so carefree, Shou found himself wondering what Judai's links to exorcism even were. It wasn't normal for an exorcist to be so perky when their matters were often so grim.

"Hey, Shou?"

It was then that he noticed that Judai was staring at something. His expression shifted, and now looked uncertain; he couldn't help but feel strange at the fact. "What's wrong?"

Judai prodded his arm. "You're not going to get cold, are you?"

Shou looked down at himself, then back at Judai. The other boy hadn't changed clothes, though he had added a jacket to keep himself warm. He suddenly felt stupid for not doing so himself. His sleeves were long, but whether they'd keep away the growing autumn cold was a question he wasn't prepared to answer.

It wasn't going to be uncomfortable - but he feared doing harm to himself. He'd been born with next to no sensitivity to the cold, as had his brother. Though it could not cause him discomfort, or be distracting, he thought that it would be safer if he could at least feel that he was on the verge of hypothermia.

It was the most self-damaging exorcist trait he could think of. What use was the ability to not realise that you were going to freeze?

He shook his head. "I hope not."

"You don't feel it, huh? I'm jealous. Seriously, layers aren't that comfortable when you're out hunting for shadows."

Shou jerked at the mention of shadows. A shiver rushed down his spine, and it wasn't because of the cold. If Judai had called him out here for that purpose, then here was the last place on Earth he wanted to be. The last thing he wanted was for Judai to see him as some kind of hero; the kind he'd think could actually fight, and Shou knew he couldn't really be one.

I'm not an exorcist. I'm not. But he doesn't believe me. He said I smell like one, so I have to be one.

His voice came out as a stutter the moment he tried to object. "I… I'm not an exorcist. I- I can't hunt shadows."

He hated the truth, and it made him sick, but he knew that keeping up a lie would lead to nothing but trouble. Judai had to be made aware of it somehow. He'd been stupidly happy at the fact that he'd smelled an exorcist - but in the end, all he'd smelled was a failed learner, who just happened to have an exorcist's blood.

"What do you mean?" Judai looked at him uncertainly. "You know about shadows. You smell exactly like one. You're an exorcist, right? That makes you one."

Shaking his head, Shou felt his face flush with embarrassment, and he tried to look away. He couldn't bear to see someone so naive having his heart broken. "I'm not," he mumbled. "It's just… It's just my family. Not me." He swallowed the bitter aftertaste in his mouth, turning to walk away, burning up with shame. "I can't fight. I've never killed anything. I'm a chicken."

He almost cried, but mentally screamed at himself not to. He wasn't that much of a coward. He couldn't let himself do that, not in front of someone who had probably had high expectations of him until he'd confessed. His chest hurt with guilt.

"Hey, that's no problem. You can get better, right?"

Judai didn't seem angry. It irked him. He'd expected more disappointment, at least. He'd deceived him, after all…

Shou shook his head. "No. My family said I can't. I'm not made for that. But I've tried." Ryo's words, and those of his father, burned harshly in his mind still. It pained him to know that he'd failed. Even if it meant that he was not in danger this way, his hopes had been put down, and it hurt nonetheless.

He jumped at the sudden feeling of Judai wrapping an arm around his shoulder, coming much closer than what he was used to. He'd not had anyone this close to him for years, not even his own brother. Even Misawa, the closest person he had to a friend, had never tried to reassure him in such a way. It was strange, and probably warming too - though he could only rely on his guesswork. Being unable to feel much cold meant feeling little warmth too.

"Hey." He heard Judai speak up, unfazed by whether people would see them like this or not. "Hey, it's fine. You don't have to fight right now."

Shaking, Shou looked back with uncertainty.

"Hey, we're all different. I only started doing my thing a few years ago. I'm not that good, really. I'm not going to judge…" Judai's voice was different this time. Rather than the energetic spark it had possessed before, this time it was much calmer. Shou found himself going along with it, even if he didn't quite understand himself. How could he be so forgiving?

"I'm… I'm serious. I can't fight. I can't do it at all." He shivered, wishing there was more he could do. He knew he wasn't an exorcist. Even if he tried, he stood no chance. The idea of charging into battle, here and now, or even any time at all, sent terror into his heart. "I can't do it. Not ever."

Giving him a nudge, Judai refused to let go of his shoulder. His gaze didn't leave Shou at all, even if Shou himself was too caught up in embarrassment to look up and meet it. "Hey. Shou. Hey. Come on," he repeated, gently prodding. It wasn't uncomfortable, even if he did feel terrible for being himself as he was. Slowly, Shou gathered the courage, swallowing the bitterness in his throat and looking up.

"Come on. It'll be all right." Softly smiling, Judai's bright eyes reflected the light of the lamps above them. "I'm serious. You don't even have to do anything. I… I just thought you were mad at me before. You know, for walking in and just saying things out loud like that…"

He trailed off, avoiding eye contact, probably cringing at his own mistake. "And, well, you seemed kind of curious. I haven't met any other exorcists before either. I wanted to kind of… show you stuff. I thought we could get to know each other that way. Even if you really don't want to be my friend, I thought it would be good to know each other as… the kind of people who might understand each other."

Shou understood. It was a bit like his family. They were bound by blood and clan duties, but he was a disappointment to his father, and Ryo probably despised him. Family was unavoidable, and whatever Ryo thought of his father, the two had close, undeniable ties.

"You wanted an alliance?" He was powerless, alone or with another. It wouldn't be a good one, whichever way.

"Kind of. But not like that. Just so we could talk to each other. You know, someone who can understand the sort of stuff I was talking about. Maybe help each other out, if you wanted that, but that's not as important. I… kinda felt you were different, and I just thought we'd find something in common."

"I… I understand that." Shou replied slowly. He was capable of understanding. He was a terrible fighter, but he knew about shadows and he'd seen an exorcist - his brother - do his work. He knew a few things, admittedly, and what he lacked in terms of ability, he at least had in terms of knowledge. "I understand. It's all right."

The response was calm, surprisingly so. "If you don't want to go on, it's all right. I can leave you alone. I'm really sorry, all right?" Judai pleaded, more to be forgiven than anything else. There was no disappointment in his voice.

Shou didn't know what to say. He wanted to run and never look back. He wanted Judai to leave him alone, and to never talk to him, or try to drag him into any kind of mess ever again. He wanted a life like any other normal human being, not that of some failure with exorcist blood in his veins. He had a future to find and some kind of independence to carve out, knowing the day would come when his family would no longer speak to him. He wanted to be himself, even if it meant being weak, and he wanted to be alone.

At the same time, he felt terrible even thinking of leaving Judai behind. He had no-one that he knew and only a small chance of finding someone else in the town that could understand his thoughts and ideas. He'd taken the chance and approached him, a loner, even if he had been brash and a little offensive. Shou knew he couldn't just leave him behind - at least, not until he could be nice to him back.

"No. I… I said I'd come with you. And I want to know more about you too."

That, too, was true. He couldn't deny he was curious.

If Judai really was another exorcist, then surely knowing him wouldn't hurt. He'd help him establish himself amongst others, even if it meant confronting his father again. He wouldn't be getting involved himself; that would be enough to keep him safe. He had to do something right, for once.

He knew his brother wouldn't be happy to have someone else on their territory. Maybe, he thought, they could arrange something. And even right now, they weren't in their part of town. Whatever happened here would be kept secret, and even if he wasn't sure, he still hoped.

His hands formed fists in the dark. "I'm going to go with you. If it's all right, anyway."

It was enough to convince Judai. Almost immediately, he perked up, bringing his hands close to himself. He clenched them with careless excitement. With his smirk, it took no words to express how he felt. "Sure, it's all right!"

Looking right at him, he added, "And I swear, you're not going to have to fight."

It reassured him a little, though Shou couldn't help but still feel nervous somehow. Thoughts of shadows uneasily clawed at his mind. Trying to not make himself sick, he focused on Judai instead of his own problems, in hope that he knew what he was doing.

Glancing around, Judai settled on a direction. Shou only hoped that he wasn't being haphazard.

"Come on." Judai tugged at his sleeve, and Shou had no choice but to follow. Pointing in the same direction, Judai began to lead him out into one of the alleyways around them. "There's one somewhere round here…"

His heart began to speed up pace at the thought. There was something close by.

"Wait, how do you know? Can you just… feel them?" Not even Ryo could tell where a shadow was exactly, as far as he knew. For him, shadow-hunting had always been likened to a game of chance. Even experienced exorcists, who could follow certain clues, could rarely sense the presence of beings of the dark.

"Yeah. There's one a couple streets down."

Shou shivered. He followed nonetheless. Judai had let go of him by now, and he knew he had the choice to run away. He couldn't bear to, though. He knew he had to follow, and so he did, trailing him through the streets. They turned into a darker alley together, Judai looking on intensely and Shou examining every nook and cranny with fear, hoping that nothing would spring out.

"Come on, not long now… You've got to be here, creepy bastard…"

Judai's mumbling to himself made Shou shiver with anxiety. He hoped that Judai was wrong, and that there wasn't anything in the alleyways at all. Shadows were invisible to the ordinary human eye, and even if exorcists could see them, he'd not heard of any who could track them… It was bizarre. His stomach was in knots at the thought.

He followed nonetheless.

With a sudden motion, Judai halted, pressing himself against a wall. Shou almost jumped. He mirrored the action, clinging to cold brick in an attempt to both brace himself and try to calm down.

"Ssh. It's round here. You can follow me, but stay back."

Creeping slowly, Judai motioned to him with his hand, and Shou looked on in fear. He could barely see in the dark, even with his exorcist blood. Something within him was beginning to thrum as they moved closer, the beginnings of the strange voice in his head hissing, softly at first then more loud.

Fight it. Kill it. Kill it now.

Unwilling, but more so unwilling to be left behind, he resisted the voice and turned the corner, trying to not cling to Judai.

"Yup. I was right. Come here, boy…"

In front of him, Judai looked on into the depths of the alley. Shou realised he was doomed.

With little light in the area, a lone streetlight excepted, he could barely make out the shadow's outline. Faint grey slivers mingled around the edges of what seemed to be horns, with similar shades around its feet hinting at the presence of claws. Its body gleamed violet, black edges streaming away into the dark, as if it had come out of some dark corner or void, and was now patrolling the edge of the depths.

Judai took a step forward, looking on, and the shadow responded. It shifted.

Soundlessly, its head turned towards him and Judai, red eyes glowing. He swore he could hear a faint snarling coming from its jaws. Its form seemed to grow smaller for a moment as it tensed, having noticed the two figures on the other side of the street.

Shou turned to face him. Nothing about him suggested worry, or even bare tension. His face bore a smile, one of excitement, as he turned back to face him, whispering in a tone that resembled a laugh, in spite of all that he'd said:

"You ready for this?"

- and with that, the shadow sprang.

Shou took steps backwards, shivering, trying to edge away from the beast in the darkness. He gasped, seeing that Judai was doing the opposite. His companion had changed his stance, knees just bent, in anticipation of the charge.

Still, isn't it going to get him? Judai's hands were empty, and he saw no sign of any kind of weapon. His hands were in fists, but he saw no flickers of light around or near them. He'd never heard of such a thing as unarmed exorcism.

The shadow landed where Judai had been moments ago; Judai himself had shifted a few paces right, dodging an incoming claw-slash. The beast swung again, missing for the second time, as Judai crouched and stood up and leapt back, narrowly avoiding the swipes. A laugh, not loud, but still clear, sounded out. Shou's hairs stood on end.

Wasn't he… scared?

Judai didn't seem to be standing still at all, easily manoeuvring round the enemy as if the hunt was nothing more than some playground game. With the two having changed positions, Shou could see clearer, and he made out more details of the beast.

He saw strong-looking black-violet limbs, with tendrils of mist wrapped around what must have been its joints. Long whiskers trailed, like thin serpents, with a thick tail swinging behind sturdy hind legs. A dragon? A lion? Even so, he was only making a guess.

"Are you even trying?" Judai's voice showed no sign of worry nor stress. He saw him raise and stretch out his hand, fingers beckoning the beast to come near. "Come on then, come fight me!"

Shou only backed away further, hands shaking. He had to help out too, he knew, for the sake of morality; an exorcist took up any challenge, but still… He could barely keep his fingertips still enough to manage even a few sparks, let alone an entire weapon.

You're not an exorcist. Ryo had been right. He could remember every syllable of it.

The dragon-lion's growl grew louder, becoming a more savage snarl. Baring dark fangs, it whipped its tail at Judai's legs. Avoiding the blow, Judai moved back. The tail swung again, with a renewed set of slashes coming from both sets of claws. Shou could just see Judai drawing back, the dragon both following the cue and giving Judai less and less space to move and act in.

With barely any room left to jump back to, Judai seemed to cling to the wall. Palms pressed against the bricks, his dodges were becoming more narrow. A claw aimed at his face almost scraped through his hair as he ducked.

Whether he realised it or not, Judai was being forced into a corner. He still lacked a weapon.

Shou tried to scream his name, but the word didn't come out.

The shadow shifted to one side, leaving Judai cornered. Shou forced himself up, moving towards the other side of the alleyway in an attempt to see what was going on.

Part of him wanted to run and hide. Judai wasn't going to survive. He'd seen it all as a game, and the fight had turned for the worse. He couldn't hear him laugh any more. Was that it?

Would everything fall into his own hands now? The voice of the exorcist - the very thing that he wasn't - was screaming again, tormenting his mind.

The voice broke off, suddenly interrupted.

Shou felt his heart thump louder; unable to tear away his gaze, he borderline screamed at the sight.

Two spike-shaped shards of what resembled dark glass had burst through the dragon-lion's neck, leaving it screeching. A third shard cut through one shoulder. A front leg faltered, leaving it unbalanced on one side.

That was when he saw Judai.

He'd woven his way out of the corner, taking advantage of the shadow's distraction, now moving towards its back. He was much more visible now, just in front of Shou; turning, he gave him a quick thumbs-up.

What the hell?

The shadow's long neck swung back, a faint mane of dark tendrils steaming from where the shards were still implanted. That was when Judai charged, running back towards the monster, and Shou made out a small, dark shape in his hand.

It reflected the light of the lamp, just like the shards stuck into the dragon-lion's neck.

"Now that's more like it!" The spirit had never left him, it seemed.

Was getting cornered… part of his plan?

Judai made a gesture, as if calling a dog. "Come on, come catch me! Come on!"

As the shadow raised its claw at him again, Judai's arm moved, his wrist flicking upwards. The small item - a coin? or a pebble? - was tossed upwards, only a few inches above. As soon as it was airborne, with a swish of flickering darkness, it seemed to change shape, growing, becoming sharper -

Another shard dug into the other shoulder, cutting deeper than the first time. Barely believing what he was seeing, Shou saw the pebble land in Judai's right palm again, the shard remaining stuck in the shadow's side.

The two other shards disappeared quickly, as if they had been pulled out; again, the creature yowled. Shou knew - shadows were incapable of feeling pain, but he was sure of it: the sounds were an indication of weakness. It stumbled.

Judai took a quick step back, dropping his pebble to the ground. It made a small sound, drowned out by the half-cries-half-growls of the shadow. Shou realised it; Judai had faltered, and this was going to end badly. He could see Judai almost kneeling down, as the shadow turned fully to face him. His right hand was pressed flat against the concrete, where the pebble had fallen.

"Pick it up! Judai!"

It was a dumb thing to say. He knew it. He regretted saying it as soon as the words had left his mouth.

"Don't worry!" Judai replied. Shou couldn't believe that he was still as upbeat as he had been at the start. His breaths were louder - he could see him move more - from the fighting, but the surprise was still striking. How had he -

Shou's eyes widened.

More shards rose from the ground, below the shadow; rising within a heartbeat, they pierced the dragon-lion's torso right through. Like stalagmites, they rose, piercing it once, twice, several more times - he couldn't even see - as his ears began to ache with another fake-pained cry from the shadow. He winced at the screeching, covering his ears. The spikes stood tall, Shou and Judai and the top of the dragon-lion's horns, both humans watching as the beast finally died, thrashing with wrath.

With the noise growing quieter, the edge of the dragon-lion's tail began to seep away, dissolving into the air and the night. Shou had seen this before; that was how shadows came to their ends, their bodies fading out, into thin air. The shards, too, began to disappear, but much more quickly - within a second, they had entirely gone. The remains of the shadow continued to smoulder.

Judai spent a few moments more with his hand on the ground, before standing up, shoulders back and stance proud. Walking until he was where the shadow's stomach had been, he kneeled down. Shou couldn't see what he was doing as he crouched, though he seemed to be digging for something.

To his relief, Judai was not there for long. Standing up again and turning around, he gave Shou the thumbs-up again, his smile clear in light and in shadow.

Smoke and dust continued to swirl, before disappearing completely, as if it had never been there.

"That's that then."

Shou simply stood in place, open mouthed. What had just happened? He'd seen Judai fight and execute a shadow, without a weapon of light. Judai looked uninjured, virtually unchanged from the minutes before the battle, though there was probably dirt on the hand he'd placed on the ground.

He'd seen those shards. What were they?

What… what was he?

"Right… I think I need to get back to my place soon. I've got a feeling my parents are suspecting me of late-night sneaking… and that's probably not the best way to go around it." Judai gave Shou a nudge, walking on past him, out onto the main street.

Shou didn't move, still dumbfounded.

Judai stopped a few steps ahead, turning to face Shou's back. "Hey, what's up? It's gone now. You're safe, so am I." He seemed completely unfazed, as if he had been doing something far more trivial than shadow-hunting.

Trembling, Shou turned. His eyes fixed on Judai's, in desperate need of answers. He'd walked into his life that very morning, then dragged him out here and fought and killed a shadow, all without a weapon. He was unscathed and showed no signs of strain. He'd fought no worse than Ryo with the Soul of the Kaiser - an exorcist's inherited weapon, at that - and in the aftermath, acted as if he'd only swatted a fly.

Those shards, and the pebbles, and whatever he had done when he'd kneeled amongst the remains of the shadow; everything made no sense and everything twisted and turned in his mind.

"What are you?" Shou's voice was little more than a whisper.

Smile still plastered across his face, Judai leaned back against the brick wall, taking the small black stone he'd had in his hands in battle and tossing it, up and down. It flipped like a coin, small and faintly shining, before being tossed upwards again.

"Me? I'm Judai, just like I said." He turned to face Shou again, looking away from the stone, which he continued to flip in his hand. "Judai Yuki. That's my name."

"But… you're not an exorcist. You can't be one," Shou stated. All exorcists bore silver-white weapons. Judai had a stone in his hand and was somehow linked to those shards he'd just seen, and the shards had been black. There hadn't been a flicker of an exorcist's trademark white fire. "You're not one. What are you?"

Judai stopped flipping the stone, toying with it in one hand instead. "Well, there's all different kinds, and I've not actually been learning that long, so don't judge…"

"That's still not an answer!"

"I'm just saying, don't judge -"

"What are you?" Shou interrupted. Was he trying to frustrate him like this?

A breath and a shrug, then a sheepish grin, as if nothing was wrong, even still.

"Me? I'm a war alchemist."

Author's note

'shadow/small fire'

Like I said, welcome to the party. Everyone in this city plays by the rules, but the rules don't apply to some people.