Fire

Shizuka

I was sitting quietly, doing nothing but staring outside my window, watching the clouds go by slowly. Then Sasha came out from the cabinet with a worried look.

"Madam, I'm afraid that the other airplane crashed, but everyone is safe. Should we continue our way?" He asked

"Can we land anywhere nearby?" I asked, planning to get there.

"Sure. Please fasten your seatbelt; we will land in a few minutes"

I did as he said, and waited. We were landing in less than 3 minutes. Sasha came to let me know I could go outside. I walked through the airplane's hallway and then finally saw the door opening, letting a bright light inside.

Ren

We waited for the girl outside her airplane. I was wondering why did would Yoh need a babysitter, but I guess I could just ignore her.

"Yoh-dono, I feel curious about this girl. It's just that it's hard to believe Anna-sama trusts her enough to make her come with you" Amidamaru said

"Now that you mention it…" Yoh said with a doubtful expression "Well! I guess we can just wait here for her"

The same guy who talked to me before came out of the airplane. I could barely even see because the airplane had lifted dirt from the landing. He helped a girl out. All I could see was long, brown, straight hair and a purple coat. He took her hand and didn't let go until she was about to reach the floor. Then he jumped and made me realize that the last stair was high. When he reached the floor, he slowly grabbed the fragile girl's waist and put her on the ground. As they approached I could see her more clearly. Her skin was pale, no, white. Completely white, even grayish and a little bluish, as if she was dead. Her eyes were closed. She had side bangs and brown hair.

Then my mind began to process everything; brown and long hair, purple clothing, pale skin…

Could it be?

Was it really her?

She was probably the only one that tried hard to be my friend. I can't recall much, just that I used to care for her as much as I would care for my sister Jun. It felt weird… caring for someone that wasn't related to me, and that wouldn't help me become shaman king, but I guess it wasn't that wrong to care for at least one person in this damned world.

I tried to remember the days I spent with her; nothing. My mind was blank. It's been 6 years since I saw her. I couldn't really know if she had changed a lot or not; I couldn't really know what she looked like today… or if she was even alive. I imagined her dying, I imagined her death. I can only recall a little; I believe I was one of the only ones she actually really cared for. As I thought about her death, I felt my hands shaking, and a cold breeze rushed down through my spine, even with this weather. Horror consumed my body for a brief moment.

She walked toward us. Her way of moving was plain, but strong; like a robot. She reached our group in no time. Her eyes didn't move, or at least they didn't look at me. Her eyelids looked heavy, and her eyes were completely black at the top, and at the bottom they became lighter until they were white. They were very plain and dull. There wasn't a pupil; it's as if she was hypnotized.

Nope. Not her. Her eyes were something you couldn't forget easily, maybe even impossible to; at least for me. They were completely beautiful; her eyelashes were long, thick and black, her iris was silver and was always bright and shining, as if a sun was right in front of her. Her eyes were probably the most noticeable thing about her, besides her pale skin, her brown hair, and that she looked really weak and was very skinny.

She was exactly like her; Brown, kind of straight hair, but longer. Pale skin, but even paler, as if she was dead, and her eyes, which were completely different, as different as oil and water. The shape was very similar, but her look was dominated by her silver eyes.

I didn't notice that the plane had taken off. I couldn't make myself believe there was someone who couldn't notice such a huge thing disappearing from the background.
But then, I was right there.

"Hi, I am Asakura Yoh! And you must be…" Yoh said stretching his hand, and she did as well. They shook hands

"I am Nakamura Shizuka. Nice to meet you." She said. Her voice was brief. Her face was expressionless. Yoh and the rest smiled at her. She just stared at us, still expressionless

She had a calm, girly voice. It was actually sweet… sort of motherly.

My brain was slow. It began to process again what she just said; her voice, her name… her last name.

Nakamura.

Nakamura.

What the hell?!

I was too confused. I stared at the fire; it burned furiously -yet slowly- every piece of wood that was there. I found a stick beside me, and then tossed it into the fire. The fire wrapped its arms around it, consuming it slowly. In a couple of minutes the stick turned into ashes.

Horo Horo felt attracted to her. He blushed when he introduced himself. Ryu asked her out, even asked her to be his girlfriend, just like he did with every pretty girl, it didn't surprise me anymore. I could see in Yoh's eyes that he thought she was pretty, but not attracted.

Luckily, she sat in front of me, with the bonfire between us. I could watch her without having her notice. Somehow I enjoyed that. I guess I understand the blushing when you talk to her. She was attractive. Every time I look at her, I watch her more closely. I was starting to get a little worried about myself; paying that much attention to a girl. Her hair was dark brown with side bangs. Her eyebrows were black and thin. Her lips and nose were like any other, thin and well defined. Her coat was dark purple, it looked warm and a bit too big for her. Her skin looked as soft as a baby's skin, and the color looked as if she was dead; pale and grayish. Her face was expressionless. Her hands looked soft and delicate, with long fingers. In general, she looked fragile; so fragile that you felt like you needed to protect her, so fragile you could break all her bones if you hugged her too tight, as fragile –and beautiful- as a white rose. Her eyes were catching. They looked nowhere. At the top they were black, and as they reached the bottom they became lighter until they were completely white. Once again I mention there wasn't a pupil. They looked deep, as if there was a whole universe inside them.

As I stared at her, I realized she wasn't just attractive. She was beautiful… completely beautiful.

I was almost sure she was the one I knew. But those weren't her eyes. That wasn't even her name, although she has the same last name. I had been trying to recall her name, but it's useless. I'm starting to think I'm just getting confused. I don't know… the curiosity was getting me annoyed. Why did I care so much about who she was, anyway? I decided to leave it for now; I'd know the answer later.

"Hey, dude, what's with him? He's been weird since we took off the plane," Horo Horo told Yoh

"Well, maybe he forgot something on the plane or something… or maybe he has something on his mind"

I pretended I didn't hear that.

I continued to watch the fire with all his furious, sudden movements. My eyes stood frozen there. I forgot about everything. I forgot who I was; I forgot I was with them. It was just the fire and me. That was until I heard Yoh's voice.