Sorry about the delay for this chapter, it's been pretty busy around here late :/ Enjoy!

Shana found herself in a long stretched hallway. Tall windows went all the way down providing the only source of light the hallway had.

The flame haze looked around. The place didn't seem familiar nor did she even know where she was. Not seeing any other choice, Shana started walking.

The windows were, for the most part, covered by something so no one could see out. The lack of light the hallway had made it dark, and a bit ominous from how quiet it was.

Seeming not affected by the creepy atmosphere, the flame haze continued on.

Some time passed before Shana was able to see the end of the hallway. As she got closer she realized the light that came from the opening was in fact sunlight, meaning the hallway led out to a garden area perhaps.

Shana stepped out of the ominous place and finally was able to look around and maybe even find a clue as to where she was.

As soon as she did, she found something she wouldn't have expected.

The area outside of the hallway was indeed a garden. Vast varieties of plants and herbs along with flowers and trees. Butterflies occupied the air as they bat their wings above the plant life.

A couple of bird baths were scattered around, but there was a single stone bench in the middle of all of the garden. That was not was caught the flame haze's attention, nor was the Sakura Tree that stood in full bloom right next to the bench.

A little girl sat on the stone bench, swinging her crossed ankled feet back and forth. She had dirty blonde hair that was tied up in a high ponytail and beautiful Amethyst eyes. The girl was wearing a gorgeous ball gown styled dress. It was pink and white in color and the girl wore white shoes that had the heel raised just a bit.

A puzzled expression made it's way on Shana's face as the flame haze got closer to the little girl. There was this weird familiarity about the child that struck Shana wrong. It was like she knew, and really knew, the little girl from a long time ago but who?

An image of Alice passed the flame haze's mind but she shook her head. There was no way that girl was Alice! The fox girl was older, had a tail and ears of a fox and not to mention she has Ruby red eyes not Amethyst colored.

Though the dirty blonde hair is something they both shared. But Alice is dead.

There is no way humanly possible that that's Alice, perhaps when she was a kid, sitting on that bench under the Sakura Tree.

Before Shana could contemplate the theory any longer, a man approached the small girl. He wore a dark brown trench coat and a matching hat. The man looked to be in his thirties or forties but it was hard for the flame haze to tell considering he wore sunglasses and his coat collar was up so only a little bit of his face was revealed.

The man started talking to the girl. Unfortunately, Shana was too far away to hear exactly what but did notice something in his hand.

In the mans right hand was a cane. The top was of a charcoal gray rams head, the animal bore dark gold horns, and the rest of the stick was a sheen black.

As Shana's gaze went higher and higher, her eyes eventually settled on a spot on the mans right hand. There was something on it. From the distance she was at, it looked to be a tattoo or smudge, but she felt like she needed to know what it was of.

The flame haze crept closer, moving as stealthily as possible as to not draw the attention of the two people talking. As she got closer, Shana stepped on a twig that just happened to make a very audible cracking sound. Her face paled slightly as the man immediately looked to where he thought the sound came from.

Staying a still as a statue, the flame haze let out a silent breath of relief when the man turned back around and said some more words to the little girl.

Shana heard the girl giggling as the flame haze finally got close enough to see what was on the mans hand. It definitely wasn't a smudge but nor could it be called a tattoo.

A bone, sticking straight up, with a fiery ball on top of it was imprinted on the mans right hand. Tilting her head at an angle, the flame haze thought it looked like a lower case i.

It was never something she had seen before and as Shana reached her hand to her chest to grab her pendant, she realized it wasn't there.

What happened to Alastor?

Shana's sharp sixth sense tingled. Something wasn't right.

She looked back up to the two people and the flame haze nearly gasped in surprise when she saw they had vanished.

She looked left and right but the man and little girl were no where in sight.

Shana lightly sighed as she started backing up. She was stopped short when she hit something rather hard and sturdy, like a wall, behind her.

The flame haze turned around and felt a cold chill run down her spine. The man in the dark brown trench coat towered over her crouching figure with a sick crooked grin plastered on his face. It stumped her that she had not felt his presence but the thought dissipated when the man reached in his coat with his right hand.

Shana tried summoning a fuzetsu and stopped when she realized that nothing was happening. She looked up to see the mans mouth was moving but no words were being vocalized and soon the mans grin came back and he started pulling something out of his coat. The flame haze looked him in the eye and almost instantly regretted it.

His eyes were nothing but two black voids in his skull. The eerie feeling she got was enough to make goosebumps ravish her skin. She gulped. In a last effort the flame haze tried getting up, thanking God she had martial arts training, but to her startling realization her feet seemed to be glued to the ground as she was frozen in the same position. She watched as the mans hand was revealed again.

Before she knew it, The Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter, Shana, was staring straight down the barrel of a gun she once disposed of.

Happy Trigger.

The man pulled the trigger.

Shana woke up screaming as she shot up from her bed. She started breathing heavily and turned to sit on the side of the bed, holding the sides of her head as she fought to control her breathing.

"What was that" Muttered the flame haze as she tried to recall as much of what happened. After realization hit her, Shana let out a long breath relief. "So it was all just a dream."

More like a nightmare She inwardly corrected as she got up from her bed and gathered some clothes. When she was getting off the bed the dark haired girl had realized she had been sweating in her dream, and wanted to get into the shower as quickly as possible.

Shana stripped from her slightly damp clothing and stepping under the shower head, the hot water on her skin helped calm her nerves. After that dream, her nerves seemed a bit shaken up and the relaxation of a long hot shower she thought would do the trick to help.

Her mind drifted back to what occurred in the dream. She never had a dream like that before, and she had no idea who those people were.

The little girl had seemed awfully familiar but the man was a complete stranger. The flame haze thought about the mark she had seen on his hand.

Never had Shana seen something like it, nor did she have a clue as to why the man was holding Happy Trigger. She destroyed the gun so no one could ever use it again so how did he get it? The flame haze shook her head, causing some of the tips of her soaking wet hair to fling water drops on the shower curtain.

Of course it didn't matter how the man grabbed hold of the gun. It was a dream! Meaning the gun was still in a million little pieces in an endless stream of void.

The mark on the man's hand did make her wonder though. What did it mean? Was it the symbol of a group? Maybe it was just a regular tattoo...maybe.

Shana focused her attention back on the little girl that appeared in her dream. Now that the flame haze thought about, she recalled the girl was wearing a certain type of dress. She had seen it before.

Those kinds of dresses were worn back in the old days, around 1400's and 1500's, so Shana had seen in a book. Which anyone would then assume that the dream took place nearly 3,000 years ago. A very old yet weird dream, a man with an i on his right hand, a girl that resembled Alice except in younger form and the return of Happy Trigger.

That meant...something Shana couldn't figure out just yet.

The flame haze , having completed her shower, wondered into the small kitchen of her apartment. She stopped and looked out a window half way.

The sky was no longer the beautiful sea blue as gray clouds dominated the vast atmosphere above the city, giving it a gloomy appearance. The air was wet and muggy, meaning it just rained or was going to.

Shana continued into the kitchen and started preparing her breakfast.

"Instant Ramen.." The flame haze muttered as she pulled out the microwavable cup, filled with noodles and vegetables, then added with a roll of her eyes, "..again"

I really have to learn to cook things She thought. Shana recalled the last cooking session she had with Chigusa. All that's needed to be said; Things didn't end well and the mother ended up having to call in dinner since most of the groceries had been blown up in the lesson...literally. A lot of what the flame haze tried to cook ended up badly burned, burned to the point of ashes, blown up or so far beyond recognition that Chigusa thought it to be inedible.

However, even after everything that happened, Shana felt not as discouraged when she finally got Whilhelmenia to learn some things from Chigusa. The mother was delighted to have a new 'apprentice' but it didn't show nearly as much when the day was over and firemen were hosing down the flames in the kitchen. It had taken weeks before the kitchen was usable again.

Ever since Shana's last cooking lesson, the flame haze didn't help out as much in the kitchen when she was over for dinner, even more so when Yoshida was invited over as well. It irked the dark haired girl when she watched them making these beautiful, and very delicious, looking dishes and make it look so easy.

That had to be one of the reasons why Kazumi would make a wonderful wife. She knew how to cook. The flame haze figured she would have to, at least, make an edible dish so she can be a good wife.

Wife? Shana blushed at the thought. Where did that come from?

At that moment the timer went off and she poured the instant noodles into a bowl and sticking chopsticks in it before making her way to the T.V.

The flame haze predicted the day to be a lazy one since she didn't have any plans made, nor did she think any of her friends would considering the weather. It just brought your mood down.

She flipped through the channels and seeing nothing was on, decided to go on the internet.

It was later in the day when Shana awoke on the couch. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and stretched.

Must have fallen asleep The flame haze headed over to her apartment balcony and peered through the long blinds that stretched across the sliding door, keeping people from seeing in.

Rain was coming down in the bucket loads and the wind was blowing. Small trees were getting thrown left and right and big trees were shaking under the unceasing water droplets that plummeted down to earth from dark gray clouds, showing no mercy for anything or anyone.

Shana sighed. The already dreary weather just got worse.

She started walking back to the sofa when the doorbell rang.

Who could that be? The flame haze mused as she made her way to the front door. She opened it and was rather surprised to see the familiar face.

"Yuji?"

Said boy looked at her and relief showed through his voice. "Ah Shana. Thank goodness you were home, I was afraid you weren't"

The flame haze stepped aside allowing the soaked boy to enter her apartment. Once she closed the door she said, "Not that I'm not glad to see you and all but what are you doing here and why are you completely drenched?"

"Well if you haven't noticed yet, it's pouring out there" He replied pointing to the door. She rolled her eyes.

"I know that!" Shana lightly snapped. "Shouldn't you have an umbrella with you when you go out in the rain?"

"I guess" The boy shrugged. Yuji held his arms before shivering and sniffling.

The dark haired girl saw and grabbed hold of one of his arms, "You should get out of those wet clothes" she stated before guiding him over to the bathroom where he could change out of the soaked clothing.

"Yea" He quietly said, stepping into the bathroom. The boy turned around and said, "Thanks" before closing the door.

Shana stared at the door a little while longer then walked back into the living room. She sat down on the couch and pondered the reason why her new boyfriend arrived at her doorstep in such a rainstorm. The answer would seem obvious but a gut feeling told her it was for another reason.

It was a couple of minutes later that the flame haze was pulled out of her thoughts by the familiar click of the bathroom door opening, but she realized something a bit too late.

Yuji rounded the side of the couch..in only a bath towel wrapped around his waist. The girl blushed and looked away in an attempt to hide it which proved to be the wrong move.

"Are you alright?" Yuji asked, his voice dripping in worry as he got closer to the flame haze sitting on the sofa.

"Hai"

"You sure? Your face is all red"

"Uresai! Uresai! Uresai!" Shana shouted as she stood up and put a couple of feet between them, trying to look annoyed but the blush that tinted her cheeks didn't help much. "Where are your clothes?"

"Wet" Yuji replied in the most-obvious-thing-in-the-world tone. "I draped them over the shower and tub so they could dry"

"Don't you have any already dry ones?"

"I'm not the kind of person to bring an extra pair of dry clothes with me everywhere I go" The boy said before plopping down on the couch and turning the T.V on.

"But..." The flame haze trailed off, not knowing what else she could say to make things different. She took in a deep breath and looked at him sternly while placing her hands on her hips.

"You still haven't told me why you suddenly felt the need to grace me with your presence" Shana told him.

Yuji's eyes widened slightly and he jumped off the couch and went into the bathroom, leaving the flame haze confused.

He returned almost immediately and walked up to her.

"I almost forgot" The boy confessed rather sheepishly before continuing. "Yesterday Satou lent me a movie...well more like forced it on me. He told me to watch it but I never got around to it and today he wants it back so I was on my way to his house to give it to him when it started pouring and the wind picked up. I saw that I was not far from your place so I came here, realizing I wouldn't get far in the storm" He finished explaining.

"Why did he force a movie on you?"

Yuji shrugged. "He said I've been spending way too much of my time around girls, and am turning into a girly boy so he gave me the dvd saying it would help me get back in touch with my more manly side" His face twisted in annoyance as he finished.

It was true. The Mystes had been spending a lot of time around Shana and Yoshida and said flame haze couldn't remember the last time her boyfriend actually had a guys night.

"Well, He was just trying to help you" Shana's voice was strained in the beginning and the corner of her mouth twitched before letting out all the laughter she tried to hold in at the end, but miserably failed to.

Yuji looked at her even more annoyed, clearly showing from his facial expression.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up" He said and looked back at the T.V.

The flame haze wiped the tears that had strayed down her cheeks before sitting down next to the Mystes.

"Gomen" She said, a couple of giggles escaped as she started calming down. He smiled at her.

"So..wanna watch the movie Satou lent me?" Yuji asked already getting up and putting the disc in.

"Sure"

It was half way through the movie and Shana felt like she'd die from boredom. The movie was about men killing men, big guns, monster trucks and girls in too little clothing.

Not of it interested the flame haze as she glanced over at her boyfriend sitting closer to her. She noted he seemed pretty into the movie from the way his eyes intently watched the screen.

She took in his facial features. His gorgeous eyes, his perfect nose, his just perfect lips and his perfectly scuplted chin. Her gaze drifted down.

His neck was even perfect too. Her eyes wandered further down.

He had good shoulders, perfect for football. Finally her eyes wondered all over his chest. Perfect. His subtle six pack abes. They were definitely there but not as hard looking as wrestlers, still any teenage guy would kill to have his six.

All that training has done good The flame haze thought.

"You might wanna stop drooling soon or else you'll have a lot to clean up later" Yuji said with an amused smirk on his face to see his girlfriend checking him out.

His voice scared the crap out of Shana as she jumped a little. Her hand instantly shot to her mouth when her mind registered what the boy had said. She mentally smacked herself when she did in fact find some saliva on the corner of her mouth. "Don't flatter youself" The flame haze said, coldly.

"I'm not the one drooling"

"I wasn't!" She tried to defend herself.

"Your right" He said. Shana looked over at the T.V for a couple of moments then turned back to the boy next to her...or rather the place he just was. She glanced around to see him no where in sight.

"Some people call it eye-rape" The flame haze jumped at the sound of his voice. Yuji walked back over to the couch and sat down next to her again, this time fully clothed.

"Shut up" She said as she rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Make me"

Shana turned back to him in disbelief but a blush quickly engulfed her face when she realized how close the boy was.

Why do I keep blushing? She angrily asked herself in her mind.

Yuji leaned in slightly, and the dark haired girl saw what he was getting at. She let show a small smile.

The two started leaning in until their lips met in a simple kiss. The moment was lived short when the doorbell rang.

Who ever is at that door... Shana inwardly trailed off, imagining what kind of pain she could inflict on the person who interrupted them. She opened the door and she could hear her jaw go limb and make a resounding 'smack'' on the floor in absolute shock.

"Konnichiwa Shana-chan~!"

Who is this person? I bet you already have an idea ;)

I'm moving so the next couple of chapters won't be posted as fast. Just wanna tell you in advance.

Was this chapter; A= Awesome, B=Boring, C= Cool, D= Dude!, E= Excellent or F= Fail! ? (Not the last T.T)

Now time to REVIEW! :D