Note: We're almost at the end of Eternity, but I feel like putting up one more semi-filler arc first. Please bear with me.

Note: I decided to stop putting up the poem-like phrases before each chapter, since it doesn't do much but spoil the plot, and thinking of good catchy lines makes my head hurt.

Chapter 37: Trip to the Mountains

It was a late Friday night. Yuji and Konoe were alone at the top of a building, connected spiritually with a radio tower which was, up to now, linked to the many Torches in the city. Using the radio tower and its link, Konoe's Synchronization and Yuji's Reiji Maigo, they rekindled the fire of the Torches, as they had done every four to five days since their battle against Neftier.

"Hey, Konoe, you excited for tomorrow?" Yuji asked after they had done their responsibility. He and the rest of the group had, in fact, been invited by Ike to go on a trip to a ski resort some distance from the city for an overnight stay. And Yuji knew after seeing a glimpse of the girl's memories that she liked hiking up mountains.

Konoe shyly nodded once.

"Although it's kind of weird that we're going there in this time of year," Yuji said. He looked up at the dark sky. "We're cold enough as is. It's already the middle of November."

"Maybe it's because there will be lesser guests?" Konoe said.

"Good point," said Yuji as he stepped on the edge of the building. "Race you back, Konoe-san."

"Alright," Konoe said as she went beside him. "Ready, set, go."

They both took off like a shot in the direction of the mansion. However, Yuji had already broken the sound barrier immediately after liftoff. He had pushed all of the Power of Existence channeled through his body in an explosion, like a vigorously shaken champagne bottle.

"His powers have developed this much?" Konoe said to herself as she tried to keep up.

When she landed at her mansion, she found Yuji standing in the middle of the yard. She couldn't help but laugh after seeing the Mystes in nothing but boxers and tattered clothing.

SnSnSnSnS

Very early in the morning the next day, the group gathered at the train station. Those going on the trip were Yuji, Shana, Konoe, Kazumi, Ike, Fujita, Eita, Ogata, Keisaku, and even Margery. Chigusa and Wilhelmina were there as well, but just to see them off. Konoe and Kazumi had not yet arrived, however, despite the former living with Shana.

"They said they had a surprise for us when they got here," Shana said when Yuji had asked her why. The Mystes had tried to reach Konoe through their link earlier, but he was blocked out.

Yuji and Shana looked at Wilhelmina, who was singing a soft lullaby to little baby Yumiko, cradled in her arms.

"She's been less fussy about me these past few weeks," Shana said. "And she's been going to you're house a lot more often."

"Mom told me that she chose her to be Yumi-chan's godmother," said Yuji.

"Yumi-chan?"

"I think it's a cute nickname."

"Sorry we're late," Kazumi said as she and Konoe joined up with the others. "I hope there's room for one more."

"What do you mean by one more? And what took you so long anyway?" Ogata asked.

"Hey everybody! Long time no see!" said a young male that followed behind the two girls.

The very sight of the newcomer shocked everyone but Fujita. Margery and Keisaku gasped. Shana rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Ike, Ogata and Eita looked confused. Chigusa opened her eyes widely. Even Wilhelmina nearly dropped tiny Yumiko. But no one was more astonished than Yuji, who stood frozen while pointing a finger at the male, mouth agape.

Before them stood a young man with blonde hair. He wore a brown jacket over a black shirt and jeans. Hanging from his neck was the cross-shaped Hougu Pheles had given Kazumi. This person was, in fact, the Eternal Lover Johan, former Mystes of the Reiji Maigo.

"W-w-w-wha-h-h-h-h-how?" Yuji said, still frozen in surprise.

"Yu-chan, it's rude to point," Johan said as he lowered the boy's finger.

"Let us explain," Konoe said. Johan looked over to Ike, glanced at Fujita, and then looked back at Ike again. The boy understood that he needed to get Fujita away for a while so that she would not be involved with any secrets.

"Fujita-san, don't you think we should get more food for the trip?" Ike said. "We still have ten more minutes until the train leaves."

"You think so?" said Fujita. "I think we have just enough."

"Let's go anyway," Ike insisted, taking her hand and leading her off. "You'll never know."

Now that anyone not involved with the Crimson Realm was out of hearing range, Johan began to explain.

"You see Yuji, I wanted to join you guys on your trip, physically," he began. "So I asked Kazumi who, in turn, told Fumi-chan here."

"When she approached me, I had just finished helping Wilhelmina Carmel take stock of the Hougus we had collected so far," said Konoe. "I had just the thing for his request: the Hougu known as the Shadow Lining, which normally had the appearance of a straw voodoo doll. It was one of the Hougus Friagne had deemed useless, since it never did what it what it was intended for. Originally, it was meant to summon the true form of a Crimson Lord into this world without having to take up the existence of his or her Flame Haze, but it always failed."

"However, I had a theory," Johan continued. "I thought that although it might not work with Crimson Lords, who were sitting in a parallel dimension, it might work with me, since I'm already in this world, albeit that I was sealed in a Hougu. Of course, it worked. My theories are always right."

"Quite the twerp," Margery whispered to Wilhelmina.

"Indeed," the Specialist of Everything replied. "But I got used to him since before."

"But how come I can still feel your presence from inside the Reiji Maigo?" Yuji asked.

"That's because my true being is still in there, it never left," said Johan. "The body I have right now is just a Hougu, the Shadow Lining, with my form and consciousness."

"Hmm, what would happen if the Silver used this Hougu?" Alastor asked. He used their old nickname for the Snake of the Festival so that they wouldn't alarm Yuji of his true nature.

"I don't think that would work," said Johan. "To use this, you would need a medium wherein a consciousness could be directed to. Like in my case, this Hougu," he said, pointing to the cross-shaped Hougu he wore.

"Johan, should I call Pheles?" Wilhelmina asked.

Johan slowly shook his head. "I'd like that, but just using this Hougu for a day will drain a lot of energy from Yuji, since I'm using his Power of Existence to fuel this form, and this shared energy would be cut off if we weren't within ten miles of each other," he explained. "And if my beloved Pheles were here, she'd make me use it all of the time. Prolonged use of this Hougu would put both me and Yuji through a lot of mental, physical and spiritual strain, even with the recovery power of the Reiji Maigo." He smiled. "That woman can be a little obsessive sometimes."

When Johan had finished explaining, Ike and Fujita returned with a bag of extra food and drinks. As they boarded the train, Konoe tugged Yuji's sleeve lightly.

"Yuji, could you lend me my Ember Case until the end of the trip?" she requested. "I'll return it to you when we get back."

Yuji unhooked the thin chain around his neck, took out the ring and gave it to the girl. "What for?" he asked.

"The Flame Haze put a great bounty on my head when I left Sereiden," she said as she took the Hougu. "Even their Outlaw does not know that I'm on your side now. And I also wish to avoid any Denizens or members from Bal Masque."

"So you'll use it to conceal you presence," Yuji said. "But wouldn't it hurt when you put it on? You would probably feel like Superman wearing kryptonite undies."

Konoe laughed then smiled. "I've already prepared myself for this, so don't worry," she said.

She put the ring on her finger. The great Power of Existence in her reserve overflowed out of her body, leaving only the equivalent amount of energy an ordinary Torch would have. The experience was excruciating, but this was already the second time she had felt the pain of forcefully shrinking her capacity. And the pain was less this time, since she was gripping Yuji's hand. When it was over, she looked up to Yuji and smiled again. Since she was still recovering from the pain, Yuji helped her to her seat.

"What's her problem?" Fujita asked Kazumi, who sat beside her.

"Ah, um, I think she has a stomachache," Kazumi replied.

"Oh, speaking of stomachaches, Ike-kun, I brought along twenty five barf bags and a medicine kit for you," she said to the embarrassed boy seated in front of her.

"Poor kid," Margery said after seeing Ike's nervous and gloomy face.

"Get over it, he's always been like that," Keisaku said coldly.

"Kei, you don't have to act so tough all the time," Margery said. "Try to loosen up a bit."

"Hmph," Keisaku grunted as he opened a can of beer.

"Is that beer?" said his best friend, Eita. "Aren't you still a minor?"

"Who cares?" Keisaku said before taking a gulp. When he separated it from his lips, Margery suddenly snatched it.

"Listen to him Kei," the Flame Haze said. "You shouldn't waste yourself on stuff like this." She then drank from the same can.

"Look who's talking," said Keisaku as he grabbed the can back then sipped from it.

"Hey, give that back!" Margery said as she tried to take it from the boy.

"It was mine to begin with!"

As she watched, Ogata grinned widely. "I wonder if either of them realized that they just shared an indirect kiss," she whispered to her boyfriend, Eita.

"Ane-san seems to be acting a lot more spirited than before, don't you think," Eita said. "And Keisaku's been acting colder than before. It's like he's turning into a Flame Haze and Ane-san's turning into one of us."

"Maybe something happened between them?" Ogata said.

As the train departed, Yuji, Shana and Konoe looked out the window to see Chigusa and Wilhelmina waving farewell to them.

SnSnSnS

After one and a half hours since the train left the station, Johan checked to see if Fujita was asleep. He found that she was. In front of her, Ike had passed out.

"Finally, I can use my spell," said the Mystes.

"Spell?" Yuji asked.

"An Unrestricted Method called Othello," Johan replied. "It's an advanced teleportation that swaps us with people from a targeted location. Exploiting a loophole, it allows us to teleport in plain sight without being noticed. Too bad for the people we'll swap places with though, they'll have to take the train all the way back to where they were. But hey, at least we get to our destination faster."

"Don't even think about it," Yuji said as he forced Johan back to his seat. "We can't move people against their will. That's just wrong."

SnSnSnS

After a long trip, the group arrived at the resort. It was still an hour before noon.

Johan looked up at the mountain. "This place, it's kind of familiar," he said.

"I also feel like I've been here before," said Konoe.

"But then again, you both have lived for a really long time, right?" said Ogata. "You're bound to have been here before."

Johan shrugged. "Guess you're right," he said.

The group registered at the counter. Each room could allow three people. All of the guys were to stay in one room while the women would stay in an adjacent room.

After registering, Keisaku and Margery passed through the lobby. There, they found Okami Hebito sitting down on a couch smoking a cigarette. Keisaku was surprised, while Margery felt an uneasy feeling of familiarity.

"Sensei, what are you doing here?" Keisaku asked.

"I'm taking a rest, obviously," Hebito replied. "By the way, there are no classes on Monday, so you can extend your trip by one more day."

"No class? Why?"

"I heard that someone scared the faculty into canceling one school day," said Ike, overhearing their conversation. "Good morning Okami-sensei."

"We're outside the school grounds, waaaay outside," said Hebito. "Just call me Hebito-san."

As Shana walked around with Kazumi and Konoe, she had a feeling of alertness.

"There's another Flame Haze here besides me and Margery," she said. "And it feels like he's watching me."