A/N: Chapter 3 of Fallen Angel. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Shakugan no Shana belongs to the rightful owner.
A special thanks to my dear readers, I truly appreciate it.
Words in bold = Crimson Lords like Alastor speaking.
Chapter 3: The Lit Flame
Previously...
"You aren't human and it's not only you. Everyone walking around with the flame in their body is a thing. They are replacements people who have had their existence consumed...by Denizens of the Crimson World. Where I come from, we have a name for those kind of beings. They are Torches."
"They are replacements?" I asked her.
"This world's balance would be disrupted if the people who's existence was eaten disappeared too suddenly. Therefore replacements for those eaten were provided to soften the impact. They are temporary. The real you's existence was consumed and currently no longer alive. You are nothing but residue."
"So, I'm dead?" I stumbled after the girl in hopes of not losing my mind. It was already mid-day when she saved me from those monsters. School ended like hours ago yet I feel like it ended in a few seconds.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! God, you are so annoying!" She suddenly turned to yell at me. "How many times do I have to pound the words right into your itty bitty skull? You are just residue!"
"B-b-but you showed up and saved me so how can I just be residue?" I countered as the girl sighed, rubbing her temples with irritation.
"First off, I didn't save you, you were just there. Second of all, it's not like this is the first time the Rinne and the Denizens from the Crimson World have appeared in this world. It's a pretty common occurrence and if you want to look at it from a relationship standpoint, Rinnes are servants that collect and the Denizens consume. The real you had been eaten before you saw those monsters."
"Are you for real or are you being sarcastic?" I was hoping on the latter but the look she gave me meant that she wasn't playing around.
"Sarcasm is one more service I offer. Compassion costs extra, however I'm not a compassionate person. Your flame is still pretty bright, so it didn't happen that long ago. It'll burn out eventually, so don't fret about it."
"That means I'll vanish right?"
"You catch on pretty quickly. Yes you will disappear." She continued walking and I followed, hoping to get some more answers.
"So what exactly is the Crimson World and how is it related to this world?"
"The Crimson World is...well technically this world in which we exist in is what we call 'Seals'".
"Like a fire wall?"
"To be accurate, it's like the space you find between walls. The flow of time is suspended within that space so you are cut off from the outside world. No one never remembers what happens inside there." Stopping by a nearby food vendor, we decided to eat a quick snack.
"Anyway, the Denizens consume a person's existence, not a person. We know, since then, it is a thing that never existed. There's nothing left."
"Meaning what?"
"It's like the person had never been there." Noticing a band of young boys walking towards us, she nudged me. "Oh, look! Perfect timing! You should be able to see that right? There's a small Torch heading straight this way." It was true, I could see the little flame inside one of the boy's chest. Suddenly, his body burst into a blueish flame and then he disappeared, nothing was left of him. His buddies didn't even know their friend missing and continued on their way.
"That's...so sad. They didn't even acknowledged his passing." I spoke.
Are you beginning to understand? Alastor spoke, this is the second time I've heard him direct his words to me. For example, if the ground beneath your feet was to suddenly vanish, you will fall, possibly suffering an injury. But if the ground was transformed into ice, then melts away gradually, your chances of suffering are lessened. Think of Torches as similar to the ice. The existence of the Torch gradually fades away, and by the time it vanishes...its influence has been reduced to minimum.
"I see." We started walking again and I started to wonder in my own thoughts.
"By the way, how long are you going to follow me?" The girl asked, giving me a questioning look.
"I'm not following you, you are just in front of me."
"Tch! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"C-calm down, I'm just joking with you." I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "But this is just the way to my house."
"Oh..." She looked away.
"Are you...human?" I summoned the courage to ask her.
"I'm something called a 'Flame Haze'." was her reply.
"A Flame what? Haze?"
"A 'Flame Haze'. My job is to hunt down Denizens and destroy them."
We can leave all the Torches we want, but the only service is the temporary stopgap. It doesn't solve the danger to this world that comes from disruptions to existences.
"I see." I spoke as we parted ways for the evenings, my brain still jammed packed with all of the knowledge I learned. Sigh...this world is so complicated.
Somewhere in the city...
"Look, Marianne...isn't it simply breathtaking...?" Friagne crowed happily as he looked out into the metropolis from the balcony of his humble home.
"Yes, Master." The doll in his arm replied.
"We shall acquire eternity itself in this city...It won't be long now... "
"Yes but what of the 'Flame Haze'..." The doll shivered at the power of those words.
"Shhhh...Let us not ruin the moment with a vulgarity. This is a time for enjoying beauty."
"My deepest apologies..."
"Ah, such words are not necessary..." Friagne cuddled against the doll, going so much as to rub cheeks with her. "They distract this from the here in now..."
"Master.."
The next morning...
Sunlight poured in and I rolled over, mumbling as I got myself dressed.
"I still have the flame..." I sighed as the blue flame within my chest burned brightly. "I wish it was a dream." Walking down towards the kitchen, I prepared breakfast as usual. Taking bites out of some bread and scrambled eggs, sudden images of my parents flashed before my eyes and I stopped chewing completely.
What was that? My smiling parents? I looked at the picture of my parents on the fridge. Walking over, I looked at it closely. It was my parents standing together, smiling at the camera. I then remembered the night I first encountered the doll and how a quick image of my smiling parents flashed between us.
Why now? What does it all mean? I placed the picture back up and got ready for school. I'll deal with it later or I'm gonna be late. Stepping out with my school bag in tow, I ran into the girl from yesterday, the one with the usual black hair, black trench overcoat and the necklace hanging from her neck. She gave me an emotionless stare.
"What are you doing here? Were you waiting for me?" I asked.
"I thought it would be a lot easier to stick close to you rather than running around searching for the Denizens. Besides you're not like all the other Torches, you're a very special one."
"Okay..." I scratched my head. "The Rinne monster said I was a "Mystes..not sure why."
"Mysteses are Torches that have been changed by Crimson Denizens. They have special abilities and sometime they contain treasures." Somehow, her face lit up at the word treasure.
"Treasures...?"
"When a flame of some Torch burn out, what is left inside of them will transfer to another Torch. The treasures move about on their own but the kinds of power they hold are very valuable."
It's likely the enemy will target you before your flame dies.
How reassuring. I thought before another person caught my attention. "Hirai!" I called out to her but she wasn't responsive. She continued to walk and I noticed the precious flame within her. "It's so weak."
"Yeah, she won't be around much longer."
"But we were only attacked yesterday!" I looked at her horrified.
"Then they must've consumed more of her." The girl spoke without emotion. "Those Rinnes were ferocious and they were feeding pretty aggressively."
"But still..." I looked at my classmate before I looked at the time. "Oh snap, I'm gonna be late!" I quickly dashed off, grabbing Hirai by the hand. "Come on Hirai! We're gonna be late!" We dashed off, leaving the other one behind and I could feel her intense gaze burning into my back all the way to school.
All day at school, I couldn't help keeping Hirai in my sights. It was tedious work and some of my fellow classmates were snickering on how I was watching Hirai like a piece of pray. Ticked off, I decided to get Hirai to have lunch with me so that others wouldn't bother us.
"Hey, Takahashi!" I looked over as Yuji walked up with a grin, Hirai didn't seem to respond as she ate her lunch.
Oh good, his flame is okay. I inwardly sighed, remembering that the both of them were attacked that day. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if we could hang out after school today?"
"That's fine. How about it Hirai?" I asked the girl next to me. She looked at me with that bleak gaze and smiled slowly. After school the three of us headed to a nearby game center, however during our time there she vanished. I kind of yelled at Yuji for losing sight of her but he doesn't realize that Hirai was a Torch.
"Sorry, I'll go look for her." I told him and rushed off. I found her, sitting on the stone steps in the countryside. She was facing the setting sun and didn't notice me as I sat down next to her, not sure what to say.
" It's just so...beautiful..." Her voice was so soft and raspy, like she was about to disappear in a second.
"I see, so that's why you came all the way out here." I smiled as I watched the scene with her. "Hirai, tomorrow, let's bring Sakai here, you can show him this view yourself. Okay?" I looked at her but she erupted in a blue flame and disappeared just like that. The power of her existence faded without a trace. I stared mortified at the spot where she should have been.
"That's what happens when your flame dies." I looked up at the owner of the voice. The Flame Haze had a small residue of Hirai's existence on the tip of her finger.
"And I will disappear in the same way..." I spoke, picking up my school bag and walked up the steps.
"Yes. Just like you saw, the residue eventually burns out. It's common, nobody will remember its existence because there is nothing left. That's why there's no interruptions." The girl spoke as the last trace of Hirai's existence evaporated into thin air.
"But she existed, I know she existed. Yukari Hirai existed and there is no doubt that she was here." I mumbled when I reached the top and faced the Flame Haze. "She did."
"And you?" She asked.
"I exist too. My name is Axel Takahashi, that much I know." I spoke confidently.
"Humph." The girl released a sigh. "You are 'only' a Torch."
"I am Axel Takahashi and I know I exist, just like you." I replied.
"I'm 'only' a Flame Haze. Nothing more. In a way, I'm the same as a Torch." The girl bitterly answered back.
"Why do you keep saying 'only'? Stop saying it."
"It's the truth. You are 'only' a Torch and I am 'only' a Flame Haze. Nothing more." She put a lot more emphasis on the words only.
"You are wrong."
"No, I'm not." She turned her back towards me, clearly mad.
"...Your name..." She looked at me with confusion. "What is your name?"
"I don't have a name. I'm 'only' a Flame Haze."
"You said it again..." I said in a kind of teasing manner.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She stomped her foot angrily. "Who needs a name anyway?! To distinguish myself from the other Flame Hazes, they just call me the one with 'Nietono no Shana'."
"'Nietono no Shana'?" I asked bewildered at the name.
That is the name of the sword she carries. Alastor explained and I remembered it clearly, that sword she used to kill off the Rinne.
"Then...your name is going to be Shana, that is what I'll call you. You are Shana from now on!" Her eyebrows arched in surprise at the name I gave her but she just accepted it. Suddenly I felt something drop on my head and I looked up as the skies started to rain. It wasn't common for a downpour and it was surprising.
"Shit, we're gonna catch a cold if we dwindle out here any longer. Let's go." Shana took off running and I followed behind her.