yumichan808: It wouldn't be Shana if it wasn't about the melon bread.
JohnPeacekeeper: Yuji's not a character who changes much. As for Dantalion... I wonder who should take up his currently vacant position in Bal Masque?
"...Well?"
The Writer of Questionable Stories sighed.
"No real success as of yet. I've managed to get the relationship between the two on the right track, but I'm having a hard time re-stabilizing their actual existential placement inside their reality. Interchanging their current roles in their world is proving to be far more difficult than even I could have foreseen."
"Hmph. Who knew guava juice could be so troublesome..."
"Tell me about it. And to make matters worse, I think there's an even bigger snag in the road."
"Such as...?"
"That 'Hunter' Crimson Denizen and corresponding Rinne got their placements all mixed up as well."
"...Shit."
SHAKUGAN NO YUJI?
Chapter 513: A Scorch and a Tame Blaze
Things have fallen into something of a regular daily routine here in Misaki. Every morning I get up, wash, change into my uniform, grab a bite to eat, grab my school bag, say goodbye to Wilhelmina, open the apartment door...
...and find myself staring at this aggravating pervert stalker of a Flame Haze whom I call Yuji, standing just outside the doorway. He follows me everywhere during the day... except for one time when he attempted to follow me into the girls' locker room during P.E. That clueless idiot hasn't done it again since. I personally made sure of that.
Yuji quietly sat on the rooftop of the apartment complex where Shana lived, staring up at the morning sky.
"...Yuji, eh? It's been awhile since I used that name."
Alastor was silent for a while before finally speaking in a contemplative tone of voice.
"Your mother used that name whenever she called you, yes?"
Yuji nodded.
"I still miss her. I wonder what she's doing at the moment."
"I'm sure that wherever she is, she is doing just fine. The Specialist of Everything has been a Flame Haze for a very long time, so do not worry yourself. She can take care of herself."
"Speaking of women who can take care of themselves... That girl, Shana. She's surprised me. She has so much spirit."
"Indeed. As I mentioned before, with the proper training, she would have made an excellent Flame Haze. I now sometimes find myself wondering how things might have turned out had your situations been reversed."
Yuji chuckled.
"Don't be silly, Alastor. It's downright impossible to conceive of."
"Mmm. True. The Mystes seems to be in the process of departing from her living quarters. We should go down and meet her."
Yuji's voice took on a tone of gentle rebuke as he started to make his way downstairs.
"Alastor, I know you're my Contractor, but honestly... I don't like you referring to Shana simply as a 'Mystes'. She's a human being, you know. Everyone is. Even Torches."
Alastor grumped from the Cocytus.
"Hmph. Your kindness and concern for others do you credit, but don't let it blind you to your mission or your duty."
"I know, Alastor. I know."
Shana paused as they were enroute to another day of school.
"Hey, Yuji."
"Hmm?"
"You mentioned yesterday that you've never attended public school for most of your life. What's your impression of the teachers so far?"
Yuji scratched his head as he looked up at the school building that they were approaching.
"Well..."
Yesterday morning...
"W-what!? But that's... that's impossible! It can't be true!"
Yuji cheerfully smiled as he pointed up at the board.
"But it's true. If you have this particular mathematical rule, stating that the hypotenuse and the angle are..."
The classroom door slammed open as the mathematics teacher scrambled out into the hallway, screaming as if all the demons of hell were after him.
"No! No more!"
An hour later...
The classroom door slammed open again. The history teacher staggered out slowly, looking as though he'd just seen his house burn down in front of him.
"N-no way... It can't be..."
During the class period after that...
"Haha... no, not possible! HahAhaHAaahaHaaaHA!"
Gibbering, drooling, and laughing like an idiot, the Japanese teacher was dragged out of the classroom on a stretcher by two paramedics, leaving an entire class staring at Yuji in bewildered astonishment. Yuji simply blinked and smiled in good-natured confusion.
"...Eh? Was it something I said?"
Back to the present...
Yuji scratched his head in mild puzzlement as he finished his thought.
"...Ms. Margery Daw, the English teacher, and Professor Dantalion are all right... Although I wish our English teacher wouldn't drink so much. Mr. Sydonay, our Physical Education teacher, is also decent at his job... but the rest of the teachers started to behave oddly after I just politely pointed out that there were a few mistakes in their curriculum."
Shana crossed her arms and harrumphed in mild annoyance.
"A 'few' mistakes!? You accurately contradicted about 80% of their lesson plans! To think that a clueless idiot like you could cause such a disruption in class... I've been underestimating you."
Alastor spoke up.
"Many usually do. Those that continue to do so... well, let's just say they have since ceased to exist."
Yuji simply smiled.
"Thank you."
"Hmph. Idiot."
Margery Daw looked over the page and handed it back to Yuji.
"Hmph. It's all correct. Since when did you start being such an honor student, Hirai?"
Yuji gave a lopsided grin.
"Erm... cram school lessons?"
Misaki High's English teacher smirked as she adjusted her glasses.
"Hmph. Don't give me that nonsense, kid. You used to throw out average grades on your essays and exams... and I bet the other teachers would say the same thing concerning that. It's almost as if you're a different person."
Yuji just chuckled nervously.
"Er... can I be excused?"
"...Must you be so insistent upon leaving, my little darling Friagne?"
The blonde-haired woman lovingly caressed and nuzzled the little doll in her arms as she spoke. The doll's cultured but youthful voice returned in reply.
"Please, I must. I implore you to allow me the opportunity to redeem myself for my earlier failure. I cannot simply sit around and do nothing, especially when you've already done so much for me, Mistress. I shall take care of that absolutely aggravating Flame Haze and finally retrieve the Treasure which resides within that Mystes."
The woman smiled.
"Very well, if you so insist, my darling Friagne. But first..."
Making a slight gesture with a free hand, a deck of cards materialized within the woman's fingers.
"Take this Treasure. It should aid you against that terrible Flame Haze."
"...Mistress, you are far too kind to me..."
"Oh, my darling Friagne..."
The nauseating display of affection would continue for several more minutes before Friagne finally left to do as he'd originally intended.
The bell rang once more, signalling the end of yet another school day. As Yuji quickly packed up his books, however, he heard a soft voice speak over his shoulder. Turning around, Yuji found himself staring up at Hecate.
"...You are... Hirai-kun, are you not?"
Yuji nodded.
"Yes, but... is there something I can help you with, Hecate-san?"
"..."
Hecate remained silent for a long moment before she finally spoke a single sentence and turned to leave.
"...You are the one who will fill me."
Yuji simply blinked, cocking his head to one side in confused bewilderment.
"...Huh?"
Before he could continue to stare after the departing Hecate, however, there was the distinct sound of a throat being cleared directly in front of him.
"...A-HEM."
Yuji turned back around to see Shana standing in front of his desk, arms akimbo.
"Eh? What's the matter Shana?"
Shana glared at Hecate's diminishing figure before finally turning her gaze back to Yuji.
"Just what did 'Miss Convent' say to you?"
Yuji had a confused look on his face as he thought back to the sentence that Hecate had spoken.
"Uh... erm... Something about 'filling her'. Why? Do you know what she's talking about?"
Upon hearing Yuji repeat Hecate's words, Shana's face immediately turned a brilliant shade of crimson.
"Eh!? N-never mind then! This doesn't really concern me anyway."
Yuji blinked.
"...Are you sure? Why were you asking me that sort of question then?"
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
Suddenly, Yuji's gaze shot over to the classroom windows.
"...!!"
Shana looked in the same direction as well. The hair on the back of her neck pricked up.
"What's wrong?"
"...They're here!"
"Wha...!?"
In the flash of an instant, the air turned an ominous crimson. Just as before, time froze. People stopped dead in their tracks. Yuji quickly turned to Shana.
"Hurry! We've got to get out of the immediate area, before-!"
Before the Flame Haze could speak any further, however, the classroom windows shattered into a cascade of broken glass and twisted metal frames. Yuji quickly threw Shana behind a desk as an explosion hit the area. Even as Yuji's eyes and hair transformed into living flame, Shana spotted an odd sight.
A... playing card? Floating in the air? No, wait... An entire deck!? Is that a Treasure!?
Yuji spotted it an instant later, as one of the cards suddenly swooped towards him and sliced into the floor. Even as Yuji dodged out of the way, it detonated an instant later.
"H-hey, idiot! Do something about it!"
"I know, I know! Just stay behind cover, please!"
As more and more cards appeared, spun, and swooped throughout the classroom, the Flame Haze abruptly pointed at one card in particular, almost too quickly for Shana to see. There was a brief flash of fire, an explosive blast...
...and then a small scream of agony as the flying deck of cards dissipated and faded away, revealing a battered little doll in a white suit lying on the floor in a limp heap. Yuji quietly walked over and picked it up as he spoke to it in a friendly, conversational tone.
"Aren't you that Rinne that showed up earlier? Where's your Denizen Master?"
"Kuh! As if I'd tell you anything about the Mistress!"
Alastor's voice broke in.
"Oh? A female Denizen? Could it be..."
Before Alastor could speak any further, there was a blinding flash of azure fire. Even as Yuji quickly dropped the doll and leaped backwards to cover Shana, a woman with long blonde hair and wearing a purple evening dress materialized out of the air. The doll returned to her arms in a flash as it spoke in a regretful tone of voice.
"M-mistress... Please forgive me. I was unable to take that brute of a Flame Haze down..."
The woman shushed the little doll with a finger.
"Now, now, my darling little Friagne. There is nothing to apologize about. I should be apologizing to you instead... for providing you with a Treasure that you were unaccustomed to."
With that, the woman quietly kissed the doll. Friagne's battered form flashed once, then sparkled as all of the damage inflicted to its body disappeared. With that order of business finished, the woman then turned her attention to Yuji.
"So... you're the Flame Haze who's been giving my precious Friagne so much trouble. Very impressive, defeating my 'Regular Sharp' Treasure with a single strike. I must thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet you... 'Flaming-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter'. I am Huntress Marianne... and this is my precious Friagne."
Alastor spoke out with not a little consternation.
"You! You are that Flame Haze Murderer, then!"
Marianne smirked coldly.
"How crude. I prefer to think of myself as 'A Treasure Collector'. It's just that so many of you ill-mannered Flame Hazes get in my way... So I simply remove them, as befitting their status as obstacles."
The Crimson Denizen then specifically turned her attention to Yuji.
"You... you're rather cute, for a Flame Haze. It's too bad. If I didn't have Friagne, I might have seriously considered going after you."
Yuji looked distinctly taken aback.
"I... don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment."
Shana angrily shouted out from behind her hiding place.
"H-hey! Quit being so friendly with that old hag! You're a Flame Haze, aren't you!? Shouldn't you be kicking her ass instead of just standing around and holding a conversation with her!?"
Marianne gave Shana an ugly scowl.
"Calling me an 'old hag'!? My, what an ill-mannered little Mystes! If it weren't for that precious Treasure you're currently carrying within that flat-chested body of yours, I'd destroy you in an instant."
Yuji blinked.
"That's right... why aren't you fighting right now, anyway?"
Marianne gave a condescending smile.
"And risk damaging that Mystes? Hardly worth the effort. But we shall meet again, that I can assure you. I can't wait to see what's inside that flat-chested treasure chest..."
With that, Crimson Denizen and Rinne vanished in a blaze of blue flame. Shana angrily glared, red-faced, at the spot where the two had been a moment earlier. Her clenched hands trembled in barely contained rage.
"T-that... That old HAG!! I am NOT flat-chested...!!"
Yuji quickly interrupted her, his hands wildly gesturing in a placatory manner.
"L-look, I know you must be angry about that, but now's not the time..."
"Eh? What are you..."
Shana blinked, as she finally grasped the extent of the damage that had been inflicted by the playing card Treasure that Friagne had been wielding. The entire classroom was a wreck, and several of Shana's classmates were heavily injured. Some of the injuries looked damnably fatal.
"Everyone..."
Yuji quickly stepped in.
"I don't have much time. Please, step out of the way..."
Gesturing once, a flame of blue materialized on his finger. Alastor spoke up in alarm.
"No, wait! There's no Torches or incompletely-consumed Existences here for you to use! You're not thinking of...!"
Yuji smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry, Alastor... But I cannot use that other option. I swore to myself to never do it again."
Shana looked up to Yuji in anxious worry.
"Yuji, w-what are you going to do?"
Yuji smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry, Shana. There's no other way. There isn't enough leftover Power of Existence for me to utilize in repairing the damage, and I refuse to use your classmates for the purpose. So the only other option that remains is..."
Alastor grimly finished Yuji's sentence.
"...is to use himself instead. Even though it will most likely result in his own demise."
Without warning, Shana grabbed hold of Yuji's arm.
"...You... YOU CAN'T!"
Yuji looked down at Shana, his eyes alight with shock and surprise.
"Shana, why...?"
"You just can't! I REFUSE!"
Yuji's voice rose slightly in temper as he tugged at Shana's grasp in an attempt to gently free himself.
"Look, Shana! The seal's about to collapse. If it collapses before the damage can be repaired, there will be absolute chaos! I can't let that happen!"
Shana's mind raced.
I can't let him disappear! I don't know why, but I DON'T WANT HIM TO DISAPPEAR! I...
Then, a desperate idea came to her mind.
"You need a Torch, right!? Then... use me!"
The Flame Haze gawked at her in horrified surprise.
"Y-you!? I... I can't do that!"
Shana angrily shot a retort back.
"It... It's not a matter of whether you can, idiot! I'm choosing to do this! So do it!"
"But Shana-"
"NO BUTS! JUST DO IT!"
It was nightfall. Yuji sat on the rooftop of the apartment complex where Shana lived. The stars were glowing up in the sky.
"...She's so odd. Spirited, but rather odd."
Alastor grunted.
"She chose to make that decision. It's not our place to refuse her, especially when she was so insistent upon it."
"True, but..."
Yuji sighed sadly in mid-speech.
"...I had to use up a lot of her Power of Existence in order to fix all of the damage. Now her remaining time is even shorter."
"Talking about me, idiot?"
Yuji looked over his shoulder to see Shana standing behind him, holding a steaming mug. She was dressed in a set of pink pajamas. Somewhat not surprisingly, the pajamas had prints of melon bread buns all over it from head to toe.
Yuji smiled.
"Ah... you're here. How did you know I was up here?"
Shana blushed slightly.
"You... I kinda felt a... a presence of sorts. As if I instinctively knew you were up here."
Alastor hummed.
"Mmm. It's not surprising, seeing that you've been exposed to the true nature of the Power of Existence. Your sensitivity to its changes most probably would be rising in consequence."
Shana shrugged, even as she walked over and sat down next to Yuji. She then handed him the mug. Yuji stared in askance at its contents.
"Erm... what's this?"
Shana's blush became more intense.
"C-clueless idiot. It's just a thank you. For not disappearing. It's hot cocoa. I kinda figured you might like some."
"Ah. Thanks."
As Yuji sipped at the mug, he looked over to Shana, a look of curiosity on his face.
"By the way, Shana, why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you so worried about me disappearing? I'm just a Flame Haze..."
Shana's face became the color of a ripe tomato.
"I... I just didn't like the idea, that's all! And you're not 'just a Flame Haze'! To me, you're-"
Shana abruptly clammed up.
Yuji blinked.
"I'm what?"
"N-nothing! Never mind!"
"It feels as if there's a deeper reason than just-"
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Agh, enough! I'm going to bed!"
"But Shana..."
Yuji looked somewhat downhearted as Shana headed over to the stairs without another word. Sighing, the Flame Haze sat down heavily on the rooftop.
"She... most of her flame's burned out now. It's just a matter of 'when' now as far as her disappearance from existence is concerned."
Alastor murmured in agreement.
"Mmm. I'm afraid so. It's too bad that- Wait, look!"
Yuji looked up in similar surprise as he suddenly sensed a strong outpouring of energy coming from Shana. Staring, the Flame Haze's eyes widened as he watched Shana descend the stairs.
"A-Alastor, did you just see...!?"
"I did indeed."
"Her... But... that's impossible! For her Flame of Existence to replenish itself like that...!"
"Not entirely impossible. Could it be that the Treasure within her could be... that...?"
On one of Misaki City's many streets, a young woman walked the night. A head of indigo hair, a flowing dress of white. A nearby Torch flickered out. On the opposite side of the city, a young man of hard features and brown hair floated in on the wind, riding a gigantic, heavily bound tome.
I'd thought that I'd reached the end of my rope. No more Power of Existence, no more time left, poof, no more Shana. But as it turned out, I was completely ignorant of what was really going on... or of the greater chaos that was just about to come.
"Well, the situation appears to be stabilizing, but I'm starting to doubt whether I can actually succeed in properly correcting this whole... situation."
"So what are you going to do now?"
The Writer of Questionable Stories popped a vein.
"What do you THINK I'm going to do!? Honestly, you're no help at all. If you're going to contribute by lambasting me with pithy statements, you might as well actually contribute to the correction of the document itself!"
"Forget it. It's your mess, so it's your job."
"...Lazy bum."
To Be Continued...?