I rolled over in my bed yet again, this time looking up at the ceiling. My long black hair was tangled under me and I felt cold, despite knowing that I would be too hot if I got under the covers again. I turned my eyes to the alarm clock next to my bed and gave an annoyed sigh. Three in the morning and I was awake, almost driven crazy by the few minutes of sleep I got before waking again. I let my mind wander for what I thought had to be at least an hour before looking at the clock again. It read fifteen after and my sigh was soft this time, having had enough. I closed my eyes and willed myself to think about nothing. I stayed still and tried to relax, only to look at the alarm again and see that it was only four now. Sitting up, I growled lightly and began getting dressed. I could go a day or so without sleep and still function properly so I decided to at least make use of my time.
Restless Flame
By:
Satashi
Shana leapt from a building and landed on the road with such a small sound that the sleeping animals near her didn’t even stir. Her eyes turned to the bridge spanning the river in front of her and she began walking to it. After several long moments and stopped at one of the arcs and looked up to gauge the height before jumping. The metal flew past her as she ascended, using her energy to control her destination. Upon landing, a male turned to look back at her and greet the girl with a small smile. “Yuji,” Shana spoke lightly, walking to him. “What are you doing out here?”
Yuji looked back over the river to where the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. “My father told me that the best part of traveling was seeing the sun rise in different areas... I thought about it and realized that I’ve never took the time to watch one.” His brown eyes stayed forward despite the wind blowing Shana’s hair against his chin as she started to sit next to him. “The city that we protect looks amazing right now, doesn’t it?”
The girl stayed silent a few moments, taking in the scenery. “Mmn.” Her reply came in a hum and together they watched the sun slowly start to shed it’s light over the water. ‘Its good to just enjoy what you protect sometimes,’ the words drifted through the girl’s mind easily, a small smile on her lips. ‘But I wonder...’ She turned to him again and poked his shoulder lightly. “Ne, Yuji?”
“Hm?” He finally turned to look at her, a light grin showing.
“How did you get up here?”
“Climbed.” He chuckled lightly. “It’s strange, something as crazy as climbing the ladder on the arc of a bridge... a year ago I would have thought anyone doing this was insane. Now, I feel as if I should be doing things like more often.”
Shana nodded, standing up fully. “Okay then, its decided.”
“What is?” Yuji stood as well and walked with her to the edge of the arc.
“Today, I’ll train you how to jump.” Shana looked over her shoulder, eyes shining. “Let’s leave school early so we can get in some extra time.” With that, she hopped off the edge and fell down several stories to land with a gentle tap on the ground. Looking up, she waved lightly and trotted off.
~**~
Chigusa looked over her shoulder as she heard the front door open and greeted Shana with a smile as she walked into the house. ‘She’s never had trouble just coming in after I told her she didn’t need to knock, but lately it feels like we’ve added her to the family.’
“Good morning,” Shana spoke, placing her school bag on the table. “Yuji’s not ready yet?”
“I thought you were already training. He came home and started getting ready for school right away. He should be down shortly.”
“Hmm...” Shana rolled on her heels, hands behind her back. ‘I had enough time to get home, get prepped, and still make it here before he’s even ready.’ She grinned to herself. ‘Jumping is hard to control but I think Yuji will be able to do it fairly quickly.’ The person she was thinking about came down the stairs then, and greeted her while running past to get the offered breakfast sandwich his mother was offering. “Ready, Yuji?”
“Mm,” The boy hummed around his meal. He shoveled it down while putting on his shoes and drank the glass of orange juice offered to him in a few heavy gulps. “Thanks mom.”
Chigusa nodded and waved to the pair as they walked out of the house. “You two be careful today!”
Shana turned and waved while walking backwards a few steps as Yuji called out his reply over his shoulder. After going a few more feet, he finally asked the question that had been with him since that morning. “Hey, Shana? What made you get out so early?”
“Couldn’t sleep.” The thought made the girl yawn lightly but she shrugged it off. “I couldn’t get comfortable last night so I just gave up.”
“Gave up? Will you be all right today?”
Shana looked up at him and answered in a matter-of-fact way. “One day won’t bother me; I’ll make up for it tonight.” The girl nodded to herself. “Besides, learning how to run and jump will really help us in a fight.” Her cheeks tinted lightly and she looked away. ‘Not that I really mind you holding me in the air while I fly…’
“I see,” Yuji looked down at their usual training area and went down the stone stairway to it behind his friend. “We’re going to train here? I thought we would go to a building or something.”
Alastor chose to answer instead, his deep voice coming smoothly from Shana’s pendant. “Falling on grass hurts a lot less than hitting stone, Sakai Yuji.”
The male sweated lightly. “A-ah. I suppose so.” A Fuzetsu wave flew past him and the world around him became distorted. Shana’s hair, now red but not ablaze, fluttered in the wind as she gave him a pleased look.
“This is simple but complicated. If you mess up it will hurt so pay attention okay?” Shana felt the familiar sense of pride in her chest when Yuji suddenly became serious. Walking close to him, she let her wings appear behind her back. With a small hop she rose a few feet in the air and reached out her arm. Her friend reached for it without being asked to and together they rose until the bottom of Yuji’s feet reached almost eight feet. “When you fall, concentrate your power of existence to your feet. Let it absorb the shock from your landing and spread out into the ground. Once you can manage this I’ll show you how to jump, okay?” She got a nod and Yuji closed his eyes. “Ready?”
“Better to experience it first.” Yuji confirmed with a grin. Their hands let go and his body fell quickly, silver fire spreading around the impact and igniting the grass.
“No! You’re not attacking; you don’t need so much power!” Shana flew down as the flames died and allowed Yuji to rub his ankles a moment before reaching out again. “You don’t need a tenth of that much power, just enough to buffer the shock of landing.” As they flew up again she tried her best to reword her teachings. “Imagine converting your downward force into an outward one on the ground.” Another nod came and Yuji squeezed her hand lightly before letting go, falling and landing in a crouch. “How was it?”
“I feel like all the weight hit my feet at the same time.” Yuji reached up again, face serious. “Again?” His hand was taken and they lifted once more.
~**~
“You didn’t have to overdo it.” Shana scolded with a slight bit of annoyance in her tone. “If you hurt yourself then you should have told me.” She finished wrapping Yuji’s ankles with the magical treated bandages given to her from Wilhelmina earlier that morning. “It’s pointless to keep going if you feel pain regardless if you’ve done it properly.”
“Ah, sorry.” Yuji put his shoes back on when Shana leaned back from him. “I’ll remember that… Come to think of it, you jumped all the time before you could fly. Is it really that easy to control once you get it?”
“It is. Once it clicks with you, you don’t have to think about it anymore.”
Alastor’s voice came up then, making each person drop their gaze to the pendant around Shana’s neck. “Shana is an exception. She learns quickly when the time is right.”
Yuji hummed. “That’s right, she learned to fly really fast back then too…”
Shana blushed darkly and stood, grabbing her school briefcase. “Th-there’s nothing wrong with just jumping! We’ll be late for school!”
“Eh?” Yuji had to run a few wobbly steps to catch up with her. “I never said there was?” As the girl picked up her pace, he allowed her to get some space for herself. ‘I guess I hit a nerve with that one…’ When the two finally made it to their desks, Shana sighed out and sank down into her seat. At once she leaned forward and placed her forehead against her hands, eyes closing to give them a moment of rest before the school day began. Yuji watched without saying anything and instead sat down himself. ‘She said she would be fine without getting much sleep, but she seems tired no matter how you look at it…’
~**~
Yuji sat down on the grass and rubbed his feet with an exasperated look. “You’re trying too hard,” Shana told him simply from her spot in the air above him. “Don’t try to focus so much that you create flame, just use the energy to propel yourself to me.” Once again she reached down her hand, smiling at him. Although their afternoon training had gone longer than normal, she still felt the need to press him just a little farther. “Come on, once more? You can do It, Yuji.”
The male sighed out and looked up, unable to tell the girl no when her voice got softer like that. Raising his hand, he gripped hers and the familiar sense of weightlessness came over his body. As he rose to the new height of almost fifteen feet, Yuji slowly looked down and nodded once he was ready. Shana’s hand loosened and he slipped from her grasp, plummeting downwards until his feet hit the ground. This time, no silver flame came from them, but instead he simply crouched down. A moment passed by in silences as he stood up, eyes wide in amazement. “I… I didn’t feel anything.”
“Yuji!” Shana swept down in front of him and beamed up with a happy expression on her face. “You did it! Congratulations!”
“Ah, thanks to you.” Yuji looked down and hopped in the air, landing without a sound. “How do you jump?”
Alastor let out a small frustrated sound. “You are getting ahead of yourself once again, Sakai Yuji. Let your legs heal, and then we will pick up once more.”
“He’s right,” Shana agreed. “If you hurt yourself and keep pushing then it won’t do any good to train like this. We can pick up again tomorrow.” With that, she let down her fuzetsu and clasped her hands behind her back with a smile. Yuji nodded lightly and began walking next to his friend, eyes staying on her. “What?” Shana blinked.
“Just thinking… you look really nice with red hair as well.”
The comment made Shana blush and look at him in shock. “Wh-what kind of comment is that!?” Her pace picked up and she looked down at her feet while walking, flustered too much to speak properly. “Idiot.” Once they were at the Sakai residence she ran inside ahead of Yuji. “Chigusa?” She called out cheerfully when she smelt the wonderful scent of a home cooked meal.
“Welcome back,” The mother greeted with the usual smile and kind voice. “Will you be staying for dinner?” Despite the question being asked, the amount of food in the kitchen behind her implied that she was already expecting it. With just a nod as an answer, she shooed Shana towards to bathroom. “The bath is ready, go freshen up. I left you a dress as well, so please feel free to use it.” Shana blushed lightly and allowed herself to be pampered, walking to the bathroom. “I’ll clean your clothes and put them in Yu-chan’s closet for you as well.”
“Th-thank you…”
“Mom!” Yuji’s embarrassed voice finally came as he came into the room. “She has a quarter of my closet as it is, I don’t have room for all these clothes you keep finding for her…”
Instead of Chigusa answering, Shana’s voice came from the other side of the bathroom door. “It’s okay isn’t it?” The question was voiced as a statement, making it clear that she didn’t see anything wrong with having her clothes in his closet. “They belong to Chigusa anyway, it would be worse if I took them home.”
Yuji sighed at the double teaming he was getting and walked to the bathroom to pick up Alastor from his place hanging on the handle. “I’ll be in my room then.” The stairs were taken and a long sigh came out as he fell onto his bed. “That’s just the type of girl she is, huh?”
“What do you mean?” Alastor asked passively.
“Brave, strong, and seemingly able to do anything by herself… but deep down, the happiest I’ve ever seen her is when she’s being spoiled. Getting her way, being agreed with, ice cream, melon bread, snacks, or even just a pat on the head from my mother… That’s when she smiles the most… But, of course, she’ll never admit to it.”
“I don’t think Shana would agree.”
Yuji felt his lips turn up into a grin. “Do you?”
Alastor coughed. “I will refrain from giving my opinion on this topic.” After getting a repressed chuckle, he went on. “By the way, I have a request.”
“Request?” Yuji sat up on his bed. “What is it?”
“Shana didn’t sleep well last night, I would appreciate it if you sent her home early tonight so she can rest. If an enemy attacked now she would be at a disadvantage.”
Nodding, Yuji agreed. “Right, she did look a little tired. Okay then, I’ll offer to walk her home after dinner.”
Downstairs, Shana closed her eyes while leaning back in the bathtub. ‘
This is so relaxing…’ Her mind drifted off as her body slid down lower so only her head was above the water level. ‘
For some reason, it always feels better taking a bath here than at home.’ After a deep intake of air, Shana looked over the to the cabinet where both a towel and a change of clothes were waiting for her. Cheeks coloring slightly, she looked into the water and fidgeted. ‘
It’s really embarrassing to have a set of clothes here… but at the same time, it makes me feel… really nice somehow.’ The girl sank into the water more, as if to hide her embarrassment from the rest of the world. Eyes closed again, she let out a pleased sound. Her head tilted slowly to the right and her breathing slowed.
Shana’s eyes snapped open as a hand went around her mouth. Sharp nails dug into her cheek and before she could even attempt at making a counter attack, she was pulled under the water completely. Yell muffled by the water, the girl struggled to free herself from the hold that was now wrapping around her body like a snake. The hot water stung her skin and no matter how much she willed it, neither her sword or jacket would come to her call. Shana’s body was pressed firmly against the bathtub’s bottom and a snake with a head of a demon came into her line of sight, mouth open to pierce her throat. Unable to move, Shana’s eyes went wide as the beast shot forward.
“Shana-chan?” Chigusa’s voice made Shana jerk up in the water, breathing heavily. “Shana-chan!?” The mother ran the few steps to the bathtub and patted the girl on the back as she coughed. “Are you okay? Did you fall asleep?”
“I…I…” Shana looked down at the water, realizing that she didn’t feel any presence other than her own and her allies up stairs. “… Yes, I’m sorry…” She coughed one more time before wiping her face with her palm.
“Diner is ready, so come out before you fall asleep again, okay?” Chigusa smiled at her and helped the girl stand. “I’ll get your plate ready.”
“Ah, thank you.” She watched Yuji’s mother leave the bathroom and was given one more concerned look before being left alone again. Shana took a long deep breath and stepped out of the bathtub.
2009-07-27, 13:23
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