Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter5 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

The wind was very gentle, yet at the same time forcefully took them up to the skies. They overcame gravity easily, flying past tree branches to an even higher place......

“Wow...... This is great...... What a magnificent view!”

Perhaps since it was his second time flying at a high altitude, Ren began to enjoy the spectacular view from above. Even though Kazuma wanted to let him watch longer, he continued to increase their speed.

“Huh? Is it over already?”

Ren said sadly as he realized they were beginning to descend.

“When this is over, you can watch for as long as you want. Just bear with it for now!”

The two of them landed on a small, empty area.

“She's here...... See? I was right after all.”

"Nee...... Nee-sama!?"

Ren doubted his eyes. Ayano was stained with blood all over and was coming towards them. She was dragging herself with staggering steps and seemed about to fall down at any time.

Enraiha was just barely dangling from her weakened, drooping right arm. The tip of the blade scraped the surface of the earth as she moved and produced an exceptionally earsplitting sound.

Ayano stopped before the two of them. Completely covered with wounds, she glared furiously at Kazuma with eyes that seemed as if they would shoot out fire.

“You lost completely!”

Kazuma did not seem to care about Ayano's murderous intent. His cold words did not carry any guilt of leaving behind Ayano as bait.

“You asshole......”

Ayano squeezed out the last of her remaining strength and pointed her Enraiha at the despicable traitor before her. A beautiful, shining flame surrounded the crimson blade.

However, she no longer had any strength to swing the blade. Ayano dropped Enraiha, which stopped shining and rolled onto the floor, and collapsed into Kazuma's arms from lack of strength.

The divine sword that fell to the ground began to disappear as if merging with the air.

“Idiot. Trying to swing a divine sword with a half-dead body? Of course she'd overexert herself and run out of strength.”

Kazuma's heartless words never reached Ayano's ears. She was completely unconscious. Her face was pale beyond pale - It was as white as a corpse.

“Nee-sama! Ayano nee-sama!”

“You're so noisy, shut up.”

Without even turning his head, Kazuma ordered his screaming brother to be quiet and grabbed Ayano's hair to lift up her face. He was apparently checking her body condition, but the way he went about it was so rough that he did not seem to be worried about Ayano.

After a long moment, Ren asked, flustered,

“Nii-sama, Ayano nee-sama is going to be fine... right......?”

“Nope, she's dead meat.”

Kazuma mercilessly crushed Ren's expectations.

“How...... How can that......”

“The wounds themselves aren't much. The problem is the youki that entered her body through them. She's just one step away from having her body be completely overrun by youki.”

He gave a diagnosis as if he was a doctor, but real doctors would most definitely had complained about his cold-blooded and straightforward words!

“But, what kind of youki could freeze a divine child of the flames, and Enraiha together with her? Just where did that old man Hyoue find such a youma?”

“Now is not the time to discuss that problem, right? If you don't save Ayano nee-sama soon......”

“Ren, catch.”

Kazuma suddenly tossed Ayano's body at Ren.

“Wah!”

Even though Ayano was slim and completely drained of strength, she was still far too heavy for a twelve year old youth to carry. The two of them fell onto the floor together.

“Wha...... What......”

Ren, who meant to make a fuss, suddenly realized how cold Ayano's body was. Even though she was still breathing, she was no different from a corpse. When Kazuma had said "freeze", it was not a metaphor - It was the truth, literally.

Ren, as an Enjutsushi, could clearly sense Ayano's flame of life burning out with every second.

“Is...... Is there no way to save Nee-sama, Nii-sama!?”

“Hmm...... It's not that it's impossible, but......”

“But what!?”

“It would be a waste.”

An indescribable silence filled the scene. Like a puppet, Ren stared at Kazuma with a frozen expression.

Kazuma watched Ren silently as well.

“......What did you say?”

Ren broke the silence with an exceptionally dull voice.

“It would be a waste.”

Kazuma repeated it calmly once more. He spoke naturally as if stating an obvious fact.

“It's a really valuable medicine, and I probably won't get another one like it.”

He shrugged his shoulders, as though saying that it can't be helped.

Ren could not believe that there existed someone who would say that a medicine was more important than a human life, and that the someone was his own brother. He expressed his shock in words.

“That is not the problem, is it? If this continues, Nee-sama will die, and saying that using medicine is too wasteful...... That cannot be true, right?”

“It's not a big deal even if Ayano dies! It's not like the main bloodline will die off completely. You can just inherit the Enraiha. Then our old man would also be very happy.”

This was the first time Ren had ever heard such inhumane words. The blood in his body grew hot as if boiling, and the flame spirits gave off a cheerful sound in anticipation of a battle.

“What's wrong?”

Kazuma looked at his brother, who bowed down in silence, with caring eyes.

“Don't......”

“'Don't'......?”

"Don't joke around with me......!!"

Ren's roar struck Kazuma as a physical shock. Kazuma used his ki to perform the lowest level of defense, smirking while letting Ren hit him.

Only Kazuma could understand that this phenomenon was the result of the spirits responding to Ren's rage.

(Yes, that's the way to go.)

The characteristic of fire is “aggressive flames”. A strong rage is the key factor of synchronizing with flame spirits. They will never lend their full powers to a human who is usually calm and timid.

Only when one possesses great rage, and is able to control that rage, can one be a first rate Enjutsushi.

Filling the area with stifling heat that felt like a metal smelting furnace, the flame spirits responded to Ren's rage and continued to gather.

“Give me the medicine.”

Ren ordered softly. He had no need to roar now, as he knew very well what he needed to do. If the opponent decided to resist, he would have to get the medicine even if he died in the process. Whether he succeeded or not was inconsequential - This was something he had to do.

“Okay...... I got it, don't threaten me anymore.”

Kazuma raised his hands to surrender. He was unable to keep his smile. With a calm fighting spirit and the mental energy to control it, Ren had already began his journey to become a first class Jutsushi.

Kazuma walked past Ren and stopped by Ayano, who was now lying motionless on the floor. Looking down at her, he toyed with a bottle he took out from his hidden pocket.

To say that he did it without hesitation would most definitely be a lie. After all, it was an extremely rare and valuable medicine. But even so, as long as it was for Ren's growth, he did not mind paying such a price, especially since it did not cost him a single cent in the first place.

He kneeled by Ayano's side and considered tipping the contents of the bottle into Ayano's pale lips, but gave up in the end. She did not seem to have the strength to even drink it, and spilling the medicine would really be a waste.

Kazuma stretched his hand under Ayano and lifted her upper body. He drank the medicine himself, then closed his lips onto Ayano's as if throwing his entire body onto her.

“Wah!”

From the corner of his eyes, Kazuma could see Ren, who was at his side, flushing red yet staring, mesmerized, as Kazuma poured the medicine into Ayano's lips by mouth-to-mouth.





[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 219.jpg|thumb]]
(Hmmm............)

Ayano first felt warmth. Something seemed to be quickly removing the youki that was invading her body. Heat, or rather, life, came back bit by bit.

She slowly began to detect the situation around her. She knew she was being surrounded by a powerful force, and that a warm, healing spiritual energy was coming in from her lips.

Ayano felt as if someone had just pulled her back from the gates of death gently, yet powerfully.

She opened her eyes slowly, and, at the close distance that her eyes instantly focused on, the one before her was......

"......!!!"

Ayano's consciousness became awake in an instant and she used all of her strength to push Kazuma away.

Kazuma moved away lazily, as if he saw through Ayano's cute reactions out of nervousness, and steadily stood up.

(I...... I was kissed......? Why......?)

Ayano pressed her lips with her left hand. Her right hand was tightly hugging her own body. Like a weak girl who had just been assaulted by a rapist, she closed her legs tightly and contracted her body.

(What's going on......?)

It was impossible to understand the situation, as she did not know what was going on.

Maybe due to the youki that had invaded her, her memories did not seem to add up. Not just how she wanted to cut Kazuma with her sword - She could not even remember how they met up in the first place.

She lifted her head to look at Kazuma suspiciously, who stared back calmly as though he was observing some animal in an experiment. Actually, he was observing how effective the medicine was, but it was impossible for Ayano to know that.

Anger began to grow within her. After taking away a girl's kiss, and her first kiss at that, the other party did not even seem to have a shred of guilt. She could not accept this at all.

“What the hell were you doing......!!!”

“Is that how you talk to your benefactor?”

“Huh......?”

The cold reply weakened Ayano's attitude. Ren ran over with wet eyes and raised his head to look at Ayano, fighting back tears.

“Nee...... Nee-sama......”

It was hard to imagine that the now revived Ayano, who was brimming with energy, was about to die just now. Even her wounds and blood had disappeared.

“Nee-sama! Nee-sama! Nee-sama!”

Ren was happily hugging his beloved "sister" tightly as he began to cry. As if trying to confirm that this was not a dream, he continued to hug Ayano with all his might and continued to call her name.

Even though he was just a kid, a twelve year old still has some arm power. Though Ayano was uncomfortable, she still insisted on rubbing Ren's head gently.

“Ren, calm down...... Everything's fine. I will protect you, so don't be afraid......”

“Idiot.”

Kazuma mercilessly shot down Ayano. Ignoring her murderous intent, he continued,

“Ren was worried about you. You were totally thrashed by Ryuuya earlier and almost died. By the way, the one who saved you is me, so be grateful.”

This speech, made by someone who claimed to be her benefactor, made Ayano's temple entangle together. Ren stopped his tears and immediately froze once he felt the strong atmosphere that could silence a crying child.

Ayano suddenly lowered her head and looked at Ren. She grabbed him, who was subconsciously trying to run away, and pressed his shoulder, asking with a scary face,

“Is that true?”

“Huh...... Huh......”

Ren looked troubled, unsure of what she meant by the question. Ayano moved closer and repeated once more,

“That guy said he saved me. Is that true?”

Shivering, Ren answered in a soft and delicate voice,

“It...... It is true. Nii-sama, he took the medicine...... then...... mouth-to-mouth......”

“Forget this.”

Ayano stopped Ren's reply softly. The hand that was pressing his shoulder became more forceful, as if she was looking at Ren from above. Seeing her fake smile, Ren was so scared that his legs went limp.

“You saw nothing, understand?”

Ren silently nodded.

“Oh yeah, what did you make me drink? It's not something with weird side effects, right?”

Ayano asked suspiciously. She knew that she almost died just now, so she could not trust something that was able to completely cure her in just a few minutes.

“Elixir.”

Kazuma replied simply.

“Elixir? You don't mean that, what's it called, 'Water of Life'!?”

“Ehhhhhhhhhh......!?”

Ayano, and in fact even Ren, who was on the verge of tears, gave off sounds of surprise. This was normal, since the so-called "Water of Life" is a miracle drug with amazing effects, made with the essence of alchemy. It is said to even be able to revive the dead. It is uncertain if such a miracle drug, or even its formula, exists at all.

"That kind of thing... Where did you get it......"

“Before that, don't you have anything to say?”

Kazuma seemed very calm since the beginning, in contrast to Ayano, who was shocked. Realizing what Kazuma meant, Ayano reluctantly thanked him,

“......Thank you.”

“Don't mention it. I'll just charge extra. Maybe another hundred million will do.”

“You...... You bastard! Can't you ignore some losses to help someone!? Isn't it too low for a human to measure everything in terms of money!?”

“You think this is something that can be bought with money!?”

“Argh............”

Kazuma raised his voice imposingly, making Ayano speechless. This was the first time Kazuma became so emotional. Apparently, his precious medicine being used made him feel very unhappy.

Indeed, something like elixir cannot be bought with money. It is something that can even revive the dead. It's not hard to believe that many people would want it even if it made them bankrupt, and selling it for just a hundred million was simply outrageous.

Even so, Kazuma managed to change his mood with just one sigh.

“Never mind. Let's forget what happened in the past! Oh yeah, Ayano. So, why did you lose?”

“......Why are you asking such a thing?”

Ayano replied bitterly to the question that shattered her pride.

“Of course I have to ask. I always thought of your Enraiha as the ultimate weapon. If it's useless, then I have to rethink the whole battle plan. Therefore, tell me, what's going on? Don't tell me Enraiha can't burn Ryuuya even if it cuts into him?”

“Huh...... Errr...... That is......”

Kazuma's gaze at Ayano became colder and colder, sapping her ability to speak. She was too scared to make eye contact, so she shifted her eyes about randomly.

“You mean, you didn't even hit him once? All of your attacks were predicted?”

“Hmm............”

“And you panicked, releasing Enjutsu that was completely repelled by his wind.”

"Errm... errr............"

“After taking his onslaught of one-sided attacks, your injuries continued to increase.”

“..............................”

“In the end, you somehow managed to escape. Since this is too embarrassing for you to bear, should I praise you on your ability to run away?”

“Wha...... What!? How can you say such a thing!?”

Ayano finally lost her temper from listening to Kazuma's cruel and heartless comments.

“After telling me to trust you so proudly before, in the end you just ran off and left me behind with a few words! For someone who leaves the biggest problems to other people, what right do you have to say such a thing!?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“......Huh?”

Ayano widened her eyes at this unexpected reply. She had expected him to retaliate by mocking her vigorously, so it was unimaginable that he would apologize so honestly.

As if he could not let it go, Kazuma continued,

“I never expected you to be that weak.”

Ba-doom!!

An explosive noise came from her heart. Crackling sounds began to surround Ayano. Ren quickly retreated away from Ayano as if bouncing off.

“I thought that before I rescued Ren, you could at least buy some more time. Too bad, I guess I was too hard on you after all. Sorry.”

Ayano gripped Enraiha's hilt with all of her strength. Her fighting spirit spread throughout her body, and the fallen leaves by her feet started dancing in the air. In the night of autumn, the temperature quickly rose until it became hotter than a sunlit day. Ren tensely watched as he was roasted by the hot air.

“When you tried to cut me before...... Back then, I had thought that you were taking it easy on me, since I'm part of your family. I totally didn't realize that you were serious, sorr......”

Ayano moved her hand to shut Kazuma up. With all of her concentration, she mercilessly and unhesitatingly swung the Enraiha.

“Oh oh!”

Kazuma easily shifted his body and avoided her initial swing. Following his movements, Ayano slashed diagonally upwards, but Kazuma escaped to the left.

(Don't even think about escaping!)

Ayano twisted her hand and pulled Enraiha back. With the blade pointed at Kazuma, she stepped out forcefully, ready to lunge forward with a stab......

“Nee-sama!”

Since Ren rushed over and hugged Ayano's waist tightly, Enraiha missed its target.

“What are you doing, Ren? Get away now!!”

“No! Now is not the time to be doing this, is it!?”

Ayano was speechless at being reprimanded by a boy four years younger.

"Nii-sama too! Why did you do something so detestable!?"

Ren directed the blame to Kazuma as well. The youth had finally gotten his responsibility up by now, realizing that nothing good would come out of leaving the two of them to do as they wish.

“I didn't annoy her.”

“Then why did you say all of that?”

Ren continued to ask Kazuma, who was replying randomly. A distrustful aura surrounded him.

“Just relieving some stress. That's all.”

“.................................”

“The one who was supposed to be our final weapon turned out to be a little kitten. Anyone would want to complain, right?”

“Nee...... Nee-sama...... Calm down......”

Ren tried his best to comfort Ayano, who seemed ready to explode.

“......I know. I won't get angry anymore, so you can let go now.”

Ayano, weakened by Ren's face that was on the verge of tears, said that with some measure of calmness. She exhaled as if letting out all the air in her lungs, relaxing her rage in the process.

“By the way, did you take care of Hyoue?”

“Nope, he escaped.”

"......What?"

Ayano suddenly shouted back. No matter what she said, she had deep faith in Kazuma's powers. If Kazuma was actually unable to finish off someone like Hyoue......

“......What happened?”

“That old man summoned over a hundred youma at once. I was busy taking care of that when he took the chance to run off.”

“Over a hundred?”

Seeing the doubtful Ayano, Ren confirmed Kazuma's words.

“It is true, Nee-sama. Youma that blocked all vision! Nii-sama used one move to get rid of all of them! The reason why we failed to catch Hyoue was......”

(To save Nee-sama......)

Kazuma stopped Ren from completing that sentence. Kazuma pressed his fingertip onto Ren's lips, awkwardly silencing him.

“What are you trying to hide?”

“Nothing important. Anyway, the biggest problem now is Ryuuya. If this happens again, we'll die for sure.”

“......You still intend to fight?”

Hearing this, Kazuma proceeded to judge the cowering Ayano.

(I never expected her to be so weak mentally.)

But now was definitely not the time to let her continue being depressed. He planned to fight against that monster alone, but the suffering and efforts had to be shared by everyone. That is Kazuma's belief.

“What, are you scared? Well, I won't blame you, since you lost so miserably just now. The next time you're caught, I promise not to laugh.”

After being completely humiliated in such a way, Ayano's cheeks became so red she put on blushers.

“Even if I can't win, at least I can commit [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppuku seppuku] before the enemy catches me! I won't leave even a cell to those guys! I have that kind of determination, so don't look down on me!”

She rebutted angrily. Her spirit was plenty, but the content was unacceptable.

Unsure of how to respond, Kazuma's eyebrows creased together as Ayano continued,

“What I meant was that we should head back and reorganize our fighting force. Since Ren is already rescued, there shouldn't be any risk of the seal breaking, so......”

“Rejected.”

Kazuma bluntly refused Ayano's suggestion.

“It won't work out if we're attacked while moving. If the entire transport vehicle is destroyed, are you sure you can escape?”

“But they won't be stupid enough to kill Ren, would they? If they do that, they can't break the seal.”

“Hyoue's goal is to destroy the Kannagi clan. From the looks of it, he hates the Kannagi clan to the core. Releasing the seal placed upon their god was probably just one of the ways he planned to do it.”

Even though he used the word "probably", Kazuma was actually very certain. If Ayano saw that insane hatred with her own eyes, perhaps she would be able to understand!

To Hyoue, God or Devil is nothing but power. In his heart, he only thinks about how he can use them. Since he had Ryuuya, who could be used to destroy the Kannagi clan, he did not need to obsessed over breaking the seal of their god.

"Besides, they'd win if they kill us. My old man is now heavy with injuries......"

“That was your fault!”

“Don't talk about that right now. No matter how powerful the clan chief may be, his body can't fight. The branch family is completely useless. In other words, if we die, it means the end of the Kannagi clan. Got it?”

After hearing his logical analysis, Ayano had no way of rebutting. Even though she knew that Kazuma was right, her body naturally rejected the fact that she would have to fight against Ryuuya once more.

But before she could recollect herself, Kazuma raised his head to look into the sky.

“No time to think...... We've been found.”

“......? Didn't you set up a kekkai?”

“Yeah, but after what the two of you did, I doubt it'll last.”

“......I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay...... By the way, Ren.”

“Ah, yes?”

Ren, who was called suddenly, replied in a rising voice.

Kazuma then made a cruel declaration,

“Hyoue will definitely target you, because he'd still want the power of a God. But we'll be struggling with just Ryuuya, so there's no way we can protect you. Therefore, handle your own problems by yourself.”

This sentence seemed to imply "you might as well die if you're a nuisance", so Ren became tense upon hearing it. But he recovered in a while, and looked back at his brother with determined eyes.

“I...... I got it. I can handle someone like Hyoue by myself. If I lose, I shall commit seppuku before I get caught, so I won't cause any trouble for Nii-sama. Will that do?”

Ren said, with a pale face.

Kazuma, unsure whether to laugh or cry, stared at Ren, and then turned his head to Ayano.

“Man, because you said such stupid things, now Ren has no clue what he's fighting so hard for.”

“What stupid things? As the main family of the Kannagi clan, this kind of determination is only natural!”

Kazuma, rather than concerning himself with Ayano, turned to Ren instead. He grabbed the tiny head that stood before his chest.

“Wha...... What's the matter, Nii-sama?”

“Ren, let me tell you the rules of this game. 'The survivor always wins'. Simple enough?”

Ren was at a loss due to the sudden roughness, but Kazuma continued without caring.

“Someone without the will to live will lose for sure. This is a rule that will never change, so remember that.

Listen well. You're just a kid - No one thinks you're of much use, so just doing what you can will be enough.”

“Doing what I can......?”

“That'd be 'to live'. Don't try to beautify death with terms like 'self-sacrifice'. Death is the end of everything. You'll lose your past, present and future in an instant. There is no way to start over. It is the absolute end.”

Unable to lose nor sacrifice, Kazuma could not accept exchanging the future of a twelve year old for peace.

He did not want to lose anything important anymore.

“But as long as you're still alive, there will be a chance to turn the tables around. So, even if your teeth are knocked out, you have to swallow them back along with your blood. No matter how pathetic or shameful it seems, never give up on surviving. Even if you must struggle to the very last moment, that is your battle. Can you do it?”

Kazuma looked at Ren closely, and Ren returned his gaze in the same way.

Never give up, never throw hope away - That is what is required to win. That is what Ren learned from Kazuma. His pale face regained its natural color, and the dread of being pushed to a dead-end faded from his eyes.

(I am not alone.

There are people who protect me, people who support me, so all I need to do is finish whatever I can. Because this is the best way to make the current me, who is still immature, useful.)

“Yes!”

Hearing such an energetic reply, Kazuma gave off a gentle smile. Ren was comfortable with having his head rubbed so roughly.

“So then...”

Kazuma pushed Ren backwards lightly and told Ayano, without shifting his eyes,

“......He's here.”

Ayano raised her head to look into the sky. As if slicing open the blue sky, a black shadow darker than darkness itself emerged from a point in the sky. Following that, the shadow expanded quickly, clearly revealing its face.

“So he's here......”

Ayano mumbled in a trembling voice after seeing a human shadow form.

The black shadow, who seemed to be able absorb all light just by opening its arms like wings, landed on the ground. Kazuma smiled evilly at the demonic opponent that stood there silently.

"Now, let round two begin......"



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