Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-17T04:06:39Z

Kalessin:

@Zyzzyva165 (in response to the his/her comment on their edit after my last edit)

I think that a lot of the text in this page flows oddly and sometimes has a poor choice of words. The meaning gets across but it doesn't flow like it would if it were actually written by a native English speaker. A lot just isn't worded how it would normally be worded in English. I expect that it's a result of it being a fairly direct translation. I attempted to fix it up a bit so that it flowed better. If you think that I went too far, feel free to undo what I did. I don't think that I changed the meaning of anything. I just made it flow better. If the comment on my edit was not clear enough, what would you have preferred that I said?

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 4:36, June 7, 2009 (UTC)

Yikes. Looking back at the diffs, it looks like I really screwed up. I don't know if the edit got munched in transit or if I accidentally deleted it before submitting, but it looks like I removed a large section of text at the end of the page. I don't know how that happened and I didn't mean to do that. Is that what you mean by explaining myself? It looks like you fixed it though, so that's good. *Sigh*. I really don't know how I did that, but I obviously need to be more careful in the future. Sorry about that.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 6:52, June 7, 2009 (UTC)

Yeah...that's what I meant. But it's all right. Accidents happen sometimes. No worries about it. =)

--[[User:Zyzzyva165|Zyzzyva165]] 08:21, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

----

"Who could say when they were there? Two shadows suddenly appeared in the abnormal space that trapped Shuuji."

The "Who could say when they were there?" part isn't particularly clear. Is it asking when they showed up or how long they had been there? It seems to me that it would be better as either "Who could say how long they had been there?" or "Who could say when they appeared?" But asking when they appeared and then saying that they suddenly appeared would be a bit odd. I suppose that you could say "Who could say when they arrived?" instead, but it's not much better. Of course, asking how long they'd been there and then saying that they suddenly appeared is a bit odd to (though at least it takes into account the possibility that they were there but invisible). In any case, I'd ''like'' to change it to "Who could say how long they had been there?" but I'm not sure that that's technically what the original said. The current phrasing is too ambiguous.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 15:03, June 15, 2009 (UTC)

"The girl's height exceeded that of the boy by about thirty centimeters - but, as for the position of the head, the boy's head was slightly higher."

Maybe there's not an easy way to make this clearer, but it's a bit weird as is. So, is this saying that the girl is physically taller than the boy but that he's positioned such that his head is above hers? That is, is he floating or standing on something to get his head higher than hers? If not, I don't see how his head could be higher than hers if she's taller. There's no indication here as to why his head would be higher, so maybe it's just not possible to say this in a better way - i.e. the author wasn't clear enough rather than there being any issue with the translation - but it comes off as a bit odd to me. Maybe it's supposed to have something to do with them being shadows. In any case, if there's a way to clarify this sentence, it would be great, but I'm guessing that the author just wasn't clear enough. Light novels tend to be fairly light on the descriptions, after all. But then again, that's part of why they're "light."

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 00:30, June 17, 2009 (UTC)

Ah. It says later in the chapter that he's floating in the air. I'm tempted to change the phrase about his head being higher to say something about that, but that would almost certainly be adding content beyond what was in the original. It looks like the author wanted to put off informing us that the boy was floating. But then why tell us that his head was higher? It's just weird. Still, if it's the author that screwed up, there's not much we can do about it. That's a content issue, not a translation issue.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 03:55, June 17, 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-17T00:42:06Z

Kalessin:

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-15T15:13:51Z

Kalessin:

User:Kalessin

2009-06-14T09:34:31Z

Kalessin: The red link was bugging me, so I figured that I should create user page for myself - particularly since I've been editing a fair bit lately.

I love to read and I love anime, so naturally I want to read the light novels which many anime are based on. Unfortunately, they can be rather hard to find since they're rather expensive for companies to license and translate and yet don't yield as high a profit as either manga or anime. It can be hard to find fan translations as well. Fortunately, we have this site, for which I am quite grateful. Still, I prefer to have the actual books in hand when I can.

I'm a programmer by trade, but I'm good at writing and am well-versed in English grammar. I tend to be quite picky about it too, so if a particular phrase or page is bugging me, there's a good chance that I'll edit it to improve it.

My native tongue is English - my being from California and all - but I'm also fluent in French. Unfortunately, I don't know Japanese, so this site is a godsend. Though it's not like every light novel series ever published gets translated here, so one of these days, I may have to break down and go through the huge hassle of actually learning to read Japanese.

'''Series which have been licensed and I've bought'''
* Full Metal Panic
* Moribito
* Scrapped Princess
* Shakugan no Shana
* Twelve Kingdoms

'''Series here that I've currently read at least some of'''
* Kaze no Stigma
* Shakugan no Shana ''(why, oh, why did Viz have stop translating it... At least it's here.)''
* Spice and Wolf
* Toradora!
* Zero no Tsukaima

'''Series here that I'm likely to read in the future'''
* Baccano!
* Fate/Zero
* Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun ''(assuming that it graduates from teaser status)''
* Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu ''(assuming that it gets approved)''
* Strike Witches
* To Aru Majutsu no Index

'''Series I'd love to see here some day but currently aren't'''
* Asura Cryin'
* Maburaho

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-14T01:46:21Z

Kalessin: I don't _think_ that I changed the meaning of the phrase, but it was worded rather confusingly. The new phrasing makes sense in context, but it's possible that I've gotten the directions mixed up.

== Chapter Three - Friendship –Contributions and Mistakes-==

=== 1 ===

Late night....

“Dammit! I'm not sure if I'll make it in time.”

A teenager rushed towards the station in order to catch the last train,

Takahashi Shuuji. A 20 year-old university student.

As a formal participant of the Kendo club, his slender-seeming body was actually very well trained—there was no fat on it at all.

His reflexes were benumbed due to an excessive intake of alcohol. Even so, the steps he took on the brick floor did not seem so disordered.

“...That’s weird.”

Shuuji suddenly had a strange feeling. He stopped in his tracks to look around him.

He found nothing suspicious—just a very normal underground passage that stretched a long way.

But—

“Hey... Why is there no one here?”

Besides him, not a single soul could be seen in the area.

This was the underground passage to the turnstiles. Even with it past midnight—the time when the last train was about to reach the station—it was impossible that there was nobody here at all.

“Rea— Really, anything can happen.”

Shuuji found some excuse to convince himself and tried to suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

“I'm... I'm going to miss the train at this rate...”

Shuuji began to walk quickly with a loud and clear ''ta! ta! ta!'' sound from his footsteps, . After a while it became a jog—and in the end he ran at full speed, as if he was flying.

''Ta! Ta! Ta!''

The sound made by the soles of his leather shoes knocking against the brick floor echoed throughout the entire vacant underground passage. Yet, no matter how long he continued to walk, there was no sign of the turnstiles before him.

“Wha—? What the hell!? It shouldn't be this long at all!”

The underground passage seemed to stretch on endlessly. Surrounded by store windows with the metal shutters pulled down at the sides, Shuuji gradually lost track of where he was.

He turned back to check on the way he came.

“—Eek!”

Shuuji gasped. Before him was a long tunnel that led to who knows where. The stairs that led to the surface could no longer be seen.

“—!”

He changed his direction once more and continued in the direction in which he had first been going. The scene reflected in his eyes made Shuuji stare, his eyes wide open.

The same as the way behind him—there was only one tunnel that stretched until it vanished as far as he can see. Of course, there were no stairs nor crossroads there either.

Shuuji was stranded in the middle of a tunnel that stretched endlessly—alone.

“What...? What's going on...?”

Cold sweat broke out from his face. Within the eyeballs that spun continuously, his pupils slowly dilated.

''“What the hell is this about?!”''

No one replied to his scream. His cry reverberated between the walls and ceiling and got sent back into Shuuji’s ears as a reverberating echo.

The teenager stumbled onto the floor, staring blankly at the brick with half mad, half sane eyes.

“...Ah?”

Suddenly, his eyes focused on one point—something was seeping through the gaps between the bricks on the floor.

“What...?”

It was a semi-transparent substance with a glue-like texture. It was originally the size of a ping-pong ball, then, it grew to the size of a baseball in a moment, and, after not too long, it was the size of a soccer ball.

The glue-like substance shone with a rainbow-coloured glow. If this thing was seen in a photo, maybe it would give a clear, lustrous, and refreshing feeling.

But, the actual substance floating before his eyes could only be described as ugly. It was just like a tumour, vomit, or a filthy gooey piece of the two condensed to the maximum limit.

Instinctively, Shuuji hurriedly jumped backwards, reacting to his disgust. He jumped with force, landing two meters behind where he was, and the sound of his steps spreads across the entire underground passage.

''Squeelch.''

"—!?”

He looked down at his feet in shock. There—! No, as far as he can see, all of the brick was covered with the filthy pieces of goo.

“WA—! WAHHHH!”

The globules that were in contact from under his feet slowly latched onto Shuuji’s body. Even though he attempted to peel the gooey things off, he couldn't; they were tougher than expected, firmly attaching themselves onto his limbs.

“...Huh?”

All of a sudden, his surroundings darkened. His eyeballs almost popped out, when he looked up away from the area near his feet he was staring at.

Before his eyes— At a distance so close he could touch it by stretching out his hand, a wall made from the globules appeared.

The scattered globules on the floor gathered around Shuuji, forming a semi-transparent, round bucket. Looking at the round bucket emitting a lustrous glow, it looked like a distorted pillar, like an avant-garde piece of art.

“...''Argh''... ''Ah''...”

Shuuji shook his head, unwilling to believe what was happening. In his mind, he tried hard to deny the existence of this gooey mass.

However, his wish was not fulfilled.

At that moment, the globules, which were stacked even higher than his body, collapsed on him all at once.

“—!”

Shuuji was too scared to say anything as his whole body was completely wrapped within the blob.

Unable to withstand such a chilling experience, sending shivers down his spine, Shuuji's consciousness was consumed by darkness.

And— He never woke up ever again.

“The way you manipulated them left me speechless, but—“

In the space where there was no one originally, a boy’s clear voice spoke up.

“Don’t you think you wasted too much time?”

A gentle female voice replied, “This is the first time; naturally I had to be more cautious.”

“Hmm, maybe!”

''Ka-ta.'' The sound of one footstep could be heard.

Who could say when they were there? Two shadows suddenly appeared in the abnormal space that trapped Shuuji.

There stood a seventeen or eighteen-year-old female with a boy about ten years old. The girl’s height exceeded that of the boy by about thirty centimeters—but, as for the position of the head, the boy’s head was slightly higher.

The two looked at Shuuji, who was trapped in the globule, chatting calmly.

“But, if you use so much time like this, who knows when it will be completed? To fulfill your wish, more power must be gathered.”

Right before the two of them, Shuuji slowly became emaciated.

He was being consumed.

Was it his blood—? No.

Was it his moisture content—? That was wrong too.

Being surrounded by the blob, Shuuji aged rapidly. All the vital essence of the teenager’s whole body— The radiance of life was being expropriated, his life that should last over half a century was used to its limit within a short period of a few minutes.

“I understand this very clearly! I will do it more cleanly and quickly next time!”

The girl raised her head to look at the boy, and used a determined tone to reply. As if to pacify the displeased girl, the boy gave a light smile.

“That's the way. You can do it.”

The short, neatly-cut golden hair waved lightly to follow his nodding motion.

Judging from the tone the two spoke in, it seemed the young boy was of a higher status.

Maybe his actual age was not as young as his appearance—the emerald-green eyes that looked innocent and naïve at first sight instead seemed deep beyond comprehension.

In a clear melodious voice like a silver bell, the boy said solemnly:

“Because he who is right will receive Heaven’s protection.”

“...You mean this?”

Looking at the vital essence of the innocent teenager being continuously sucked dry by the blob, the girl laughed mockingly.

“You're saying that this monster is the same as you? ''Tenshi''-sama? That sounds awful.”

The boy had no wings. A faint radiance emitted from all over his body as he floated in the air. The beautiful angelic face of his showed a bitter smile.

“Needless to say monsters—even devils—cannot escape the grasp of God. Because the omnipotent God is capable of anything.”

The girl looked at the smiling angel (self-proclaimed) with puzzled eyes. However, she did not reject his extended hand.

“No matter what your reason may be, I'm very thankful that you lent me power. For mutual benefit, let us work together from now on!”

“—One day, you will surely experience the love of God, too.”

Before the teenager gradually withering away, two hands filled with personal desires and hypocrisy were tightly clasped.

=== 2 ===

Next day at the Kannagi residence:

“What’s the matter?”

Kazuma—who was sought out—suddenly decided to forgo the pleasantries to ask Juugo directly.

He didn't even glance at Ayano who was sitting at his side.

Ayano, as usual, was in a silent anger. Kazuma, as usual, ignored her presence and kept his gaze on Juugo only.

“From yesterday night up till this morning at zero hours, Ikebukoro has a total of eight youngsters dying from being weakened by an unknown reason, their age ranging from ten plus to twenty plus years old.”

Juugo matched himself with Kazuma, going to the main point directly.

“And so?”

Kazuma calmly hushed for his continuation. He had an extremely high tolerance towards the suffering and misfortunes of others.

Even though you could just say how he was without blood or tears.

“They seem to have their vigor sucked dry. And so, I would like to ask you to find this person, and, if possible, eliminate him.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Without a more detailed negotiation, Kazuma accepted the request readily. This, too, was his usual style.

“I leave it to you. This is the data related to the incidents...”

With that said, Juugo takes out a thin sheaf of documents. Even though they were said to be data, but the incidents only happened last night, so there were no important clues. Just simple data about the victims and where they were found, and some photos while they were still alive, and some after their death.

“Oh oh.... These are just like residues.”

Kazuma compared the photos, and says the term that would make the relatives of the deceased curse him.

Yet, this was probably the most direct thought of anyone who saw the photos— Even though there were not many who dared say it out loud.

Every victim looked very lively—just looking at their photos allowed one to feel the brilliance of their lives.

Switching back to their photos after death... To be frank, they were mummies. Nothing would seem out of place even if they were placed directly in a museum for exhibition.

Dry and wrinkled skin, faces filled with wrinkles. In those open and vacant eyes, there was no sign of fear, only just a supernatural calmness.

Even if you told everyone how they had been still alive a few hours ago, there wouldn’t be many who would believe you! That was just how bad they looked after death.

“This time there is no time limit—but act fast. You will co-operate with Ayano—“

Kazuma simply cut into Juugo’s sentence. “No need.”

“—What?”

“She'll just be in my way.”

Faced with Juugo’s question, Kazuma replied coldly.

“Wha—? What!?”

Ayano furiously cried out in protest. Juugo stopped her.

“—Kazuma.”

He called out Kazuma’s name like a sigh—but Kazuma showed no intention of backing off.

“The job this time is primarily to search—right? Then ''En-jutsushi'' are completely useless. If the opponent is not something I can handle, I'll contact you guys again. Until then, just remain on stand-by!”

“But, if the enemy escapes because of this, then we'll have to go through this trouble again.”

Juugo didn’t give up, and persistently attempted to let Ayano travel along. Kazuma refused once more.

“I doubt that the number of ''Youma'' that I cannot handle by myself is very high. So why should I bring a heavy burden to prevent such a situation?”

Ayano jumped up in her anger. “Burden—!? Aren’t you being too arrogant—!?”

Juugo restrained Ayano and pulled her back to her seat.

“You won’t bring her along no matter what?”

“Nope.”

“...Is that so?”

Under such a direct rejection, Juugo could only comply.

“I get it. I'll trust you on this, then. And one more thing—“

“What is it?”

“You seem to care a lot about Misao. But, for now, just forget about her! At least until this matter is over.”

“----------------------“

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 109.jpg|thumb]]
Kazuma made no reply. He stood up silently, turned and left the room.

“You idiot—! Even if you come back crying, begging me, ''I will definitely not help you—!''”

Ayano raged at Kazuma's back as he gradually left.

Juugo looked at his daughter bitterly with a deep sigh.

“You should at least...”

“What!? You think I'm in the wrong?”

The ignorant Ayano said in a temper.

''Slice!''

Wind blades sped through to slice a bunch of eerily wriggling blobs into pieces. Staring at the semi-transparent objects turned into crumbs, Kazuma breathed out.

“Gee, another failure.”

Two days had passed since he had taken on Juugo's request.

During this period, he had been assaulted by these ''youma'' as many as nine times.

They didn't seem to consider Kazuma a target. Even though he himself walked into these areas with a strong ''youki'', meeting them was sheer coincidence.

Nine times.

A very abnormal number.

And while he investigated, every day there were another five or six victims....

''Five or six? I doubt there were so few.''

Indeed, such was only the number of corpses which had been found. But after witnessing how a victim was devoured from start to finish, Kazuma realized that Juugo’s assumption was wrong.

This type of "youma" didn't just absorb its victim's vigor. It also ate their flesh as well as anything else it swallowed up—including clothes and accessories. Everything got devoured.

Kazuma looked dejectedly at the victim, whose skin was now dissolving. This was followed by the flesh until in the end even his bones had dissolved. Kazuma's expression was not due to the dissolution process being so gruesome, but because he understood what this meant.

''—The only reason why corpses remained was because it couldn't digest them completely.''

The estimated number of casualties might be off from the actual number by a digit—or even two.

“No way....”

Kazuma sighed weakly.

Just how many more shape-shifting worms that fed on human flesh resided within Tokyo city? Just thinking about it irritated him.

“There's no end to this... I'd better come up with a way —and fast—to get to the core of this and end it once and for all!”

After nine battles, Kazuma almost completely understood the characteristics of these ''youma.''

Their appearance was similar to a single cell organism, with no intelligence at all. They acted purely by instinct, continuously devouring humans filled with vigor.

Their ability was “Absorption”—to completely drain away one’s vigor. Even the bodies were converted to energy and taken in.

Alone, they posed a threat no different from any normal pest. But what was troubling was that their numbers were not few as was normal—and when they joined up they gained new abilities.

When enough of them had gathered, some kind of magical circuit would then form among them. Using this circuit to create a ''kekkai,'' they made it so that the targeted humans were unable to escape.

Kazuma predicted that these globules all together were just one entity. The situation now was like that of split cells conducting activities independently.

The ability of each “cell” was to absorb calories and then exhaust them through activity. When they gathered together to form an “organ,” they gained the ability to control the energy they absorbed.

Perhaps in the final stage, each “organ” would link up to form one entity. But Kazuma didn't care about the true identity of this monster.

If it was just one entity, then there must be an organ like a brain giving out commands... Something like a core. Things would be fine so long as he found this core and destroyed it.

Currently, the enemy was acting separately, and thus its powers were weakened. There was no reason not to strike during this opportunity. He didn't have strange habits such as “hoping to fight with strong enemies.”

As such, Kazuma had been trying to find clues from the “cells” that would lead him to where the core might be, trying to find the real enemy... But so far it was nine consecutive losses.

“These guys are too dispersed. Some bait must be used in order to get them to gather in one place...”

Kazuma suddenly went quiet.

Bait. Someone full of vigor.

“There just so happens to be one available.”

Just as he clapped in exultation at having come up with such a brilliant plan, Kazuma sensed the appearance of the tenth batch of ''youma''. At the same time, he noticed the presence of a certain someone he knew.

Kazuma's smile was arrogant.

“''Hehe''. Not bad. Without my needing to say anything, our bait took up its role already.”

Listening to the wind, he identified the exact location.

“A little far... Should I jump?”

Jumping in the city might be seen by others. Kazuma's eyes subconsciously turned to the road while he pondered. His ears and eyes noticed “it” at the same time.

''Okay. Let’s use that.''

Kazuma made up his mind immediately. He hopped over the protective railing and stood in the road. Following that, with his left leg as the center, he spun round once to pass the side of a motorcycle that sped through the sidewalk...

''“Wha—!?”''

The reverse spin kick swept at the neck of the rider.

While the rider was thrown off the motorcycle and still in mid-air, Kazuma—as if doing a magic trick—straddled the motorcycle.

''Thunk!''

A blunt and heavy sound came from behind. It seemed the driver fell head first onto the ground—but since he was wearing a helmet, he wouldn't die at that kind of speed.

“I will try my best to return it to you.”

Kazuma muttered with his greatest sincerity—and then suavely sped off.

=== 3 ===

“Hey you girls, wanna—”

''Bang!''

The poor guy didn't not know how to look at the situation. Before he even completed his first sentence, he was sent flying into the air by the schoolbag that flew in from the side.

''“Scram!”''

Ayano yelled. His companions, seeing this, abandoned the unconscious man and instantly ran off. This was probably the most loyal and clever judgment made by self-survival instincts!

Yukari and Nanase did not rebut a single word all along; they knew better than anyone it wouldn't be a wise move.

The massive crowds all around the front of Ikebukuro station made it difficult for anyone to move on in a straight line—yet no one blocked Ayano’s way.

Like Moses who split the red sea in two, Ayano walked boldly on the path cleared right in the middle of the crowd.

''What was that!? What was that!? Sorry I'll only be a nuisance! Too bad I'm weaker than you! Gee, I'm so sorry—!''

In her heart, Ayano was used her ''Enraiha'' to stab that flippant detestable face.

Yet, no matter how she mashed or beat up that face, the fury in her showed no signs of abating.

“''Erm''...... Ayano?”

“What is it?”

Ayano looked back at Yukari with scary eyes that would even scare a yakuza. But when she saw Yukari retreat back in fear, she reflected on her own behavior.

“Give me a moment.”

Ayano turned her back on the two and took in a few deep breaths. After she finally managed to give a relaxed expression, she turned back at them, wearing a smile once more.

“What’s wrong?”

“''Ah, erm''...... We took the wrong way.”

“—''Huh?''”

Ayano looked around her, just to realize that this place seemed very unfamiliar to her.

“Where is this?”

“A small path by the main road.”

It seemed that because Ayano was walking without watching her way up till now, they had unknowingly walked into a separate road.

Even though this was a completely new place to them, they could still see the Tokyu Hands sign ahead. Apparently they hadn't strayed too far.

“''Ahaha''— Sorry, sorry. I was thinking about something.”

“Geez, this will not do— You should pay attention when you walk.”

Ayano gave an embarrassed smile. And Yukari smiled back at an appropriate time, lifting her hand to poke her forehead to lighten the mood.

“But, it's just one street away. Why did it become so empty suddenly?”

Ayano who didn't know too much about Ikebukuro said.

As she said, in this alleyway sandwiched between a car park and a love motel, there were just the three of them—no one else.

“Yeah...... There's no one around......”

This place shouldn't be so empty to have no one at all.

It was just like having a gap that suddenly appeared amidst the noisy city; the silence made one feel an unimaginable uneasiness.

“This kind of situation happens once in a while I guess. Today's not a holiday after all.”

As if trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, Nanase said confidently.

“Yeah, that’s right......”

“Alright, let’s go. Ayano too......”

At the instant she looked at Ayano, Nanase's eyes opened wide.

“Nanase......?”

Yukari looked in the direction of Nanase’s line of sight; her face also went stiff. An expression of a pale bloodless face filled with fear.

“Aww, don’t be like that—there's no need to be so afraid. I won’t scare you guys again.”

“Behind you!”

Nanase shouted out in a rare tone of panic. When Ayano heard it she stopped smiling and turned her whole body around.

“—!?”

Her heart almost jumped out from her throat.

Because that kind of thing was less than a meter away from her.

A semi-transparent and continuously wriggling piece of goo. It looked like a slime from an RPG, but Ayano clearly knew it wasn't something cute.

She ignored the eyes of the other two. Under an instinctive feeling of detest and irritation, Ayano released the flames.

''—Kaboom!''

The golden flames burnt the goo till there was no trace of it left.

“That...... That was scary......”

What a dangerous moment that was. If she were killed like this, it would probably be told to generations to come as the biggest humiliation of the Kannagi clan.

No matter how slow and pathetic the senses of a ''En-jutsushi'' may be, no matter how his attention was focused on other things, to be completely unaware of an abnormality that even a normal person would realize like just now was, without question, the biggest disgrace of all.

''I mustn't let others know of this......''

Ayano silently swore to bury this deep in her heart for the rest of her life.

“A—Ayano...... What was that just now......?”

“That's...... That's a good question...... I just saw a weird thing pop out, and then it suddenly caught fire......”

Ayano acted as though she knew nothing.

“Anyway, we better get out of this creepy place!”

She changed the topic immediately.

But Ayano had already sensed things were not that simple.

''This is not good...... This place is not Ikebukuro at all...... Can we get out......?''

All kinds of noise spread from the road just one street away. Yet this several tens of meters of distance was now even further away than the moon.

“A—Ayano, that!”

“''Ah''—Yeah.”

Ayano sensed it without even having to look at the thing Yukari pointed at.

Oozing continuously from all the gaps and cracks emerged a large mass of slime.

Not just from the sewer openings and water drains, the more exaggerating ones would be that they are coming out from the dispensing ports of automated selling machines, and from within the mailboxes.

The total number was countless.

“Those...... Those are—!? What the hell are these things!?”

“Calm down, Yukari.”

Ayano observed Nanase while she comforted Yukari who was out of control.

Nanase's face, normally calm and fearless, looked slightly distorted, but not to a large extent.

“Let me see— We should make a run for it first!”

Her mind was very clear despite how bad their situation was. As the opponent seemed to look very slow and clumsy, they should be able to escape easily.

So Nanase was indeed stunned as the globules all leaped at them. Who would have imagined that slimes could perform an amazing leap of over ten meters on the spot?

''—Oh shit!''

Ayano reflexively stimulated the power in her body. She placed her right hand at her left hip, and then, as she made one big step forward, she slashed horizontally out.

This was the posture of a ''battoujutsu'' without the blade. Yet there was indeed a blade that appeared there.

It was a bright crimson-red, double-edged straight sword. A golden flame possessing a shining and brilliant great power engulfed the blade.

''Enraiha''— The demon-slaying holy blade bestowed by the Lord of the Fire Spirits. The devastating flames that burst out from the blade burned all the "youma" in sight into a crisp.

“Phew—”

Breathing out softly, Ayano began to verify the safety of the two.

The two people before her were still in a state of extreme fear.

“It's okay now—don’t be afraid.”

Ayano wore a smile and took a step towards the two.

Yukari retreated three steps.

“Yukari......?”

Ayano only realized that what the two are afraid of now, was none other than herself.

Even Nanase, who tried her best to stand there, the fear on her face was plain to see.

“Ayano...... Just what are you......?”

“—!”

Ayano hid the ''Enraiha'' behind her immediately—but it was pointless doing so now.

''What...... What should I do......?''

She didn't feel ashamed of her powers, but instead she was very proud of them.

Even so, the fearful eyes that her best friends placed on her made her feel very painful.

It was not strange that the two would be afraid of Ayano. But, it was a kind of fear towards “a scary person”.

By now these two people had classified Ayano as “a scary person”. To them Ayano was the same as those blobs.

“N—No...... I......”

The moment she opened her mouth, the expression of the two flinched. Seeing their expressions, Ayano understood it was pointless no matter how she tried to explain herself. She shut her mouth.

She couldn't face them; she lowered her head, her body trembling lightly. As she lost her will, the flames vanished from the blade of ''Enraiha''.

“—Behind you!”

Nanase’s warning sounded off once more. Yet, Ayano had no strength to respond to her voice.

Behind Ayano who stood there emptily, a big lump of slime wriggled inexorably closer.

The blob that collapsed from above her head swallowed Ayano in the blink of an eye.

“—Is this the place?’

Kazuma muttered after parking the motorcycle he borrowed.

Attracted by Ayano’s vigor, a large group of ''youma'' gathered here at one go. This would allow him to be able to conduct a reverse investigation.

“Good job, Ayano— ''Hmm?''”

After nodding proudly, Kazuma finally realized something was amiss.

Ayano’s scent was very weak, and was surrounded by ''youma''—or should it be said that she was swallowed within.

“Even if you are the bait, there's no need to go to such an extent! What is this girl doing?”

Kazuma knew very clearly how powerful this kind of ''youma'' was. Even if their numbers filled up the entire Tokyo Dome, it would be impossible for Ayano to lose.

However, Ayano was now being swallowed up.

“Gee, what a trouble-maker—”

Kazuma grumbled unhappily. He stepped onto the motorcycle and flew off into the sky. He remained motionless in the air, and began to observe the inside of the ''kekkai''.

Even though it was only as thick as a piece of thin skin, but it was a space completely isolated from the real world. There was no way to get there through physical means.

Of course, it was the same for the wind.

A natural phenomenon like the wind could only operate revolving around the same world; it was unable to affect other worlds. If there was a wall that could be broken, it might still be possible—but there was no way to affect a space of a different dimension.

—That was the case for a “natural phenomenon."

Kazuma raised his right hand towards the sky. A large number of wind spirits responded to Kazuma’s summon, and gathered consistently.

In terms of spirit techniques, it was not just simply controlling a natural phenomenon. Using the phenomenon as a medium, so that his will could manifest in this world was the quintessence of it.

Imagining the edges of the abnormal space, Kazuma input the power into the wind to break that space.

From directly above it he took the thin and sharp “will” he made—

''“Gah!”''

—And fired it!

The raging wind broke the dimensional gap.

=== 4 ===

“I thought that it was the descent of God.”

Yukari said so after the incident.

This is the first time she felt the beauty of a powerful person.

Bringing forth the winds, an embodiment of great power descending suavely. That scene was reflected in Yukari’s eyes.

An invisible force that came from the skies crushed the gigantic "youma" in one blow.

Ayano rolls out from within that "youma" like a puppet. The amazing thing is, she did not suffer any injuries, not just that, there is not a single piece of goo sticking onto her.

This is the power of “purification” that only destroys demons------ The special demon slaying power that the Kannagi is so proud of.

“…… Cough……. Cough cough!”

He uses a cold gaze to stare at the girl who is coughing vigorously to try to breathe, and orders her strictly..

“Stand up.”

(…… What is she doing?)

After he clears off all the wriggling pieces of goo, Kazuma observes Ayano once more.

Her “ki” is unbelievably weak. The amount of vigor that was absorbed by the low level "youma" isn’t that much, yet she seems so expended she is like an average person.

“…… Kazuma?”

The pathetic way she lies on the floor, looking at him dumbly made him feel very displeased. Not a single shred of her usual dominance could be felt from her, her expression looks as nervous and uneasy as an abandoned puppy.

(Just what has she been doing since just now?)

“Stand up.”

He uses a pressurizing tone to command her. Even so, Ayano still showed some form of resistance. She obeys the command, using Enraiha as a crutch, she slowly stands up.

Against that pair of cold eyes that is staring right into her, Ayano does not dare face it. All that can be seen is how she peeks behind Kazuma’s right hand from time to time.

Of course, Kazuma noticed that there are two people there. Judging from how they wear the same uniform as Ayano, they are probably not people who are just passing by so coincidentally.

“Erm...... Err…… This is……”

Ayano’s gaze shifts between Enraiha and the two girls, who are standing there blankly, continuously. Just looking at her now, in his heart, Kazuma guessed pretty much what this is about.

(Gee……)

He stretches one finger out between Ayano’s eyes. The eyes that were originally busy shifting around, was captivated by the finger that appeared suddenly before her.

While Ayano’s conscious is still focused on the finger, Kazuma shouts loudly..

“ “Thou who hast been blessed by the spirits, where does thy power lie?” “
[or more literally: People who receives the blessings of spirits, what is your power used for? In a more olden days context, similar to the ones used by Horo in S&W]

That is a pledge------ and an article during sermons. This is the most basic pledge that spirit standard Jutsushis act upon.

Ever since Ayano was little, Juugo has been repeating this sentence continuously. Even if she is completely out of it, she still remembers clearly the line that follows.

“My…… “My power lies to protect. As a ministrant of the spirits, to slay the demons in this world, to uphold the truth is where my duty lies. Never to be forgotten------“ “

Suddenly, her tense speech stopped.

Ayano, whose eyes are focused at Kazuma’s fingertip, as if shocked by electricity, she lifts her head up to stare at Kazuma. Those eyes glow with a light of understanding.

She shifts her eyes to the side, looking at Yukari and Nanase. And finally downwards------ At the Enraiha that is in her right hand.

Ayano grabs the hilt that was originally hanging at her fingertips tightly.

When she raised her head up once more, the lost looks she had earlier has already vanished without a trace. Ayano uses her words to reinforce that pledge all over again.

“To protect------ The people I love!”

A dazzling flame bursts out from Enraiha. That is no longer an injured girl. Understanding the meaning of power, the duty that she bears, as a powerful En-Jutsushi, she stares right back at Kazuma’s eyes.

Kazuma shows a smile at his lips, and stretches a finger to poke Ayano’s forehead gently. Pak! Ayano’s head tilts backwards.

“Ahhh!? What are you doing, don’t do that------“

Ignoring Ayano who bloats her cheek and complains, Kazuma places his attention on the surroundings.

Unsure whether it is the self-regeneration of the remaining goo or a new batch emerging out, by now, countless goo pieces are surrounding them.

“So then------“

Not asking if she “can do it?” or “are you okay?”, that level of injury, there is no need to show solicitude. To put it more plainly, it is the level of it does not matter at all.

Because, the power they have exists precisely for this.

“I leave those at the back to you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ayano replies without hesitation. The two walk out back-to-back at the same time.

“------ Kazuma.”

He did not answer, but he stopped in his steps.

“Thank you.”

Still, there was no answer. Only sounds of silent footsteps ring by her ears.

Ayano closes her eyes gently, trying her best to remember what she needs to do.

(Yukari, Nanase…… Farewell……)

It would be a lie to say that she doesn’t feel lonely or sad. But even so------

(Even so, I must protect everyone------)

She opens her eyes. There is not a single trace of gloominess or darkness in that pure and clear mind.

An explosion sounds off, golden flames bursts from all over her body. Inputting all of her upsurge of powers---

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Under a sharp scream, Ayano swung her Enraiha.

“Looking quite good------“

His back filled with explosive “ki”, Kazuma can’t help but give a bitter smile.

At this rate, these monsters will not be able to hold out very long. He must achieve his objective soon------

Kazuma blocks the two who are staring at Ayano with their eyes wide open, and says leisurely..

“Stay where you are, if you run around, you might be killed!”

Following that, he releases wind blades once more with ease, slicing the "youma" that is approaching consistently.

Shu! Pach! Pff! Puu!

In a radius of five meters around Kazuma, horrifying killing sounds sounded off over and over again.

The wind that Kazuma manipulates becomes blades at times, hammer at times, cutting the "youma" one by one, smashing them.

The "youma" is crushed in a moment, but in the blink of an eye, they recover instantly. They are originally something similar to a shape-shifting worm, without a standard form, so physical attacks have no effect at all.
Yet Kazuma still continues releasing wind. Even though it cannot cause fatal damage, but the raging winds can make the groups of "youma" unable to close in on them.

And so after a few minutes------

(------Found it.)

Kazuma who is surrounded by "youma" gives a proud smile. Almost at the same time, Ayano who completed her mission broke through the frontlines and appears before them.

“My side is finished------ What are you doing?”

Ayano uses a puzzled expression to stare at Kazuma who is playing with the "youma".

“Just as you can see.”

“No…… It is precisely because I don’t get it that I am asking you.”

“The enemy is a being without form, no matter how I slice it, it will recover once more.”

“Then can’t you just purify them…… Or is that to say, you cannot use the power of purification like this!?”

Kazuma usually seals his strength firmly. Even though when he used the purifying winds in front of Ayano in the past, he had released the seal------

“Nope.”

“Really? You better speak the truth, and fast!”

Ayano did not ease her questioning. Thinking that she might be able to get hold of Kazuma’s weakness, her face becomes filled with expectation.

“Really. Besides, I don’t really want to dampen your mood……”

“What?”

”Even if what you said is true, but if the opponent is human, there is no such problem.”

“Hmm……”

Indeed, even if that is the truth, Ayano’s chances of winning will not increase.

Ayano, who had been so excited about nothing, looks very disappointed. Kazuma knocks her head and leaves the aftermath to her.

“So, I leave the rest up to you. I am going to head straight for their main camp.”

“You found it already!?”

”Yeah, things really are different when you have good bait.”

“Bait------?”

Ayano ponders on what this means. When she realized it, her face flushed red instantly.

“You…… You asshole, you used me again didn’t you!?”

“This is a misunderstanding.”

“Just which part of it is a misunderstanding!?”

“When I thought of having you as bait, you had already ran up and became the bait yourself, so it is not my fault at all.”

Kazuma says so seriously.

“You are really……”

“Sorry, I am in a rush for time. I shall listen to your complains in the future!”

Kazuma throws down this sentence coldly, and turns to leave. Ayano hurriedly shouts out to call out to him..

“Wait… Wait a minute! I am going with you too------“

“I see that you have a lot of things to settle? I will leave markings on the road, so catch up on your own later!”

Obviously, the so called “a lot of things” does not only mean eliminating the "youma".

As Ayano’s eyes are directed towards Yukari and Nanase, Kazuma rides the wind, flying up into the sky.

“Ah, I told you to wait!”

Kazuma ignores the shout, and breaks the boundaries as when he entered, and vanishes.

Logically, Ayano knows that Kazuma’s choice is correct. But, she is unable to accept it like this. “She has been abandoned once more”, “he is obviously looking down on her”, this kind of thinking lingers in her heart, showing no sign of dispersing.

“Wuuuuu<nowiki>~~</nowiki>”

She groans in hatred, but Kazuma is long gone. So she places all her unreleased fury onto the enemy.

Her fierce scary eyes stared directly at the goo pieces. Faced with an abnormally strong murderous atmosphere, even the "youma" that bears no intelligence can’t help but retreat.

“Kazuma……”

She instills all her power into Enraiha. A glaring golden glow that makes one hard to look directly at it emerges from the crimson blade vigorously.

“You idiot-------------------------------!!”

After releasing a massive load of plasma, she burns off most of the "youma" at one go.

“------Phew.”

After burning up all the "youma", Ayano breathes out, satisfied.

The result from converting all her stress into destructive behavior, she became very calm now. Just that some of the surrounding buildings were dragged into this pointless disaster, being destroyed together with the "youma".

If this is not a different dimension, there would probably be over a hundred casualties?

After the "youma" that controls this dimension is destroyed, the area begins to return to its original state slowly.

Everything returned to the way they should be. Ayano and her friends returned to the original world as well.

(Now…… To settle “a lot of things”.)

Ayano looks at Yukari and Nanase. Perhaps because they have finally calmed down, the two generously meet with her gaze.

“……………………..”

Even though there are a lot of things that she must explain to them, Ayano cannot bring herself to say them.

For some time, the three exchanged silent stares.

“I……”

As though she had made up her mind, Ayano tries her best to put up a calm front and smiled at the two of them.

“So, good bye.”

In the end, that is all she can say. Tossing all the necessary explanations out of her mind, Ayano turns her back at the two of them.

She tries to hold back the tears that are swelling in her eyes and walks off------ But she stopped almost immediately.

“Wait, Ayano!”

Yukari grabs the lower area of her uniform, pulling her back forcefully.

“Yukari……?”

Ayano turns around and upon seeing the scene before her, she frowns instantly.

Yukari’s expression------ Looks perfectly normal, yet that is the most abnormal part of it.

There is not a single shred of fear in her face, nor any determination to attempt to overcome fear. All there is on that face is a brimming light filled with curiosity.

Yukari shows an expression of a prankster and says to the puzzled Ayano:

“After witnessing something so interesting, how can you leave without explaining things first?”

“What……”

Her curiosity overwhelms her fear. Even though Ayano is very puzzled by Yukari’s as per normal behavior, if she does not explain clearly first, it seems that Yukari will not let her go. As she does not want to turn and leave directly, Ayano started to make her long story as short as possible.

“Frankly speaking, my family is of a En-jutsushi clan that manipulates fire------“

”No! Not that!”

“……Huh?”

“I mean that man just now------ Kazuma-san! What kind of person is he? How did you get to know each other? What is your relationship with him now? Come on, spill everything, tell us all about how you two met------“

“Hey!”

Nanase knocks lightly on Yukari’s head, who has been rattling on and on.”

“Ouch, that hurts, Nanase~”

“Be quiet. All because of your constant nonsensical rumblings, Ayano has no idea what to do now. Besides, if you expect us to pretend that nothing happened just now, that is wishful thinking on your part!”

“Argh…… So that won’t happen huh?”

Before Ayano, who is at a complete loss, the two stood up. And------

“Sorry.”

Yukari bows down deeply.

“Yeah…… We are really sorry about earlier.”

Nanase at the side, embarrassed, avoids eye contact with Ayano, and apologizes.

“…… What is going on?”

“Actually, I was really afraid at first. Because fire burst out all of a sudden, and a sword came out from nowhere, Ayano seems to have turned into a totally different person. But after seeing how you talk back and forth with Kazuma-san like that, I know that you are still that Ayano I used to know.”

“Talking back and forth with Kazuma...... You……”

To suddenly be taken that they were having a cross talk, Ayano is displeased. Nanase continues to say at this moment:

“That is to say, there is no need to change our attitude towards you just because you can use some spells or supernatural powers.”

“B…… But…… Aren’t you afraid of me? If I want to, I can kill you two without so much as lifting a finger?”

“So?”

Nanase asks back calmly.

“What……”

”You still don’t get it? There is no need for you to use some special powers, you can kill us just with your bare hands!”

“That…… is true.”

“So then why should we start being afraid of you only from now on? Even if you change a gun to a cannon, you still die in a single shot.”

There is a certain limit to the amount of damage a human can withstand. Once he sustains an injury beyond this limit, he is doomed. There can never be a negative value being created in this manner.

To someone who possesses ten points of HP, taking ten points of damage and a thousand points of damage are basically the same. The remaining nine hundred and ninety points of damage are but an excess.

Yet, there are not many people that can understand such a simple logic in reality. Being by the side of a murderer whom you do not know, you will feel uneasy. That is to say------

“That is to say, the main point lies in whether you trust the person. But I have faith in you all along.”

“Ayano has never been someone who would harm another without a reason, so, I am not afraid at all.”

Ayano looks dumbly at the two of them, Yukari asks uneasily:

“So…… Please don’t hate us, can we still be good friends from now on?”

“……Yukari……”

Tears were about to fall from her eyes, but she never enjoyed saddening atmospheres. Ayano gets a hold of herself, and straights her thumb up from her raised fist.

“Of course! Even if you don’t want to, I will not let you go!”

After acknowledging their friendship again, Yukari begins her attack once more.

“Since we have all made up, I say we should let Ayano explain clearly, everything about that man of hers!”

“Who are you calling my man!”

“Kazuma-san.”

Yukari says as if it is only natural.

“I say, you------“

“Ayano, if you think that your love for him is only single sided, I think you are wrong! I am sure Kazuma-san cares a lot about you as well.”

“That’s right. Let’s forget about whether it has reached the level of love, but anyway you have created in him a liking towards you. So there is still a chance!”

Even Nanase joined in the ruckus. This made Ayano feel very troubled.

“I already told you, that guy is…… What?”

Seeing the two of them giving her a supercilious look, Ayano stopped even before she finished her rebut.

“You really are… Just earlier on you appeared to depend on him so much, and now you want to say “I have no feelings at all”?”

“I…… I did not depend on him……”

”Oh? Then when you were so lost and depressed, who was it that got you back up?”

“……You, the cause of it all, still dare to talk about that.”

“That is another matter.”

Nanase does not care about Ayano’s retaliation at all. In this world, there are a lot of things in which people with strong attitudes usually have an advantage over those who don’t.

“And, why do you two want to ask about Kazuma only now? You were obviously not so interested when you met him last time.”

“Because he looked like just some flippant man then.”

“…… Isn’t that the way he is?”

“Huh------ Of course not. Kazuma-san is so suave!”

Yukari says so cheekily. Ayano on the other hand stares at her with ice cold eyes below zero degrees Celsius.

“------ Yukari, your taste in men is rather unique.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t try to steal him away from you.”

Ayano’s eyes become even colder, but Yukari’s face continues to wear that smile of hers:

“So then, leaving Ayano’s feelings at one side, tell us about Kazuma. When and where did you meet? Speaking of which, I don’t think we have his name yet------“

Even though the questions are coming constantly and flooding her, but Ayano sighs out in relief having escaped from her questioning. Her mouth naturally became a little loose.

“The first time I met him, is probably the day I was born, even though I have long since forgotten about it. His current surname seems to be Yagami.”

“Current? You mean it is different last time?”

The two of them did not miss this small little detail. Faced with Nanase who asked that question, Ayano replies calmly:

“His original name is Kazuma Kannagi. He is my second cousin, and Ren’s biological elder brother at the same time.”

After explaining briefly her relationship with Kazuma, Yukari and Nanase both have a strange expression on their face.

“What’s the matter?”

Ayano asks, puzzled. Yukari uses an earnest tone to say to her:

“Kazuma-san is so caring.”

“Ah!?”

Hearing such an unexpected answer, Ayano screamed out loudly. But turning around to look at Nanase, she is nodding strongly as well.

“He…… Just which part of him is caring?”

“Don’t you know?”

Yukari asks Ayano back in a very surprised tone. Not just being surprised at how slow Ayano is, her eyes carry a certain obvious blaming glare.

“Kazuma-san has been constantly bullied in the past isn’t he? Not only that, he was even chased out of the family because he did not possess “power”. “

“After receiving such treatment, normally speaking he will not want to have any interactions with you people. But if it is for revenge, that would be a different case.”

Nanase follows on to say:

“But, Yagami Kazuma protected you instead. And not just protect you from all harm, and even encourage you to stand up once more with your own strength.”

“How thoughtful, Kazuma-san is just like Ayano’s knight.”

“……Ah?”

After Yukari said this sentence from the bottom of her heart, Ayano was at a loss for words.

“What…… What are you talking about! Who would want a knight with a flawed personality like him! As long as I am around him, I have an urge to kill him every five minutes.”

Ayano who finally got back to her senses tries hard to defend herself, but the other two kept on sighing with a “What can we do with her” kind of attitude instead.

Hearing that, Ayano became more furious.

“Just because you two have no idea how bad he is, that is why you are mistaking him for a good guy. He even used me as bait, and I almost died because of it!”

“But aren’t you still alive now?”

Nanase rebuts calmly:

“When you were really in danger, didn’t he come over to save you?”

“Argh……”

Spot on. But if she is to say such a thing, she will only receive even more vigorous rebuts. There is no way she can reply honestly.

“A……Anyway, that guy is one big badass! The reason he came to save me purposely this time must be for his own joy.”

“Look at her, Ayano is really not honest with herself.”

“It is that Yukari is too naïve! Don’t drag everything into boy-girl relationships!”

After shouting out in reflex, Ayano finally remembered that now is not the time to chat casually. She looks in the direction Kazuma disappeared in, her eyebrows shows a sign of anxiety.

“So, I shall make a move first. I don’t think anything will happen anymore, but still, be careful!”

With that, Ayano runs off leaving the two behind.

Yukari bears a very displeased expression, looking at the back of that person who ran off without turning her head back to look at them.

“Gee, that Ayano. It is so obvious that you have a love rival, if you continues to be so stubborn, what are you going to do then?”

Nanase at the side seems more calm on the other hand.

“Don’t just look at the negative side, be more positive!”

“More positive?”

“For example……”

After keeping Yukari in suspense for a while, she says with a serious look on her face:

“We can have some fun with this topic for quite a while.”

“………………”

Yukari’s eyes blink continuously. She looks dumbly at Nanase, her entire body frozen for a few seconds.

And then------

“Good idea, Nanase.”

She puts up a boxing pose, placing tiny fists at her chest.

“Let us observe their development quietly from now on!”

With a pure and holy smile similar to a loving mother------ Yet the contents of their speech is filled with bad intents.

That is to say, to not help the two develop their relationship to the next level, but to observe Ayano’s reactions for fun.

“That is exactly what we should do.”

Of course, Nanase has no objections either.

“If some other party take part in this, maybe things will become even more complicated.”

“Yeah, and there seems to be a lot of hidden complicated facts mixed within as well.”

The two smiles to each other, holding each other’s hands strongly.

“Hoho, we are really thoughtful towards our friends.”

Yukari thinks so from the bottom of her heart------ As to what Ayano thinks about this decision, that is another problem.

<noinclude>
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| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-13T09:19:00Z

Kalessin:

"Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute."

Wouldn't it be his ''sleeping'' posture? I mean, he's maintaining posture he woke up in, right? "Waking" posture would indicate the posture he had while awake.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 01:27, June 11, 2009 (UTC)

"Hiding your tracks, disguising the tail, the precise selection of following distance and position..."

The general sense of this sentence is clear, but not what it actually means. At least the "disguising the tail" part doesn't make sense. The people tailing ''are'' the tail, so does that mean that they're disguising themselves? Wouldn't that make it something more like

"Hiding your tracks, disguising yourself, the precise selection of following distance and position..."

If they're not disguising themselves, I have no clue what they're disguising. Also, I don't know why someone who was tailing would be hiding their tracks since it's the one whose tracks their following that they're generally worried about, but I assume that that's what the original text said in spite of it seeming a bit odd. In any case, the main problem I see is the phrase "disguising the tail." It doesn't really make sense. I ''think'' that it probably should be "disguising yourself," but the phrase is confusing enough that I'm not ready to assume that that's what it means and make such a change. Clarification is needed.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 06:32, June 12, 2009 (UTC)

What does "Pachi" mean? Is it a sound effect of some kind? It looks like it's probably one, but if so, I have no clue what it could be a sound effect of.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 09:08, June 13, 2009 (UTC)

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-13T09:15:48Z

Kalessin: /* 4 */ Fixed tenses and improved wording and flow of text.

== Chapter Two - Assault – Determination After Removing All Doubts ==

=== 1 ===

The boy’s arm was wreathed in red flame.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

A wordless scream escaped the boy’s mouth.

So hot – there was no room in his mind for anything but the heat, all thought being stolen by the crimson flame.

He continuously rolled on the ground, attempting to extinguish the flame. Nearby, some children observed his pitiable state.

I say children, but that belies the range of their ages. The smallest were young children of only four or five while the oldest were full-grown teenagers of fifteen or sixteen.

Their sole common denominator could be seen on their faces.

Scorn.

This group of children joyfully surrounded the burning youth, laughing with mirth.

An unfeigned laughter that came from the heart. Innocent. Naive. Cruel.

The cruelty of a child who cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Like children who pluck off the wings of a dragonfly just to watch it struggle, they enjoyed the youth’s predicament as he painfully struggled the same way.

“A member of the main family getting burned by fire!”

“How useless!”

“‘A humiliation to the clan,’ my father said!”

“Someone as worthless as you has no right to bear the name ‘Kannagi!’”

The boy could only hug his burnt arm, his face showing a painful expression as the others continued to mock him, one after another.

“It’s my turn!”

A young girl around ten years old raised her hand to declare.

“Oh– Go on. Quickly now!”

The children cheered. The girl, encouraged, held her fist to her chest and began to concentrate.

“Heh!”

Following the cute shout, a red flame suddenly appeared like a ghost above the cringing youth.

The fire slowly descended until it touched the boy’s back.

Sssssssss!

“...!”

The sound of burning meat could be heard. The youth’s body, originally curled into a ball, straightened out forcefully. This scene served only to amplify the mocking.

“My turn next!”

“I wanna go too!”

His legs, his back, his shoulders – all were continuously tattooed by the ferocious flame. Each time the boy’s body instinctively twitched. Each time it gave off a burning smell.

Despite the horrid cruelty of their actions, none present felt the least degree of guilt. To them, fire was nothing to fear.

Were they to be put in his shoes, they would not experience the smallest discomfort. Even for those whose “power” was ‘weak,’ the most that would burn would be their clothes – their bodies would remain completely unharmed.

This was because their clan had been blessed with fire‘s protection.

Because of this, these children were completely unaware of the dangers of fire, and they did not understand the pain of being scorched.

You cannot imagine what you do not know, and because they were unable to imagine the pain, they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

The boy silently endured the innocent and naive torture of the other children in the clan alone.

“Ah... Ah...”

By the time the children were finally satisfied, the youth was left to painfully contend with his smoking body.

“Ahhh– that was fun.”

“Bye bye. Let’s play again~”

As part of their exit ritual, everyone present gave the twitching body a merciless kick. But before anyone could leave, the eldest and largest boy went further and stomped on the boy’s head.

“...Hmm?”

“What’s wrong with Toru?”

Hearing the large boy, Toru Kuga, let out a pathetic cry, the others turned in surprise.

“You... You foolish idiot!”

The head that Toru had forcefully stepped on was now slowly lifting itself upward. The youth used his hands as support against the ground and stared intently at Toru from below.

“You... What are you trying to do...?”

Seeing those eyes, filled with murder, Toru couldn’t help but retreat in fright. Immediately filled with shame at his actions, he became angry.

“What’s with that look? This worthless scum actually dares to resist?!”

Toru summoned a flame, angrily throwing it in the youth’s direction.

The youth quickly rose and dodged the incoming flame. Dragging his heavily wounded frame, he dashed at incredible speed, closing in on Toru.

“W... Wah...”

Aiming directly at the terrified Toru’s face, he exerted all the strength in his body to strike him with his palm.

Pachunk! [SFX: something breaking]

Toru’s nose had broken.

“Toru!”

While the group could only stare, aghast at the sudden incident, the boy attacked two more people. Driven in his berserk rage, his fist broke the first’s cheekbones and the second’s chin, causing them to roll in pain as he did earlier.

“...Wu...Ah...!”

But his mad rush ended there. The burden his actions had placed on his pained body was beyond the limits of his will. His stomach heaved, and as if trying to reject everything, he vomited over and over.

“You...! How dare you...!”

Realizing that they were no longer at risk, the others took heart. In order to punish this thing that didn’t know its place, they began to focus their mental energy.

But–

“All of you... Get lost!”

A weak, yet furious voice stopped them. They looked back in fear, and before their eyes was...

“I am going to slaughter you...”

Fresh blood streaming from his nose, Toru gazed at the boy with bloodshot, insane eyes, devoid of reason.

“I am so going to slaughter you–!”

An insane fury amplified Toru’s abilities several-fold. Stretching his right hand directly upward, he summoned a huge fireball that seemed encased by a pair of hands.

“Go and die!”

The youth’s eyes didn’t blink. They could only stare at the fireball. Despite his body’s inability to move, he refused to give in. Like a wounded beast with death fast approaching, he searched for any sign of weakness in his enemy.

– Kaboom!

“Hmph! Now you know my strength!”

Seeing the youth wrapped in flame, Toru smiled.

The flame gradually dispersed. But amidst the disappearing flame, what appeared was...

“Ah... Ah?”

Contrary to Toru’s expectations, the boy yet lived. Parts of his body were burnt black, but his limbs still remained; he had successfully withstood Toru’s flame.

Using every last drop of his ''ki'' to create a defensive barrier, the youth had just barely managed to survive.

“You... You asshole...”

Toru’s expression grew more sinister. If he were to prove unable to beat this youth who lacked even a hint of ability as an ''En-jutsu'', he would forever be looked down upon and despised by the others.

“Arrogant trash!”

This scream, filled with displeasure, failed to reach the boy’s ears. His body had long since surpassed its limits, and having spent all his ''ki,'' he was no different from a walking corpse.

Not content to simply leave the youth to die, Toru prepared to give him a fatal strike. Against his fate, the youth was helpless.

“...”

Kazuma suddenly opened his eyes. This was a rare occasion for him – he usually had a hard time waking up – but his consciousness was fully awake.

But it was only to be expected. How could anyone refuse to wake up after having a dream like that?

Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute.

“Frankly speaking, what an unpleasant dream.”

Closing his eyes, he emptied all the air in his lungs with a moan.

Something that had happened exactly ten years ago, a painful experience that caused nightmares.

Of the eighteen years he had spent among the Kannagis, that was his most painful experience. Had no one put a stop to it, he might have died.

Due to the level of his injuries, despite receiving the highest level recovery ''jutsus'' daily, it had taken him a month to recover.

But that was not what was important. To Kazuma, it was his first defeat.

Not in terms of the injuries he sustained.

But for giving in to despair.

Once he had understood that he could not win against the Kannagis’ flames, that he would forever be a weakling, Kazuma had given up on fighting back.

He had given in to those that scorned him.

From that day forward, Kazuma had continued to run away. Not resisting, pitifully pleading for mercy, enduring endless torment, endless public humiliation.

But it no longer mattered.

Because he was no longer willing to partake of that misery.

“...I can’t forget.”

Kazuma realized that his memories of his past humiliations were as clear as if they had happened only yesterday and murmured to himself.

“I don’t even mind.”

Even though he was now in Japan once more, he had never even considered taking revenge – even though doing so would have been a painfully simple task.

To bend his pinky three centimeters; if the effort needed to kill Toru were converted to energy – that would be precisely how much would be required. Any strength Toru had gained in the last four years would be inconsequential.

(...That’s odd...?)

Kazuma’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted. He realized he could not picture Toru.

“Have I not seen him yet?”

Despite meeting several groups of branch family ''jutsushis'', he hadn’t spent any time verifying their identities, so he was unsure whether or not he had met Toru.

“...Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, Kazuma covered himself with the covers once more. Though fully awake, he had nothing in particular to do, and didn’t feel like getting up just yet.

(Let’s get some more sleep...)

Alas, the heavens did not seem to agree with this unproductive decision.

Dulululululululululu–

Kazuma glared at the ringing phone, openly displaying his irritation.

What a crafty ring. The more he tried to ignore the ringing, the more insistent it seemed to get, and yet it wasn’t so loud that he would wreck the phone in frustration.

“Damn it!”

Left with no other alternative, Kazuma reached for the phone. But instead of leaving his bed for the phone, he brought the phone to him.

“...Who’s making a call so early in the morning?” he grumbled in a mournful tone, despite the fact it was already late morning.

“Hello?”

He spoke in a sluggish tone – giving away the fact that he had just woken up – but his tranquil mind was pondering the courteous reply from the other end.

“Oh?”

This time, Kazuma was fully awake. There was no longer any sign of fatigue on the face that suddenly emerged from the covers.

“Today? Ah, sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kazuma answered politely, and then hung up. He flipped the covers back and crawled out, stretching lazily.

With his usual complacent smile now on his face, Kazuma muttered.

“Looks like it’s gonna be a busy day.”

=== 2 ===

While she was walking home after school, Ayano’s eyes caught a small shadow about ten meters away from her.

“Hey–”

She was just about to call out when she suddenly stopped, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face.

Ayano snuck up on the shadow slowly, step by step, it not having yet noticed Ayano’s presence.

“Wh–wha!”

Standing immediately behind her target, she grabbed her victim in a bear hug, as if to envelop the entirety of the small figure. Ayano secured the youth caught in her embrace – now giving off a cute scream and struggling to escape with all his might – so that he couldn’t move.

“Nee... Nee-sama?!”

“Completely off-guard. That means you still need more training, Ren.”

“To say that now is really... Anyway, just let go of me first, Nee-sama!”

“No way~ Free yourself!”

Looking at the two fooling around, passersby couldn’t help but crack faint, bittersweet smiles.

Judging by their appearance, the two were a rare and beautiful pair of “sisters.” Though one of them only looked to be around the age of ten, they were still pleasing to the eyes.

“Nee... Nee-sama! Really...”

Realizing that they had become the center of attention, Ren’s face reddened. Despite all appearances, he was, after all, a twelve-year-old boy. So, it wasn’t strange for him to feel shy about female physical contact.

After finally being released from confinement, Ren demanded, “Seriously... What are you thinking?!” as he gasped for air.

However, his expression, along with wet, pleading eyes, instead generated the feeling that he was really cute, and not scary in the least. More than likely, it wouldn’t have scared even a three-year-old.

“Ahahaha! Sorry. Sorry. This is a display of love for you too.”

It goes without saying that Ayano was not in the least bit afraid. She patted Ren’s shoulder and cheekily ignored Ren’s complaints.

“Honestly!”

Unable to vent his displeasure, Ren’s expression soured instantly.

This method was very effective. Because it was simply too cute, there was no way to ignore him.

“I’m really sorry. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“I won’t let you change the subject.”

Ren’s mood showed no sign of improvement. He turned his head to the side, unwilling to meet Ayano’s eyes.

Ayano used both hands to grab Ren’s head and forced him to turn his face back toward her.

“If you still won’t listen...

She slowly moved her face closer, almost touching his nose.

“Then I’ll kiss you! ♥”

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

This was how easily Ayano toyed with the youth, who was dancing in the palm of her hand.

“Huh? So something like that happened.”

On the second floor of the hamburger shop near the station, the two were chatting about the victory banquet that had happened a few days earlier.

Hearing Ren’s innocent reaction, Ayano revealed an evil smirk and answered.

“Yeah, when you were asleep.”

“...Geez. Don’t bring that up anymore!”

Ren’s cheeks flushed red. He’d been asleep that day, from beginning to end. The shock and shame of waking up on Ayano’s lap showed no sign of subsiding even now.

For the first time, he truly felt what it meant to want to hide his head in the ground.

“What will I do if Father finds out about this...”

Seeing the uneasy Ren, Ayano grabbed a french fry and said with ease, “What else can you do? He already knows doesn’t he? There seems to be quite a few people visiting him these few days.”

Ren’s father, Genma, had not participated in the battle against the Fuugas, having earlier lost to Kazuma in a quarrel between father and son, and was still resting in the hospital.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Ren collapsed on the table, hugged his head, and moaned.

Genma, already very strict with himself, was even stricter with his relatives. It wasn’t hard to imagine his reaction when he finally heard of his son’s blunder.

“It’s fine. Don’t be so down.”

“But I ''am'' ‘so down.’”

Ren reproached Ayano’s irresponsible remark in an incomparably downhearted voice.

“Because once Father’s angry, he’s really strict.”

“...I guess!”

Ayano replied in a carefree tone. Whether or not he would be angry was another matter entirely. The image of an “easygoing Genma” was beyond imagination.

(Will that guy smile in front of Ren’s face?)

Even though she had only ever seen him either mocking or whole-heartedly laughing.

“When the time comes, you can just place all the blame on Kazuma.”

“Placing blame on someone else would only make Father even angrier.”

“...That's true... He's the kind of person who's really hard to deal with.”

“Awuuuuuuuuuh!”

Ren spread himself out on the table and moaned.

“Huh?”

It was a coincidence, but...

If he had been sitting upright, his view would have been blocked by protruding branches, causing the scene to have escaped his notice, but because he had collapsed on the table in despair, he instead became witness to an incredible sight.

“What is it?”

“That woman...”

Ayano lowered her head to look in the direction that Ren was indicating.

Lying directly ahead, at the edge of her field of vision, a woman was standing. A beautiful, mesmerizing woman with shiny black hair, wearing a clean, pure white coat, the starkly contrasting colors making her even more attractive.

Ayano smiled at Ren, with mischief in mind.

“What a beautiful woman. Do you know her?”

Ren ignored the implication, and muttered, “That woman, isn’t she Misao nee-sama?”

“Eh? Ehhhhhh?”

Ayano quickly looked back to inspect the woman below more closely. After a few seconds...

“It seems to be her...”

Indeed, it was Misao Ogami. However, she had changed completely from how she was three days ago. Even the simple fact that she was not wearing a kimono made her give a completely different impression. Though Ayano had known Misao ever since they were little, as far as she could remember, this was the first time that she has ever seen Misao in Western clothes.

Perhaps because of that, what could be seen of her legs extending below her coat looked exceptionally appealing.

To describe the feeling in a single word, it would be coquettish. Though normally she seemed plain, as if wanting to escape notice, now she made a magnificent impression. Actually, within the five minutes the two had been watching, there had already been three attempts to pick her up.

Misao serenely rejected their advances, and as she had showed them respect despite the rejection, all left without causing trouble. If Nanase and Yukari had seen this scene, they would have chastised Ayano, saying “Learn from her.”

After staring, awestruck, for a while, Ren grumbled.

“She seems to be waiting for someone.”

“That... is really surprising.”

Ayano sounded as though she still could not believe her eyes because this was unimaginably different from what she had thought earlier.

“Is it a date?”

“...Is it not?”

A girl like Misao would not dress up in such an extravagant manner to meet a friend of the same gender!

Ayano’s interest grew.

“I wonder who she’s dating.”

Inattentively sipping her orange juice, Ayano observed the scene outside the window with great interest. Given the intensity of her gaze, anyone watching from the side would have found her actions very suspicious.

“...Nee-sama.”

Ren looked at Ayano, who was spying on Misao with a bitter smile. He himself turned to follow the scene outside. At that moment, the other party appeared.

“Nii-sama?!”

He couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes. But it was indeed Ren’s brother, Kazuma. His appearance was no coincidence – the proof being Misao, smiling broadly and running to meet him.

Before Ren, who was dumbstruck, the two intimately held hands and walked off.

Even after the two disappeared from view, Ren was still frozen, staring dumbly at the window. It was an absolutely impossible occurrence, because to Misao, Kazuma was “the man who had killed Nii-sama.”

A faint sound brought Ren back to his senses.

–squish– [SFX: something being squashed]

Something light and soft was being squashed. Not a rare sound by any means, and yet hearing it fills one with unease.

Ren faced Ayano with unease. As he did not dare look directly at her, he shifted his eyes upward from below, following the table upward toward Ayano.

The first thing he saw was Ayano’s hand. Her slender fingers ''gripped'' the paper cup, still full of juice, and crushed it into the shape of her fist. The juice spilled out, forming an orange-colored ocean. Her fries and hamburger were completely soaked and no longer worth eating.

Ayano’s hand crackled – the sound of ice, unable to escape from the cup, being pulverized by her hand, which continuously trembled.

Ren was so frightened that he dared not look up.

Though he didn’t understand the cause, he recognized Ayano’s extreme anger. If he wasn’t careful, he might just become her target.

Pak!

Suddenly, Ayano slammed her hands on the table and stood up.

“Argh!”

To the cringing Ren, Ayano said softly...

“...I’m going to follow them.”

“...Huh?”

Before Ren could open his mouth, Ayano had already run out of the shop.

“Wait... Wait a minute...”

Ren hurriedly picked up their plates, and, in one go, handed them to the shop assistant lady waiting at the trash bin.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

With his back to the shop assistant, who showed a professional smile, Ren swiftly ran toward the restroom.

=== 3 ===
After waiting a minute or so, Ren ran to catch up to Ayano.

“Nee-sama?”

But by now, there was no sign of Ayano. After looking around in vain, Ren ran in the direction in which Kazuma and Misao had gone...

...and immediately discovered Ayano, whose actions made her presence immediately obvious.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 073.jpg|thumb]]
“...Nee-sama...”

As a beautiful girl hiding behind an electric pole, sneakily surveying her prey, she stood out more than if she had been doing nothing at all.

For a moment, he strongly considered pretending that he didn’t know her and returning home, but he only entertained the thought, unwilling to do such a thing.

Ren bravely stepped forward and walked up to Ayano, who could now be considered an exemplary example of a suspicious character.

“...Nee-sama.”

“What were you doing, taking so long?”

Ren, speechless, silently took out a wet handkerchief.

“What?”

“Please clean your hands.”

“Huh? Oh. Ah, thanks.”

Ayano took the handkerchief and began to clean her hands, sticky from the orange juice.

“You’re pretty smart, Ren.”

“You’re very welcome,” Ren answered calmly, as he observed Kazuma and Misao, about ten meters in front of them.

The two, walking down the road with arms locked, exuded an unusually intimate atmosphere. Although they were unable to hear what the two were saying, it was easy to tell from the occasional smiles between them that there was more to their relationship.

“Don’t just stand there. Hide! We’ll be seen!”

Ayano grabbed Ren’s hand and ''pulled'' him behind the pole alongside her, but no matter how you might try, it is simply impossible for an electric pole to hide two people.

“Nee-sama, do you still want to follow them?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

Faced with this candid question, Ayano was left momentarily speechless.

“Wh–What kind of question is that?!”

“Because, no matter how I look at it, they are simply on a date. What we’re doing is simply prying.”

Ren didn’t exaggerate but simply said what he truly felt, and Ayano was deeply stung.

“Wh–What prying... I don’t have such an indecent motive! I’m just...”

“Just...?”

“Just... Misao...! That’s right! Misao might still intend to take Kazuma’s life!”

“No matter what method she uses, she’ll never beat him.”

“Argh...”

Her hastily constructed excuse calmly rebutted, Ayano was left speechless once more.

“Di–Didn’t you know? That guy is a sucker for beautiful women!”

“Beautiful women is it?”

“That’s right! Didn’t I tell you before? That guy even tried to force himself on Misao last time!” Ayano declared unashamedly, finally raising her head.

Ren pondered this for a time before blushing and asking abashedly, “So, we’ll have to continue spying on those two until Misao nee-sama... until Misao nee-sama begins to use her beauty to seduce Nii-sama?”

Ayano couldn’t help but visualize the scene in her mind. She pictured herself hiding in a dark corner, watching the two as they hugged, kissed, and then continued on to the next step...

(...Maybe I kind of hate doing this...)

Thinking about these scenes not meant to be seen, Ayano felt like turning back.

At that moment, if Ren had chosen to continue to persuade her along those lines, Ayano might just have given up. Unfortunately, Ren chose another method – a method so wrong that it couldn’t have been worse.

Perhaps because he thought this reason was more accurate, Ren opened his mouth to ask...

“Nee-sama, could it be that you are... jealous?”

He had no proof, just a feeling. Maybe the wish he held, that “Kazuma nii-sama and Ayano nee-sama will get along” might have been mixed in as well.

In other words, a careless statement.

“Ren...?”

Seeing a smile that could cause a child to live in eternal fear, Ren realized that he had stepped on a land mine.

(Wh–Wh–Wha?!)

This smile that was not a smile caught Ren like a deer caught in headlights, unable to run or even look away.

“Ah... Ah...”

“What did you just say?”

Faced with this question and the smile which, of course, did not reach her eyes, Ren could only shake his head rigidly like a robot.

Ayano reached out her hand and softly placed it on Ren’s face, which was filled with fear.

“You are such a good kid. That’s the way to live to a ripe, old age!”

Ren was helpless to do anything but nod.

“They’re still following us.”

“Yeah.”

Misao said so softly and happily. Kazuma on the other hand, replied with a tired expression.

Without even needing to look, the two knew that they were being tailed – if it could have even been considered tailing.

Hiding your tracks, disguising the tail, the precise selection of following distance and position... No matter how you looked at it, what they were doing didn’t qualify as tailing. To put it bluntly, even an amateur should have done better. It almost made you want to scream that if they really wanted to hide, they should at least shut up.

(To entrust those two with the future of the Kannagis... Aren’t you worried, Soushu?)

Kazuma couldn’t help but sympathize with Juugo, though he never put it in words. What he was considering now was...

“What is it?”

Seeing Misao with an innocent smile, Kazuma gave her a smile in return.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering, where are you taking me?”

“We’re almost there.”

Given the way Misao was pulling Kazuma along, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was forcing him along, but Kazuma offered no resistance and followed.

(The feeling of waiting for the gallows... I guess it would be just like this!)

That’s what he was thinking.

At an alley corner, Misao suddenly stopped. The place where they were was surrounded by rows of buildings, and, even in broad daylight, it seemed rather shady. Misao remained silently in place while an icy chill filled the air.

Ignoring the rapidly changing atmosphere, Kazuma calmly asked, “Is this place okay?”

“Yup. This is our destination.”

Misao answered in a firm tone, following with an exaggerated bow.

“So... I wish you luck.”

As she said those words, Kazuma’s body flew.

As if hit by an invisible car, or struck in the head by a metallic bat, his body smashed forcefully into the ground.

Several moments later, a veritable explosion of sound shook the air. As if Kazuma hadn’t even been given enough time to recognize the sound of gunfire, the body that rolled on the ground seemed powerless – like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

On the other hand, Misao wore a smile, watching as Kazuma was blown away. She slowly retreated without ever looking away.

As if swapping positions, as Misao retreated, ten men appeared from the shadows of the surrounding buildings. They wore Western suits, seemingly businessmen at first glance, but though their ethnicities and ages were all different, their teamwork was at a very high level.

They spread out in a fan-shaped formation and surrounded Kazuma – who now lay on the ground – extracting the contents of their cases in swift, practiced motions.

What lay within were not documents, or product samples, but pitch black, metallic objects, devices designed solely for killing – MP5Ks, a smaller type of MP5, an assault rifle designed for portability.

The men casually placed this thing that would not normally appear in a businessman’s briefcase near their waists, as if it were only natural, and then, without hesitation, they pulled the trigger.

The bullets were fired out in full-auto, and several hundred shots crashed into Kazuma’s body as one. Hit asphalt was crushed into a fine mist, staining the surroundings gray.

The men took no notice and continued to spray fire over a wide area in Kazuma’s direction.

It took less than three seconds for them to run through their magazines, and they quickly inserted new clips before resuming fire.

Then this scene repeated itself once more.

When each had expended all three of their cartridges, the men swiftly took cover while something dropped from the sky at high velocity.

–BOOM–

An explosion.

The violent explosion blew away everything where it landed.

“...This way... No matter how strong that man is...”

Looking at the dusty scene of the explosion, Misao muttered to herself without emotion.

Indeed, there aren’t many who could survive such an encounter. To expend close to a thousand bullets and over a dozen missiles – to call it overkill would be an understatement.

An attack that would have made you feel that the objective was not to “kill”, but to “eradicate,” to attack to the point that nothing remained. This was just such an attack.

She shifted her eyes slightly, seeing Ayano and Ren hugging each other on the ground.

They seemed to be too shocked to stand, but as long as the two of them were unharmed, it was fine. Even if she had already severed all ties with the Kannagis, she was unable to forget her respect for them, let alone have them as enemies.

On the other hand, in the corner where Kazuma lay, the remains of the destroyed building began to collapse, forming a small hill of concrete rubble. Even were you to search under that hill, it would have been unlikely for you to find even a scrap of cloth remaining.

“We must dig the corpse out.”

Witnessing the horrifying scene before her, Misao said calmly to herself. At that moment, the men bearing the assault rifles ran out and encircled the small hill of concrete.

An awful silence loomed over the area.

“...”

Pa-chunk. [SFX: concrete shifting]

A faint sound emerged from the bottom of the small hill, slicing through the silence.

“...!”

The originally puppet-like, emotionless faces of the men seemed shaken for the first time.

A black shadow appeared from within the misty, white dust, and the sound of steady footsteps flowed forth.

“Fi–Fire!”

It was a command shouted in a voice that no longer radiated calm. Driven by fear, and the voice, the men reflexively pulled the trigger.

The erupting gunfire, loud enough to cause deafness, echoed through the alley. After being hit by several hundred more bullets, the black shadow fell once more.

“...Phew...”

Someone breathed out in relief, as if released from a heavy burden. Following his lead, the other men began to relax, one by one. At that moment–

A tornado appeared.

The seemingly rampaging tornado was tightly controlled, only cutting the bodies of the ten men. Five bodies, already torn to pieces, danced in the sky. At the same time, the tornado dispersed all the dust. In the blink of an eye, the air had become unbelievably clear.

“Making such a scene, as always.”

Kazuma smiled happily.

After recovering from momentary shock, Misao’s face resumed its gentle smile as she looked at Kazuma.

Other than a little dirt, he had suffered no damage at all. It appeared that he had used a wind barrier to deflect everything.

Misao put her hand in her pocket as if nothing had happened and radioed a signal.

“Just to warn you, don’t waste your energy,” Kazuma advised Misao unhurriedly.

“The snipers are dead – both of them.”

After hearing this snide comment, delivered in a matter-of-fact tone, Misao’s smile vanished instantly.

In addition to the first sniper, over one kilometer away, Misao had prepared a second sniper as a trump card. They had been placed across from each other, two kilometers apart, with Kazuma in the center.

And yet Kazuma had killed them. This meant that while defending against such a savage attack, he had calmly been scanning an area with a radius of at least one kilometer without missing a beat.

Though what he said was unbelievable, the radio had yet to respond. Misao offered a bitter smile and discarded her radio.

“Gee, are you a monster?”

“People often say that I am,” Kazuma answered calmly.

“But for you to think of such a method–! Compared to your ''en-jutsu'', modern weaponry is definitely much more effective – alas, it still isn’t enough.”

“So it seems. How about cruise missiles next time?”

Both of them revealed kind smiles.

At that time, the bodies of the men killed by the tornado and thrown into the sky began to rain down.

Kazuma deflected the corpses with his wind–

–KABOOM– [SFX: explosion]

Misao, on the other hand, remorselessly burned them to ash with her fire.

Seeing the corpses turn to dust, to be blown away by the wind, Kazuma asked in a low voice, “Those men were hired by you, weren’t they?”

“I don’t recall hiring dead people.”

Misao replied while smiling.

Yes, Misao was smiling. Though the mercenaries she had hired had turned a street corner to ruin, causing death and injury to many, that smile held not a shred of insincerity.

Pure and innocent, a smile to be pitied – the smile of someone who has crossed a line that should never be crossed, the smile of someone on the wrong path.

“You’ve changed Misao... Was I the cause...?” Kazuma asked, in a rare, pained tone.

“I changed? Did you know me that well?”

“...That's true.”

Kazuma waved away his sorrow, reverting to a cold expression.

“So, your plan ends here?”

“Yes, that’s all for today.”

“Is that so? You may go then.”

Hearing these words, Misao was slightly shocked.

“Is it really okay to just let me go?”

“I’ve said this before. No matter what method you try, you’ll never be able to even scratch me.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

Misao didn’t reply and silently turned to leave.

Seeing the shadow of her back fade away in the distance, Kazuma sighed softly.

“Ten years... is really a long time...”

His quiet words passed unheard and disappeared into the wind.

=== 4 ===
“Gunfire broke out at 4pm today in an incident in Chiyoda Ward, Kudankita District, and claimed more than 30 lives.”

The nightly news was reporting on the earlier incident, which was only to be expected. Even though the legend of Japanese security had already long since broken down, things had yet to reach the point where a firefight in the center of Tokyo was a common occurrence.

Because the incident had taken place near the royal residence, all of Tokyo had instantly gone on high alert. As if under martial law, police could be seen everywhere.

Pointing at the ruinous street corner appearing on the television, Juugo showed Ayano a look of suspicion.

“You are saying that ''all of this'' is Misao’s doing?”

“Yes... Umm... It should be...”

Ayano answered hesitantly. The more she looked at the scene depicted on the television, the less real it seemed.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Misao the two of them knew would never be associated with such an incident. Normally a very sympathetic girl, even were she to hold a grudge, she would never be so cruel as to involve innocent people. And were she to decide to take revenge, she would choose a method that wouldn’t involve others.

But...

“For an obedient, docile girl like Misao... Once she gets angry, her actions are surprisingly audacious...” Ayano mumbled wholeheartedly.

From speaking with Masayuki, they had learned that Misao had already disappeared two days prior, along with an eight digit sum from the Ogami family account.

It went without saying that she had yet to be seen again.

“Don’t look as though this doesn’t concern you. Why didn’t you grab her on the spot?”

“Because, Kazuma... He–”

In response to Juugo’s reprimand, Ayano responded coquettishly.

“No excuses. After all, you are to be the next Soushu.”

(Just what do you expect me to do in that kind of situation...)

Ayano put on an obedient front in the face of Juugo’s lecture, but the earlier incident was replaying itself within her.

“Ugh, I can’t hear a thing.”

With Kazuma’s safe return, and the subsequent exit of his assailants, Ayano had become a stalker once more, but the distance between them was too large, and she had been unable to listen in.

At such times, ''en-jutsu'' was useless. Among the various forms of ''en-jutsu'' – which exhibited an overwhelming attack power – there was nothing that could be used for reconnaissance.

In the end, Ayano didn’t manage to catch even a single word of the conversation.

“That guy seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Is that so? He looks pained to me.”

“Pained? That guy? What a joyous occasion.”

“Nee-sama...”

The reason why Ayano could have such an attitude was because she thought that it was all over.

She believed that Misao had no cards left to play and that all that was left was the aftermath. Or so she thought.

Unfortunately...

After the conversation had come to a peaceful resolution, Misao had turned, not to run away, but to calmly walk away.

Kazuma didn’t give chase and just silently watched as she took her leave.

In the moments during which Ayano was too stunned to move, Misao had leisurely disappeared.

“Wa–Wait a minute!”

Coming back to her senses, Ayano ran to Kazuma’s side and grabbed his collar.

“Why did you let her escape?!”

“Why should I capture her?”

Kazuma didn’t seem surprised by Ayano’s appearance and questioned her in turn, as if only natural.

“What do you mean why... This incident was caused by Misao!”

“From the way I see it, they’re the ones responsible.”

In response to Ayano, who was pointing at the remains of the building, Kazuma pointed instead at the corpses of the fallen men.

“That’s what I’m saying! They were following her orders!”

“Is that so? That’s news to me.”

“Yo–You really...”

The hand gripping his collar increased in force. From her attitude it was plain to see that what Ayano really wanted to grab was Kazuma’s throat.

“If you let her be, Misao will do the same thing again!”

“Does it matter? There wasn’t any harm done anyway.”

“Are you blind?”

Ayano once again pointed to the pathetic scene behind her.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kazuma corrected himself.

“No harm to me.”

Pachi.

“You bastard! Just stand there and receive your punishment!”

A flaming fist (Note: not a metaphor) struck at Kazuma. Dodging the strike with ease, Kazuma began to chat with his brother, who walked up to him.

“Oh, Ren. How’ve you been?”

“Well...”

“Damn it! Die! Die this instant!”

“How noisy!”

Kazuma closed the distance as Ayano drew her fist, and lightly twisted her right hand upward.

“Gya!”

Ayano’s elbow was flipped up, and the joints in her arm, elbow, and shoulder were all stretched to the limit at the same time. In such a condition, Ayano could only arc her body, tip-toe and bear with it. Her body completly lost balance, and all she could do was surrender.

“Ugh...”

Ignoring Ayano, who was trying her best to recover her balance, Kazuma warned Ren, “I’m heading back. You guys should leave too. It’ll be troublesome if the police see you.”

“See ya then.”

He carelessly waved his hand and swept his eyes toward Ayano – who was now stumbling on the ground – with an expression of victory.

“Yo–You!”

With his back to Ayano, who was glaring at him, Kazuma walked away.

“Nee-sama, are you okay?”

Treating Ren’s words of concern with the regard she would give a gust of wind, Ayano silently watched Kazuma’s back.

(That guy–! One day I’ll definitely teach him a lesson!)

Ayano forgot that she was listening to her father lecture her and grew angry at the thought.

Juugo did not fail to notice. When he saw that Ayano was not paying attention, he stood up – Ayano showed no reaction – walked forward – Ayano still didn’t react – and knocked his fist on the top of her head.

Dong!

An extremely exaggerated sound came forth. Ayano was in such pain that she couldn’t even scream, and her entire body collapsed on the tatami.

Having suffered the blow on the top of her head while kneeling, the impact had nowhere to go but straight down. Agonizing under a blow that seemed as if it would crush her skull, Ayano could only endure it.

“I... I object to violence...” Ayano protested with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t just say the words. ''Change''.”

Juugo, of course, ignored her protest.

“It seems that I’ve spoiled you too much in the past. I will have to be more strict from now on.”

“But that’s...”

Disregarding Ayano’s pitiful expression, Juugo returned to the topic at hand.

“So? Did you notice any other clues?”

“Kazuma is very suspicious!” Ayano shouted at almost exactly the same time.

“...”

Juugo simply looked at Ayano without saying a word. To call his gaze critical would have been conservative.

“...Is that all?”

“Be... Because it’s weird, isn’t it?! Why didn’t Kazuma kill Misao?!”

“Hmm...”

Juugo grew silent, not speaking a word. Seizing this opportunity, Ayano pressed on.

“Otou-sama, just think about it. Doesn’t Kazuma resent the Kannagis to the core? To not even kill a single person up until now, it just seems too weird.”

“He seems to have told Ren that he ‘no longer hates the Kannagi family’.”

“Who knows? Even if that’s true, if someone took the initiative to attack him, that shouldn’t still be the case. Didn’t we see it already? The fourteen or fifteen men who surrounded and attacked him, he beat them to a pulp. That’s Kazuma’s ‘usual’ way of doing things.”

“...Mm-hmm...”

Juugo nodded. He had no objections to her point.

“But in that case, why didn’t he lay a hand on Misao?”

“I have no idea. But anyone can see that Misao is very special in Kazuma’s eyes. There must be something between them,” Ayano said bluntly, with a stern, or rather, sharp expression.

“He has fallen in love with Misao?”

Ayano’s body trembled slightly. She looked at her father with the unsure eyes of a lost child.

“Otou-sama thinks so too?”

“Who knows?”

Juugo answered vaguely. He hoped that he was just thinking too much.

(Kazuma must return to the Kannagis. But Misao is unable to be his support.)

To say that he did not expect Kazuma to replace the Fuugas would have been a lie. In addition, Juugo had not forgotten the danger Kazuma posed.

Kazuma had shown his scars once before. Juugo couldn’t pretend not to have seen that unhealed wound.

(Kazuma needs a place to return to. And for that...)

Juugo looked at Ayano with eyes that held deep meaning, but at that moment, Ayano was too focused on her own troubles and failed to notice those eyes at all.

“Anyway, let’s find Kazuma and ask him about it first.”

Ayano returned to her senses and nodded in agreement.

“Ye... Yeah... By the way, why is that guy always so mysterious?”

“Indeed.”

Jugo gave a bitter smile. He felt uneasy precisely because he understood that it was due to Kazuma’s mistrust of the Kannagis.

“Somehow, we must find a way...”

In the end, Juugo never got a chance to ask Kazuma about the circumstances between him and Misao. And by that point, the opportunity had already long passed.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-12T06:43:10Z

Kalessin:

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-12T06:36:49Z

Kalessin: /* 3 */ Fixed tenses and improved wording and flow of text.

== Chapter Two - Assault – Determination After Removing All Doubts ==

=== 1 ===

The boy’s arm was wreathed in red flame.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

A wordless scream escaped the boy’s mouth.

So hot – there was no room in his mind for anything but the heat, all thought being stolen by the crimson flame.

He continuously rolled on the ground, attempting to extinguish the flame. Nearby, some children observed his pitiable state.

I say children, but that belies the range of their ages. The smallest were young children of only four or five while the oldest were full-grown teenagers of fifteen or sixteen.

Their sole common denominator could be seen on their faces.

Scorn.

This group of children joyfully surrounded the burning youth, laughing with mirth.

An unfeigned laughter that came from the heart. Innocent. Naive. Cruel.

The cruelty of a child who cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Like children who pluck off the wings of a dragonfly just to watch it struggle, they enjoyed the youth’s predicament as he painfully struggled the same way.

“A member of the main family getting burned by fire!”

“How useless!”

“‘A humiliation to the clan,’ my father said!”

“Someone as worthless as you has no right to bear the name ‘Kannagi!’”

The boy could only hug his burnt arm, his face showing a painful expression as the others continued to mock him, one after another.

“It’s my turn!”

A young girl around ten years old raised her hand to declare.

“Oh– Go on. Quickly now!”

The children cheered. The girl, encouraged, held her fist to her chest and began to concentrate.

“Heh!”

Following the cute shout, a red flame suddenly appeared like a ghost above the cringing youth.

The fire slowly descended until it touched the boy’s back.

Sssssssss!

“...!”

The sound of burning meat could be heard. The youth’s body, originally curled into a ball, straightened out forcefully. This scene served only to amplify the mocking.

“My turn next!”

“I wanna go too!”

His legs, his back, his shoulders – all were continuously tattooed by the ferocious flame. Each time the boy’s body instinctively twitched. Each time it gave off a burning smell.

Despite the horrid cruelty of their actions, none present felt the least degree of guilt. To them, fire was nothing to fear.

Were they to be put in his shoes, they would not experience the smallest discomfort. Even for those whose “power” was ‘weak,’ the most that would burn would be their clothes – their bodies would remain completely unharmed.

This was because their clan had been blessed with fire‘s protection.

Because of this, these children were completely unaware of the dangers of fire, and they did not understand the pain of being scorched.

You cannot imagine what you do not know, and because they were unable to imagine the pain, they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

The boy silently endured the innocent and naive torture of the other children in the clan alone.

“Ah... Ah...”

By the time the children were finally satisfied, the youth was left to painfully contend with his smoking body.

“Ahhh– that was fun.”

“Bye bye. Let’s play again~”

As part of their exit ritual, everyone present gave the twitching body a merciless kick. But before anyone could leave, the eldest and largest boy went further and stomped on the boy’s head.

“...Hmm?”

“What’s wrong with Toru?”

Hearing the large boy, Toru Kuga, let out a pathetic cry, the others turned in surprise.

“You... You foolish idiot!”

The head that Toru had forcefully stepped on was now slowly lifting itself upward. The youth used his hands as support against the ground and stared intently at Toru from below.

“You... What are you trying to do...?”

Seeing those eyes, filled with murder, Toru couldn’t help but retreat in fright. Immediately filled with shame at his actions, he became angry.

“What’s with that look? This worthless scum actually dares to resist?!”

Toru summoned a flame, angrily throwing it in the youth’s direction.

The youth quickly rose and dodged the incoming flame. Dragging his heavily wounded frame, he dashed at incredible speed, closing in on Toru.

“W... Wah...”

Aiming directly at the terrified Toru’s face, he exerted all the strength in his body to strike him with his palm.

Pachunk! [SFX: something breaking]

Toru’s nose had broken.

“Toru!”

While the group could only stare, aghast at the sudden incident, the boy attacked two more people. Driven in his berserk rage, his fist broke the first’s cheekbones and the second’s chin, causing them to roll in pain as he did earlier.

“...Wu...Ah...!”

But his mad rush ended there. The burden his actions had placed on his pained body was beyond the limits of his will. His stomach heaved, and as if trying to reject everything, he vomited over and over.

“You...! How dare you...!”

Realizing that they were no longer at risk, the others took heart. In order to punish this thing that didn’t know its place, they began to focus their mental energy.

But–

“All of you... Get lost!”

A weak, yet furious voice stopped them. They looked back in fear, and before their eyes was...

“I am going to slaughter you...”

Fresh blood streaming from his nose, Toru gazed at the boy with bloodshot, insane eyes, devoid of reason.

“I am so going to slaughter you–!”

An insane fury amplified Toru’s abilities several-fold. Stretching his right hand directly upward, he summoned a huge fireball that seemed encased by a pair of hands.

“Go and die!”

The youth’s eyes didn’t blink. They could only stare at the fireball. Despite his body’s inability to move, he refused to give in. Like a wounded beast with death fast approaching, he searched for any sign of weakness in his enemy.

– Kaboom!

“Hmph! Now you know my strength!”

Seeing the youth wrapped in flame, Toru smiled.

The flame gradually dispersed. But amidst the disappearing flame, what appeared was...

“Ah... Ah?”

Contrary to Toru’s expectations, the boy yet lived. Parts of his body were burnt black, but his limbs still remained; he had successfully withstood Toru’s flame.

Using every last drop of his ''ki'' to create a defensive barrier, the youth had just barely managed to survive.

“You... You asshole...”

Toru’s expression grew more sinister. If he were to prove unable to beat this youth who lacked even a hint of ability as an ''En-jutsu'', he would forever be looked down upon and despised by the others.

“Arrogant trash!”

This scream, filled with displeasure, failed to reach the boy’s ears. His body had long since surpassed its limits, and having spent all his ''ki,'' he was no different from a walking corpse.

Not content to simply leave the youth to die, Toru prepared to give him a fatal strike. Against his fate, the youth was helpless.

“...”

Kazuma suddenly opened his eyes. This was a rare occasion for him – he usually had a hard time waking up – but his consciousness was fully awake.

But it was only to be expected. How could anyone refuse to wake up after having a dream like that?

Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute.

“Frankly speaking, what an unpleasant dream.”

Closing his eyes, he emptied all the air in his lungs with a moan.

Something that had happened exactly ten years ago, a painful experience that caused nightmares.

Of the eighteen years he had spent among the Kannagis, that was his most painful experience. Had no one put a stop to it, he might have died.

Due to the level of his injuries, despite receiving the highest level recovery ''jutsus'' daily, it had taken him a month to recover.

But that was not what was important. To Kazuma, it was his first defeat.

Not in terms of the injuries he sustained.

But for giving in to despair.

Once he had understood that he could not win against the Kannagis’ flames, that he would forever be a weakling, Kazuma had given up on fighting back.

He had given in to those that scorned him.

From that day forward, Kazuma had continued to run away. Not resisting, pitifully pleading for mercy, enduring endless torment, endless public humiliation.

But it no longer mattered.

Because he was no longer willing to partake of that misery.

“...I can’t forget.”

Kazuma realized that his memories of his past humiliations were as clear as if they had happened only yesterday and murmured to himself.

“I don’t even mind.”

Even though he was now in Japan once more, he had never even considered taking revenge – even though doing so would have been a painfully simple task.

To bend his pinky three centimeters; if the effort needed to kill Toru were converted to energy – that would be precisely how much would be required. Any strength Toru had gained in the last four years would be inconsequential.

(...That’s odd...?)

Kazuma’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted. He realized he could not picture Toru.

“Have I not seen him yet?”

Despite meeting several groups of branch family ''jutsushis'', he hadn’t spent any time verifying their identities, so he was unsure whether or not he had met Toru.

“...Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, Kazuma covered himself with the covers once more. Though fully awake, he had nothing in particular to do, and didn’t feel like getting up just yet.

(Let’s get some more sleep...)

Alas, the heavens did not seem to agree with this unproductive decision.

Dulululululululululu–

Kazuma glared at the ringing phone, openly displaying his irritation.

What a crafty ring. The more he tried to ignore the ringing, the more insistent it seemed to get, and yet it wasn’t so loud that he would wreck the phone in frustration.

“Damn it!”

Left with no other alternative, Kazuma reached for the phone. But instead of leaving his bed for the phone, he brought the phone to him.

“...Who’s making a call so early in the morning?” he grumbled in a mournful tone, despite the fact it was already late morning.

“Hello?”

He spoke in a sluggish tone – giving away the fact that he had just woken up – but his tranquil mind was pondering the courteous reply from the other end.

“Oh?”

This time, Kazuma was fully awake. There was no longer any sign of fatigue on the face that suddenly emerged from the covers.

“Today? Ah, sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kazuma answered politely, and then hung up. He flipped the covers back and crawled out, stretching lazily.

With his usual complacent smile now on his face, Kazuma muttered.

“Looks like it’s gonna be a busy day.”

=== 2 ===

While she was walking home after school, Ayano’s eyes caught a small shadow about ten meters away from her.

“Hey–”

She was just about to call out when she suddenly stopped, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face.

Ayano snuck up on the shadow slowly, step by step, it not having yet noticed Ayano’s presence.

“Wh–wha!”

Standing immediately behind her target, she grabbed her victim in a bear hug, as if to envelop the entirety of the small figure. Ayano secured the youth caught in her embrace – now giving off a cute scream and struggling to escape with all his might – so that he couldn’t move.

“Nee... Nee-sama?!”

“Completely off-guard. That means you still need more training, Ren.”

“To say that now is really... Anyway, just let go of me first, Nee-sama!”

“No way~ Free yourself!”

Looking at the two fooling around, passersby couldn’t help but crack faint, bittersweet smiles.

Judging by their appearance, the two were a rare and beautiful pair of “sisters.” Though one of them only looked to be around the age of ten, they were still pleasing to the eyes.

“Nee... Nee-sama! Really...”

Realizing that they had become the center of attention, Ren’s face reddened. Despite all appearances, he was, after all, a twelve-year-old boy. So, it wasn’t strange for him to feel shy about female physical contact.

After finally being released from confinement, Ren demanded, “Seriously... What are you thinking?!” as he gasped for air.

However, his expression, along with wet, pleading eyes, instead generated the feeling that he was really cute, and not scary in the least. More than likely, it wouldn’t have scared even a three-year-old.

“Ahahaha! Sorry. Sorry. This is a display of love for you too.”

It goes without saying that Ayano was not in the least bit afraid. She patted Ren’s shoulder and cheekily ignored Ren’s complaints.

“Honestly!”

Unable to vent his displeasure, Ren’s expression soured instantly.

This method was very effective. Because it was simply too cute, there was no way to ignore him.

“I’m really sorry. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“I won’t let you change the subject.”

Ren’s mood showed no sign of improvement. He turned his head to the side, unwilling to meet Ayano’s eyes.

Ayano used both hands to grab Ren’s head and forced him to turn his face back toward her.

“If you still won’t listen...

She slowly moved her face closer, almost touching his nose.

“Then I’ll kiss you! ♥”

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

This was how easily Ayano toyed with the youth, who was dancing in the palm of her hand.

“Huh? So something like that happened.”

On the second floor of the hamburger shop near the station, the two were chatting about the victory banquet that had happened a few days earlier.

Hearing Ren’s innocent reaction, Ayano revealed an evil smirk and answered.

“Yeah, when you were asleep.”

“...Geez. Don’t bring that up anymore!”

Ren’s cheeks flushed red. He’d been asleep that day, from beginning to end. The shock and shame of waking up on Ayano’s lap showed no sign of subsiding even now.

For the first time, he truly felt what it meant to want to hide his head in the ground.

“What will I do if Father finds out about this...”

Seeing the uneasy Ren, Ayano grabbed a french fry and said with ease, “What else can you do? He already knows doesn’t he? There seems to be quite a few people visiting him these few days.”

Ren’s father, Genma, had not participated in the battle against the Fuugas, having earlier lost to Kazuma in a quarrel between father and son, and was still resting in the hospital.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Ren collapsed on the table, hugged his head, and moaned.

Genma, already very strict with himself, was even stricter with his relatives. It wasn’t hard to imagine his reaction when he finally heard of his son’s blunder.

“It’s fine. Don’t be so down.”

“But I ''am'' ‘so down.’”

Ren reproached Ayano’s irresponsible remark in an incomparably downhearted voice.

“Because once Father’s angry, he’s really strict.”

“...I guess!”

Ayano replied in a carefree tone. Whether or not he would be angry was another matter entirely. The image of an “easygoing Genma” was beyond imagination.

(Will that guy smile in front of Ren’s face?)

Even though she had only ever seen him either mocking or whole-heartedly laughing.

“When the time comes, you can just place all the blame on Kazuma.”

“Placing blame on someone else would only make Father even angrier.”

“...That's true... He's the kind of person who's really hard to deal with.”

“Awuuuuuuuuuh!”

Ren spread himself out on the table and moaned.

“Huh?”

It was a coincidence, but...

If he had been sitting upright, his view would have been blocked by protruding branches, causing the scene to have escaped his notice, but because he had collapsed on the table in despair, he instead became witness to an incredible sight.

“What is it?”

“That woman...”

Ayano lowered her head to look in the direction that Ren was indicating.

Lying directly ahead, at the edge of her field of vision, a woman was standing. A beautiful, mesmerizing woman with shiny black hair, wearing a clean, pure white coat, the starkly contrasting colors making her even more attractive.

Ayano smiled at Ren, with mischief in mind.

“What a beautiful woman. Do you know her?”

Ren ignored the implication, and muttered, “That woman, isn’t she Misao nee-sama?”

“Eh? Ehhhhhh?”

Ayano quickly looked back to inspect the woman below more closely. After a few seconds...

“It seems to be her...”

Indeed, it was Misao Ogami. However, she had changed completely from how she was three days ago. Even the simple fact that she was not wearing a kimono made her give a completely different impression. Though Ayano had known Misao ever since they were little, as far as she could remember, this was the first time that she has ever seen Misao in Western clothes.

Perhaps because of that, what could be seen of her legs extending below her coat looked exceptionally appealing.

To describe the feeling in a single word, it would be coquettish. Though normally she seemed plain, as if wanting to escape notice, now she made a magnificent impression. Actually, within the five minutes the two had been watching, there had already been three attempts to pick her up.

Misao serenely rejected their advances, and as she had showed them respect despite the rejection, all left without causing trouble. If Nanase and Yukari had seen this scene, they would have chastised Ayano, saying “Learn from her.”

After staring, awestruck, for a while, Ren grumbled.

“She seems to be waiting for someone.”

“That... is really surprising.”

Ayano sounded as though she still could not believe her eyes because this was unimaginably different from what she had thought earlier.

“Is it a date?”

“...Is it not?”

A girl like Misao would not dress up in such an extravagant manner to meet a friend of the same gender!

Ayano’s interest grew.

“I wonder who she’s dating.”

Inattentively sipping her orange juice, Ayano observed the scene outside the window with great interest. Given the intensity of her gaze, anyone watching from the side would have found her actions very suspicious.

“...Nee-sama.”

Ren looked at Ayano, who was spying on Misao with a bitter smile. He himself turned to follow the scene outside. At that moment, the other party appeared.

“Nii-sama?!”

He couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes. But it was indeed Ren’s brother, Kazuma. His appearance was no coincidence – the proof being Misao, smiling broadly and running to meet him.

Before Ren, who was dumbstruck, the two intimately held hands and walked off.

Even after the two disappeared from view, Ren was still frozen, staring dumbly at the window. It was an absolutely impossible occurrence, because to Misao, Kazuma was “the man who had killed Nii-sama.”

A faint sound brought Ren back to his senses.

–squish– [SFX: something being squashed]

Something light and soft was being squashed. Not a rare sound by any means, and yet hearing it fills one with unease.

Ren faced Ayano with unease. As he did not dare look directly at her, he shifted his eyes upward from below, following the table upward toward Ayano.

The first thing he saw was Ayano’s hand. Her slender fingers ''gripped'' the paper cup, still full of juice, and crushed it into the shape of her fist. The juice spilled out, forming an orange-colored ocean. Her fries and hamburger were completely soaked and no longer worth eating.

Ayano’s hand crackled – the sound of ice, unable to escape from the cup, being pulverized by her hand, which continuously trembled.

Ren was so frightened that he dared not look up.

Though he didn’t understand the cause, he recognized Ayano’s extreme anger. If he wasn’t careful, he might just become her target.

Pak!

Suddenly, Ayano slammed her hands on the table and stood up.

“Argh!”

To the cringing Ren, Ayano said softly...

“...I’m going to follow them.”

“...Huh?”

Before Ren could open his mouth, Ayano had already run out of the shop.

“Wait... Wait a minute...”

Ren hurriedly picked up their plates, and, in one go, handed them to the shop assistant lady waiting at the trash bin.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

With his back to the shop assistant, who showed a professional smile, Ren swiftly ran toward the restroom.

=== 3 ===
After waiting a minute or so, Ren ran to catch up to Ayano.

“Nee-sama?”

But by now, there was no sign of Ayano. After looking around in vain, Ren ran in the direction in which Kazuma and Misao had gone...

...and immediately discovered Ayano, whose actions made her presence immediately obvious.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 073.jpg|thumb]]
“...Nee-sama...”

As a beautiful girl hiding behind an electric pole, sneakily surveying her prey, she stood out more than if she had been doing nothing at all.

For a moment, he strongly considered pretending that he didn’t know her and returning home, but he only entertained the thought, unwilling to do such a thing.

Ren bravely stepped forward and walked up to Ayano, who could now be considered an exemplary example of a suspicious character.

“...Nee-sama.”

“What were you doing, taking so long?”

Ren, speechless, silently took out a wet handkerchief.

“What?”

“Please clean your hands.”

“Huh? Oh. Ah, thanks.”

Ayano took the handkerchief and began to clean her hands, sticky from the orange juice.

“You’re pretty smart, Ren.”

“You’re very welcome,” Ren answered calmly, as he observed Kazuma and Misao, about ten meters in front of them.

The two, walking down the road with arms locked, exuded an unusually intimate atmosphere. Although they were unable to hear what the two were saying, it was easy to tell from the occasional smiles between them that there was more to their relationship.

“Don’t just stand there. Hide! We’ll be seen!”

Ayano grabbed Ren’s hand and ''pulled'' him behind the pole alongside her, but no matter how you might try, it is simply impossible for an electric pole to hide two people.

“Nee-sama, do you still want to follow them?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

Faced with this candid question, Ayano was left momentarily speechless.

“Wh–What kind of question is that?!”

“Because, no matter how I look at it, they are simply on a date. What we’re doing is simply prying.”

Ren didn’t exaggerate but simply said what he truly felt, and Ayano was deeply stung.

“Wh–What prying... I don’t have such an indecent motive! I’m just...”

“Just...?”

“Just... Misao...! That’s right! Misao might still intend to take Kazuma’s life!”

“No matter what method she uses, she’ll never beat him.”

“Argh...”

Her hastily constructed excuse calmly rebutted, Ayano was left speechless once more.

“Di–Didn’t you know? That guy is a sucker for beautiful women!”

“Beautiful women is it?”

“That’s right! Didn’t I tell you before? That guy even tried to force himself on Misao last time!” Ayano declared unashamedly, finally raising her head.

Ren pondered this for a time before blushing and asking abashedly, “So, we’ll have to continue spying on those two until Misao nee-sama... until Misao nee-sama begins to use her beauty to seduce Nii-sama?”

Ayano couldn’t help but visualize the scene in her mind. She pictured herself hiding in a dark corner, watching the two as they hugged, kissed, and then continued on to the next step...

(...Maybe I kind of hate doing this...)

Thinking about these scenes not meant to be seen, Ayano felt like turning back.

At that moment, if Ren had chosen to continue to persuade her along those lines, Ayano might just have given up. Unfortunately, Ren chose another method – a method so wrong that it couldn’t have been worse.

Perhaps because he thought this reason was more accurate, Ren opened his mouth to ask...

“Nee-sama, could it be that you are... jealous?”

He had no proof, just a feeling. Maybe the wish he held, that “Kazuma nii-sama and Ayano nee-sama will get along” might have been mixed in as well.

In other words, a careless statement.

“Ren...?”

Seeing a smile that could cause a child to live in eternal fear, Ren realized that he had stepped on a land mine.

(Wh–Wh–Wha?!)

This smile that was not a smile caught Ren like a deer caught in headlights, unable to run or even look away.

“Ah... Ah...”

“What did you just say?”

Faced with this question and the smile which, of course, did not reach her eyes, Ren could only shake his head rigidly like a robot.

Ayano reached out her hand and softly placed it on Ren’s face, which was filled with fear.

“You are such a good kid. That’s the way to live to a ripe, old age!”

Ren was helpless to do anything but nod.

“They’re still following us.”

“Yeah.”

Misao said so softly and happily. Kazuma on the other hand, replied with a tired expression.

Without even needing to look, the two knew that they were being tailed – if it could have even been considered tailing.

Hiding your tracks, disguising the tail, the precise selection of following distance and position... No matter how you looked at it, what they were doing didn’t qualify as tailing. To put it bluntly, even an amateur should have done better. It almost made you want to scream that if they really wanted to hide, they should at least shut up.

(To entrust those two with the future of the Kannagis... Aren’t you worried, Soushu?)

Kazuma couldn’t help but sympathize with Juugo, though he never put it in words. What he was considering now was...

“What is it?”

Seeing Misao with an innocent smile, Kazuma gave her a smile in return.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering, where are you taking me?”

“We’re almost there.”

Given the way Misao was pulling Kazuma along, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was forcing him along, but Kazuma offered no resistance and followed.

(The feeling of waiting for the gallows... I guess it would be just like this!)

That’s what he was thinking.

At an alley corner, Misao suddenly stopped. The place where they were was surrounded by rows of buildings, and, even in broad daylight, it seemed rather shady. Misao remained silently in place while an icy chill filled the air.

Ignoring the rapidly changing atmosphere, Kazuma calmly asked, “Is this place okay?”

“Yup. This is our destination.”

Misao answered in a firm tone, following with an exaggerated bow.

“So... I wish you luck.”

As she said those words, Kazuma’s body flew.

As if hit by an invisible car, or struck in the head by a metallic bat, his body smashed forcefully into the ground.

Several moments later, a veritable explosion of sound shook the air. As if Kazuma hadn’t even been given enough time to recognize the sound of gunfire, the body that rolled on the ground seemed powerless – like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

On the other hand, Misao wore a smile, watching as Kazuma was blown away. She slowly retreated without ever looking away.

As if swapping positions, as Misao retreated, ten men appeared from the shadows of the surrounding buildings. They wore Western suits, seemingly businessmen at first glance, but though their ethnicities and ages were all different, their teamwork was at a very high level.

They spread out in a fan-shaped formation and surrounded Kazuma – who now lay on the ground – extracting the contents of their cases in swift, practiced motions.

What lay within were not documents, or product samples, but pitch black, metallic objects, devices designed solely for killing – MP5Ks, a smaller type of MP5, an assault rifle designed for portability.

The men casually placed this thing that would not normally appear in a businessman’s briefcase near their waists, as if it were only natural, and then, without hesitation, they pulled the trigger.

The bullets were fired out in full-auto, and several hundred shots crashed into Kazuma’s body as one. Hit asphalt was crushed into a fine mist, staining the surroundings gray.

The men took no notice and continued to spray fire over a wide area in Kazuma’s direction.

It took less than three seconds for them to run through their magazines, and they quickly inserted new clips before resuming fire.

Then this scene repeated itself once more.

When each had expended all three of their cartridges, the men swiftly took cover while something dropped from the sky at high velocity.

–BOOM–

An explosion.

The violent explosion blew away everything where it landed.

“...This way... No matter how strong that man is...”

Looking at the dusty scene of the explosion, Misao muttered to herself without emotion.

Indeed, there aren’t many who could survive such an encounter. To expend close to a thousand bullets and over a dozen missiles – to call it overkill would be an understatement.

An attack that would have made you feel that the objective was not to “kill”, but to “eradicate,” to attack to the point that nothing remained. This was just such an attack.

She shifted her eyes slightly, seeing Ayano and Ren hugging each other on the ground.

They seemed to be too shocked to stand, but as long as the two of them were unharmed, it was fine. Even if she had already severed all ties with the Kannagis, she was unable to forget her respect for them, let alone have them as enemies.

On the other hand, in the corner where Kazuma lay, the remains of the destroyed building began to collapse, forming a small hill of concrete rubble. Even were you to search under that hill, it would have been unlikely for you to find even a scrap of cloth remaining.

“We must dig the corpse out.”

Witnessing the horrifying scene before her, Misao said calmly to herself. At that moment, the men bearing the assault rifles ran out and encircled the small hill of concrete.

An awful silence loomed over the area.

“...”

Pa-chunk. [SFX: concrete shifting]

A faint sound emerged from the bottom of the small hill, slicing through the silence.

“...!”

The originally puppet-like, emotionless faces of the men seemed shaken for the first time.

A black shadow appeared from within the misty, white dust, and the sound of steady footsteps flowed forth.

“Fi–Fire!”

It was a command shouted in a voice that no longer radiated calm. Driven by fear, and the voice, the men reflexively pulled the trigger.

The erupting gunfire, loud enough to cause deafness, echoed through the alley. After being hit by several hundred more bullets, the black shadow fell once more.

“...Phew...”

Someone breathed out in relief, as if released from a heavy burden. Following his lead, the other men began to relax, one by one. At that moment–

A tornado appeared.

The seemingly rampaging tornado was tightly controlled, only cutting the bodies of the ten men. Five bodies, already torn to pieces, danced in the sky. At the same time, the tornado dispersed all the dust. In the blink of an eye, the air had become unbelievably clear.

“Making such a scene, as always.”

Kazuma smiled happily.

After recovering from momentary shock, Misao’s face resumed its gentle smile as she looked at Kazuma.

Other than a little dirt, he had suffered no damage at all. It appeared that he had used a wind barrier to deflect everything.

Misao put her hand in her pocket as if nothing had happened and radioed a signal.

“Just to warn you, don’t waste your energy,” Kazuma advised Misao unhurriedly.

“The snipers are dead – both of them.”

After hearing this snide comment, delivered in a matter-of-fact tone, Misao’s smile vanished instantly.

In addition to the first sniper, over one kilometer away, Misao had prepared a second sniper as a trump card. They had been placed across from each other, two kilometers apart, with Kazuma in the center.

And yet Kazuma had killed them. This meant that while defending against such a savage attack, he had calmly been scanning an area with a radius of at least one kilometer without missing a beat.

Though what he said was unbelievable, the radio had yet to respond. Misao offered a bitter smile and discarded her radio.

“Gee, are you a monster?”

“People often say that I am,” Kazuma answered calmly.

“But for you to think of such a method–! Compared to your ''en-jutsu'', modern weaponry is definitely much more effective – alas, it still isn’t enough.”

“So it seems. How about cruise missiles next time?”

Both of them revealed kind smiles.

At that time, the bodies of the men killed by the tornado and thrown into the sky began to rain down.

Kazuma deflected the corpses with his wind–

–KABOOM– [SFX: explosion]

Misao, on the other hand, remorselessly burned them to ash with her fire.

Seeing the corpses turn to dust, to be blown away by the wind, Kazuma asked in a low voice, “Those men were hired by you, weren’t they?”

“I don’t recall hiring dead people.”

Misao replied while smiling.

Yes, Misao was smiling. Though the mercenaries she had hired had turned a street corner to ruin, causing death and injury to many, that smile held not a shred of insincerity.

Pure and innocent, a smile to be pitied – the smile of someone who has crossed a line that should never be crossed, the smile of someone on the wrong path.

“You’ve changed Misao... Was I the cause...?” Kazuma asked, in a rare, pained tone.

“I changed? Did you know me that well?”

“...That's true.”

Kazuma waved away his sorrow, reverting to a cold expression.

“So, your plan ends here?”

“Yes, that’s all for today.”

“Is that so? You may go then.”

Hearing these words, Misao was slightly shocked.

“Is it really okay to just let me go?”

“I’ve said this before. No matter what method you try, you’ll never be able to even scratch me.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

Misao didn’t reply and silently turned to leave.

Seeing the shadow of her back fade away in the distance, Kazuma sighed softly.

“Ten years... is really a long time...”

His quiet words passed unheard and disappeared into the wind.

=== 4 ===
"Gunfire broke out at 4 PM today, in an incident in Chiyoda Ward, Kudankita district, and has already claimed more than 30 lives."

The nightly news is reporting on the earlier episode, which can only be expected. Even though the legend of Japanese security has already long since broken down, things have yet to reach the point where a firefight in the center of Tokyo is a common occurrence.

Because the incident took place near the royal residence, all of Tokyo instantly went on high alert. As if under martial law, police can be seen everywhere.

Pointing at the ruinous street corner appearing on the television, Juugo shows Ayano a look of suspicion.

“You are saying ''all this'' is Misao’s doing?”

“Yes…… umm…… it should be……”

Ayano answers hesitantly. The more she looks at the scene depicted on the television, the less real it seems.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Misao the two know would never be associated with such an incident. Normally a very sympathetic girl, even were she to hold a grudge, she would never be so cruel as to involve innocents, and were she to decide to take revenge, she would choose a method that would not involve others.

But...

"For an obedient, docile girl like Misao... Once she gets angry, her actions are surprisingly audacious..." Ayano mumbles wholeheartedly.

From speaking with Masayuki, they had learned that Misao had already disappeared two days prior, along with an eight digit sum from the Ogami family account.

It goes without saying that she has yet to be seen again.

"Don't look as though this doesn't concern you, why didn't you grab her on the spot?"

"Because, Kazuma...he-"

In response to Juugo's reprimand, Ayano responds coquettishly.

“No excuses. After all, you are to be the next Soushu.“

(Just what do you expect me to do in that kind of situation...)

Ayano puts on an obedient front in the face of Juugo's lecture, but within her, the earlier incident is replaying itself.

“Ugh, I can't hear a thing.”

With Kazuma's safe return, and the subsequent exit of his assailants, Ayano became a stalker once more, but the distance between them was too large, and she was unable to listen in.

At times like these, En-jutsu was useless. Among the various forms of En-jutsu, which exhibits an overwhelming attack power, there is nothing that can be used for reconnaissance.

In the end, Ayano did not manage to catch even a single word of the conversation.

“That guy seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Is that so? He looks pained to me.”

“Pained? That guy? What a joyous occasion.”

“Nee-sama……”

The reason why Ayano can have such an attitude is because she thinks that it is all over.

She believes that Misao has no cards left to play, and all that is left is the aftermath. Or so she thought.

Unfortunately...

After the conversation comes to a peaceful resolution, Misao turns, not to run away, but to calmly walk away.

Kazuma does not give chase, and just silently watches as she takes her leave.

In the moments during which Ayano is too stunned to move, Misao leisurely disappears.

“Wa-Wait a minute!”

Coming back to her senses, Ayano runs to Kazuma’s side, and grabs his collar.

“Why did you let her escape!?”

“Why should I capture her?”

Kazuma does not seem surprised by Ayano’s appearance, and questions her in turn, as if only natural.

“What do you mean why…… This incident was caused by Misao!”

“From the way I see it, they're the ones responsible?”

In response to Ayano, who is pointing at the remains of the building, Kazuma points instead at the corpses of the fallen men.

“That's what I'm saying! They were following her orders!“

”Is that so? That's news to me.”

“Yo-You really……”

The hand gripping his collar increases in force. From her attitude it is plain to see that what Ayano really wants to grab is Kazuma's throat.

“If you let her be, Misao will do the same thing again!”

“Does it matter? There wasn't any harm done anyway.”

“Are you blind?”

Ayano once again points to the pathetic scene behind her.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kazuma corrects himself.

"No harm to me.”

Pachi.

“You bastard! Just stand there and receive your punishment!”

A flaming fist (Note: not a metaphor) strikes at Kazuma. Dodging the strike with ease, Kazuma begins to chat with his brother, who walks up to him.

“Oh, Ren. How've you been?”

“Well……”

“Damn it! Die! Die this instant!”

“How noisy!”

Kazuma closes the distance as Ayano draws her fist, and light twists her right hand upwards.

“Gya!”

Ayano’s elbow is flipped up, and the joints in her arm, elbow, and shoulder are all stretched to the limit at the same time. Under this condition, Ayano can only arc her body, tip-toe and bear with it. Her body loses balance completely, and all she can do is surrender.

“Ugh……”

Ignoring Ayano, who is trying her best to recover her balance, Kazuma warns Ren, “I am heading back, you guys should leave too. It'll be troublesome if the police sees you.”

“Cya then.”

He carelessly waves his hand and sweeps his eyes towards Ayano with an expression of victory, now stumbling on the floor.

“Yo-You!”

With his back to Ayano, who is glaring at him, Kazuma walks off.

“Nee-sama, are you okay?”

Treating Ren's words of concern with the regard she would give a gust of breeze, Ayano silently watches Kazuma's back.

(That guy-! One day I will definitely teach him a lesson!)

Ayano forgets that she is listening to her father’s lecturing, and grows angry at the thought.

Juugo does not fail to notice. When he sees that Ayano is not paying attention, he stands up - Ayano shows no reaction - walks forward - Ayano still does not react - and knocks his fist on the top of her head.

Dong!

An extremely exaggerated sound comes forth. Ayano is in such pain that she cannot even scream, and her entire body collapses on the tatami.

Having suffered the blow on the top of her head while kneeling, the impact had nowhere to go but straight down. Agonizing under a blow that seemed as if it would crush her skull, Ayano can only endure.

“I…… I object to violence……” Ayano protests, with tears in her eyes.

"Don't just say the words, ''change''.”

Juugo, of course, ignores her protest.

"It seems I've spoiled you too much in the past. I will have to be more strict from now."

"But that's..."

Disregarding Ayano's pitiful expression, Juugo returns to the topic at hand.

“So? Did you notice any other clues?”

“Kazuma is very suspicious!” Ayano shouts at almost exactly the same time.

“………………………”

Juugo simply looks at Ayano without saying a word. To call his gaze critical would be conservative.

“…… Is that all?”

“Be……Because it's weird, isn't it?! Why didn't Kazuma kill Misao!?”

“Hmm……”

Juugo grows silent, not speaking a word. Seizing this opportunity, Ayano presses on.

”Otou-sama, just think about it, doesn’t Kazuma resent the Kannagi to the core? To not even kill a single person up until now, it just seems so weird.”

“He seems to have told Ren that he 'no longer hates the Kannagi family'.”

“Who knows? Even if that's true, if someone took the initiative to attack him, that shouldn't still be the case. Didn’t we see it already? The fourteen or fifteen men who surrounded and attacked him, he beat to a pulp. That is Kazuma’s 'usual' way of doing things.”

“...Mm-hmm...”

Juugo nods. To this point, he has had no objections.

“But in that case, why didn't he lay a hand on Misao?”

“No idea. But anyone can see that Misao is very special in Kazuma’s eyes. There must be something between them,” Ayano says bluntly, with a stern, or rather, sharp expression.

“He fell in love with Misao?”

Ayano’s body trembles slightly. She looks at her father with the unsure eyes of a lost child.

“Otou-sama thinks so too?”

“Who knows?”

Juugo answers vaguely, he hopes that he is just thinking too much.

(Kazuma must return to the Kannagi. But, Misao is unable to be his support.)

To say he does not expect Kazuma to replace the Fuuga would be a lie. Going further, Juugo has not forgotten the danger Kazuma poses.

Kazuma had shown his scars once before. Juugo cannot pretend not to have seen that unhealed wound.

(Kazuma needs a place to return to. And for that……)

Juugo looks at Ayano with eyes that hold deep meaning, but Ayano is currently too focused on her own troubles, and fails to notice those eyes at all.

“Anyway, lets find Kazuma and ask him about it first.”

Ayano returns back to her senses, and nods in agreement.

“Ye…… Yeah... By the way, why is that guy always so mysterious?”

“Indeed.”

Jugo gives a bitter smile. He feels unease precisely because he understands that it is due to Kazuma's mistrust of the Kannagi.

“Somehow, we must find a way……”

In the end, Juugo never got a chance to ask Kazuma about the circumstances between him and Misao, and by now, the opportunity has already long passed.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-11T03:51:42Z

Kalessin: /* 2 */ Fixed tenses and improved wording and flow of text.

== Chapter Two - Assault – Determination After Removing All Doubts ==

=== 1 ===

The boy’s arm was wreathed in red flame.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

A wordless scream escaped the boy’s mouth.

So hot – there was no room in his mind for anything but the heat, all thought being stolen by the crimson flame.

He continuously rolled on the ground, attempting to extinguish the flame. Nearby, some children observed his pitiable state.

I say children, but that belies the range of their ages. The smallest were young children of only four or five while the oldest were full-grown teenagers of fifteen or sixteen.

Their sole common denominator could be seen on their faces.

Scorn.

This group of children joyfully surrounded the burning youth, laughing with mirth.

An unfeigned laughter that came from the heart. Innocent. Naive. Cruel.

The cruelty of a child who cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Like children who pluck off the wings of a dragonfly just to watch it struggle, they enjoyed the youth’s predicament as he painfully struggled the same way.

“A member of the main family getting burned by fire!”

“How useless!”

“‘A humiliation to the clan,’ my father said!”

“Someone as worthless as you has no right to bear the name ‘Kannagi!’”

The boy could only hug his burnt arm, his face showing a painful expression as the others continued to mock him, one after another.

“It’s my turn!”

A young girl around ten years old raised her hand to declare.

“Oh– Go on. Quickly now!”

The children cheered. The girl, encouraged, held her fist to her chest and began to concentrate.

“Heh!”

Following the cute shout, a red flame suddenly appeared like a ghost above the cringing youth.

The fire slowly descended until it touched the boy’s back.

Sssssssss!

“...!”

The sound of burning meat could be heard. The youth’s body, originally curled into a ball, straightened out forcefully. This scene served only to amplify the mocking.

“My turn next!”

“I wanna go too!”

His legs, his back, his shoulders – all were continuously tattooed by the ferocious flame. Each time the boy’s body instinctively twitched. Each time it gave off a burning smell.

Despite the horrid cruelty of their actions, none present felt the least degree of guilt. To them, fire was nothing to fear.

Were they to be put in his shoes, they would not experience the smallest discomfort. Even for those whose “power” was ‘weak,’ the most that would burn would be their clothes – their bodies would remain completely unharmed.

This was because their clan had been blessed with fire‘s protection.

Because of this, these children were completely unaware of the dangers of fire, and they did not understand the pain of being scorched.

You cannot imagine what you do not know, and because they were unable to imagine the pain, they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

The boy silently endured the innocent and naive torture of the other children in the clan alone.

“Ah... Ah...”

By the time the children were finally satisfied, the youth was left to painfully contend with his smoking body.

“Ahhh– that was fun.”

“Bye bye. Let’s play again~”

As part of their exit ritual, everyone present gave the twitching body a merciless kick. But before anyone could leave, the eldest and largest boy went further and stomped on the boy’s head.

“...Hmm?”

“What’s wrong with Toru?”

Hearing the large boy, Toru Kuga, let out a pathetic cry, the others turned in surprise.

“You... You foolish idiot!”

The head that Toru had forcefully stepped on was now slowly lifting itself upward. The youth used his hands as support against the ground and stared intently at Toru from below.

“You... What are you trying to do...?”

Seeing those eyes, filled with murder, Toru couldn’t help but retreat in fright. Immediately filled with shame at his actions, he became angry.

“What’s with that look? This worthless scum actually dares to resist?!”

Toru summoned a flame, angrily throwing it in the youth’s direction.

The youth quickly rose and dodged the incoming flame. Dragging his heavily wounded frame, he dashed at incredible speed, closing in on Toru.

“W... Wah...”

Aiming directly at the terrified Toru’s face, he exerted all the strength in his body to strike him with his palm.

Pachunk! [SFX: something breaking]

Toru’s nose had broken.

“Toru!”

While the group could only stare, aghast at the sudden incident, the boy attacked two more people. Driven in his berserk rage, his fist broke the first’s cheekbones and the second’s chin, causing them to roll in pain as he did earlier.

“...Wu...Ah...!”

But his mad rush ended there. The burden his actions had placed on his pained body was beyond the limits of his will. His stomach heaved, and as if trying to reject everything, he vomited over and over.

“You...! How dare you...!”

Realizing that they were no longer at risk, the others took heart. In order to punish this thing that didn’t know its place, they began to focus their mental energy.

But–

“All of you... Get lost!”

A weak, yet furious voice stopped them. They looked back in fear, and before their eyes was...

“I am going to slaughter you...”

Fresh blood streaming from his nose, Toru gazed at the boy with bloodshot, insane eyes, devoid of reason.

“I am so going to slaughter you–!”

An insane fury amplified Toru’s abilities several-fold. Stretching his right hand directly upward, he summoned a huge fireball that seemed encased by a pair of hands.

“Go and die!”

The youth’s eyes didn’t blink. They could only stare at the fireball. Despite his body’s inability to move, he refused to give in. Like a wounded beast with death fast approaching, he searched for any sign of weakness in his enemy.

– Kaboom!

“Hmph! Now you know my strength!”

Seeing the youth wrapped in flame, Toru smiled.

The flame gradually dispersed. But amidst the disappearing flame, what appeared was...

“Ah... Ah?”

Contrary to Toru’s expectations, the boy yet lived. Parts of his body were burnt black, but his limbs still remained; he had successfully withstood Toru’s flame.

Using every last drop of his ''ki'' to create a defensive barrier, the youth had just barely managed to survive.

“You... You asshole...”

Toru’s expression grew more sinister. If he were to prove unable to beat this youth who lacked even a hint of ability as an ''En-jutsu'', he would forever be looked down upon and despised by the others.

“Arrogant trash!”

This scream, filled with displeasure, failed to reach the boy’s ears. His body had long since surpassed its limits, and having spent all his ''ki,'' he was no different from a walking corpse.

Not content to simply leave the youth to die, Toru prepared to give him a fatal strike. Against his fate, the youth was helpless.

“...”

Kazuma suddenly opened his eyes. This was a rare occasion for him – he usually had a hard time waking up – but his consciousness was fully awake.

But it was only to be expected. How could anyone refuse to wake up after having a dream like that?

Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute.

“Frankly speaking, what an unpleasant dream.”

Closing his eyes, he emptied all the air in his lungs with a moan.

Something that had happened exactly ten years ago, a painful experience that caused nightmares.

Of the eighteen years he had spent among the Kannagis, that was his most painful experience. Had no one put a stop to it, he might have died.

Due to the level of his injuries, despite receiving the highest level recovery ''jutsus'' daily, it had taken him a month to recover.

But that was not what was important. To Kazuma, it was his first defeat.

Not in terms of the injuries he sustained.

But for giving in to despair.

Once he had understood that he could not win against the Kannagis’ flames, that he would forever be a weakling, Kazuma had given up on fighting back.

He had given in to those that scorned him.

From that day forward, Kazuma had continued to run away. Not resisting, pitifully pleading for mercy, enduring endless torment, endless public humiliation.

But it no longer mattered.

Because he was no longer willing to partake of that misery.

“...I can’t forget.”

Kazuma realized that his memories of his past humiliations were as clear as if they had happened only yesterday and murmured to himself.

“I don’t even mind.”

Even though he was now in Japan once more, he had never even considered taking revenge – even though doing so would have been a painfully simple task.

To bend his pinky three centimeters; if the effort needed to kill Toru were converted to energy – that would be precisely how much would be required. Any strength Toru had gained in the last four years would be inconsequential.

(...That’s odd...?)

Kazuma’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted. He realized he could not picture Toru.

“Have I not seen him yet?”

Despite meeting several groups of branch family ''jutsushis'', he hadn’t spent any time verifying their identities, so he was unsure whether or not he had met Toru.

“...Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, Kazuma covered himself with the covers once more. Though fully awake, he had nothing in particular to do, and didn’t feel like getting up just yet.

(Let’s get some more sleep...)

Alas, the heavens did not seem to agree with this unproductive decision.

Dulululululululululu–

Kazuma glared at the ringing phone, openly displaying his irritation.

What a crafty ring. The more he tried to ignore the ringing, the more insistent it seemed to get, and yet it wasn’t so loud that he would wreck the phone in frustration.

“Damn it!”

Left with no other alternative, Kazuma reached for the phone. But instead of leaving his bed for the phone, he brought the phone to him.

“...Who’s making a call so early in the morning?” he grumbled in a mournful tone, despite the fact it was already late morning.

“Hello?”

He spoke in a sluggish tone – giving away the fact that he had just woken up – but his tranquil mind was pondering the courteous reply from the other end.

“Oh?”

This time, Kazuma was fully awake. There was no longer any sign of fatigue on the face that suddenly emerged from the covers.

“Today? Ah, sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kazuma answered politely, and then hung up. He flipped the covers back and crawled out, stretching lazily.

With his usual complacent smile now on his face, Kazuma muttered.

“Looks like it’s gonna be a busy day.”

=== 2 ===

While she was walking home after school, Ayano’s eyes caught a small shadow about ten meters away from her.

“Hey–”

She was just about to call out when she suddenly stopped, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face.

Ayano snuck up on the shadow slowly, step by step, it not having yet noticed Ayano’s presence.

“Wh–wha!”

Standing immediately behind her target, she grabbed her victim in a bear hug, as if to envelop the entirety of the small figure. Ayano secured the youth caught in her embrace – now giving off a cute scream and struggling to escape with all his might – so that he couldn’t move.

“Nee... Nee-sama?!”

“Completely off-guard. That means you still need more training, Ren.”

“To say that now is really... Anyway, just let go of me first, Nee-sama!”

“No way~ Free yourself!”

Looking at the two fooling around, passersby couldn’t help but crack faint, bittersweet smiles.

Judging by their appearance, the two were a rare and beautiful pair of “sisters.” Though one of them only looked to be around the age of ten, they were still pleasing to the eyes.

“Nee... Nee-sama! Really...”

Realizing that they had become the center of attention, Ren’s face reddened. Despite all appearances, he was, after all, a twelve-year-old boy. So, it wasn’t strange for him to feel shy about female physical contact.

After finally being released from confinement, Ren demanded, “Seriously... What are you thinking?!” as he gasped for air.

However, his expression, along with wet, pleading eyes, instead generated the feeling that he was really cute, and not scary in the least. More than likely, it wouldn’t have scared even a three-year-old.

“Ahahaha! Sorry. Sorry. This is a display of love for you too.”

It goes without saying that Ayano was not in the least bit afraid. She patted Ren’s shoulder and cheekily ignored Ren’s complaints.

“Honestly!”

Unable to vent his displeasure, Ren’s expression soured instantly.

This method was very effective. Because it was simply too cute, there was no way to ignore him.

“I’m really sorry. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“I won’t let you change the subject.”

Ren’s mood showed no sign of improvement. He turned his head to the side, unwilling to meet Ayano’s eyes.

Ayano used both hands to grab Ren’s head and forced him to turn his face back toward her.

“If you still won’t listen...

She slowly moved her face closer, almost touching his nose.

“Then I’ll kiss you! ♥”

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

This was how easily Ayano toyed with the youth, who was dancing in the palm of her hand.

“Huh? So something like that happened.”

On the second floor of the hamburger shop near the station, the two were chatting about the victory banquet that had happened a few days earlier.

Hearing Ren’s innocent reaction, Ayano revealed an evil smirk and answered.

“Yeah, when you were asleep.”

“...Geez. Don’t bring that up anymore!”

Ren’s cheeks flushed red. He’d been asleep that day, from beginning to end. The shock and shame of waking up on Ayano’s lap showed no sign of subsiding even now.

For the first time, he truly felt what it meant to want to hide his head in the ground.

“What will I do if Father finds out about this...”

Seeing the uneasy Ren, Ayano grabbed a french fry and said with ease, “What else can you do? He already knows doesn’t he? There seems to be quite a few people visiting him these few days.”

Ren’s father, Genma, had not participated in the battle against the Fuugas, having earlier lost to Kazuma in a quarrel between father and son, and was still resting in the hospital.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Ren collapsed on the table, hugged his head, and moaned.

Genma, already very strict with himself, was even stricter with his relatives. It wasn’t hard to imagine his reaction when he finally heard of his son’s blunder.

“It’s fine. Don’t be so down.”

“But I ''am'' ‘so down.’”

Ren reproached Ayano’s irresponsible remark in an incomparably downhearted voice.

“Because once Father’s angry, he’s really strict.”

“...I guess!”

Ayano replied in a carefree tone. Whether or not he would be angry was another matter entirely. The image of an “easygoing Genma” was beyond imagination.

(Will that guy smile in front of Ren’s face?)

Even though she had only ever seen him either mocking or whole-heartedly laughing.

“When the time comes, you can just place all the blame on Kazuma.”

“Placing blame on someone else would only make Father even angrier.”

“...That's true... He's the kind of person who's really hard to deal with.”

“Awuuuuuuuuuh!”

Ren spread himself out on the table and moaned.

“Huh?”

It was a coincidence, but...

If he had been sitting upright, his view would have been blocked by protruding branches, causing the scene to have escaped his notice, but because he had collapsed on the table in despair, he instead became witness to an incredible sight.

“What is it?”

“That woman...”

Ayano lowered her head to look in the direction that Ren was indicating.

Lying directly ahead, at the edge of her field of vision, a woman was standing. A beautiful, mesmerizing woman with shiny black hair, wearing a clean, pure white coat, the starkly contrasting colors making her even more attractive.

Ayano smiled at Ren, with mischief in mind.

“What a beautiful woman. Do you know her?”

Ren ignored the implication, and muttered, “That woman, isn’t she Misao nee-sama?”

“Eh? Ehhhhhh?”

Ayano quickly looked back to inspect the woman below more closely. After a few seconds...

“It seems to be her...”

Indeed, it was Misao Ogami. However, she had changed completely from how she was three days ago. Even the simple fact that she was not wearing a kimono made her give a completely different impression. Though Ayano had known Misao ever since they were little, as far as she could remember, this was the first time that she has ever seen Misao in Western clothes.

Perhaps because of that, what could be seen of her legs extending below her coat looked exceptionally appealing.

To describe the feeling in a single word, it would be coquettish. Though normally she seemed plain, as if wanting to escape notice, now she made a magnificent impression. Actually, within the five minutes the two had been watching, there had already been three attempts to pick her up.

Misao serenely rejected their advances, and as she had showed them respect despite the rejection, all left without causing trouble. If Nanase and Yukari had seen this scene, they would have chastised Ayano, saying “Learn from her.”

After staring, awestruck, for a while, Ren grumbled.

“She seems to be waiting for someone.”

“That... is really surprising.”

Ayano sounded as though she still could not believe her eyes because this was unimaginably different from what she had thought earlier.

“Is it a date?”

“...Is it not?”

A girl like Misao would not dress up in such an extravagant manner to meet a friend of the same gender!

Ayano’s interest grew.

“I wonder who she’s dating.”

Inattentively sipping her orange juice, Ayano observed the scene outside the window with great interest. Given the intensity of her gaze, anyone watching from the side would have found her actions very suspicious.

“...Nee-sama.”

Ren looked at Ayano, who was spying on Misao with a bitter smile. He himself turned to follow the scene outside. At that moment, the other party appeared.

“Nii-sama?!”

He couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes. But it was indeed Ren’s brother, Kazuma. His appearance was no coincidence – the proof being Misao, smiling broadly and running to meet him.

Before Ren, who was dumbstruck, the two intimately held hands and walked off.

Even after the two disappeared from view, Ren was still frozen, staring dumbly at the window. It was an absolutely impossible occurrence, because to Misao, Kazuma was “the man who had killed Nii-sama.”

A faint sound brought Ren back to his senses.

–squish– [SFX: something being squashed]

Something light and soft was being squashed. Not a rare sound by any means, and yet hearing it fills one with unease.

Ren faced Ayano with unease. As he did not dare look directly at her, he shifted his eyes upward from below, following the table upward toward Ayano.

The first thing he saw was Ayano’s hand. Her slender fingers ''gripped'' the paper cup, still full of juice, and crushed it into the shape of her fist. The juice spilled out, forming an orange-colored ocean. Her fries and hamburger were completely soaked and no longer worth eating.

Ayano’s hand crackled – the sound of ice, unable to escape from the cup, being pulverized by her hand, which continuously trembled.

Ren was so frightened that he dared not look up.

Though he didn’t understand the cause, he recognized Ayano’s extreme anger. If he wasn’t careful, he might just become her target.

Pak!

Suddenly, Ayano slammed her hands on the table and stood up.

“Argh!”

To the cringing Ren, Ayano said softly...

“...I’m going to follow them.”

“...Huh?”

Before Ren could open his mouth, Ayano had already run out of the shop.

“Wait... Wait a minute...”

Ren hurriedly picked up their plates, and, in one go, handed them to the shop assistant lady waiting at the trash bin.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

With his back to the shop assistant, who showed a professional smile, Ren swiftly ran toward the restroom.

=== 3 ===
After waiting several dozen seconds, Ren runs to catch up to Ayano.

“Nee-sama?”

But by now, there is no sign of Ayano. After looking around in vain, Ren runs in the direction from which Kazuma and Misao took their leave...

...and immediately discovers Ayano, whose actions make her presence immediately obvious.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 073.jpg|thumb]]
“……Nee-sama……”

As a beautiful girl hiding behind an electric pole, sneakily surveying her prey, she stands out more than if she were doing nothing at all.

For a moment, he strongly considers pretending he does not know Ayano and returning home, but he only entertains the thought, unwilling to do such a thing.

Ren bravely steps forward, and walks up to Ayano, who can now be considered an exemplary suspicious character.

“……Nee-sama.”

"What were you doing, taking so long?"

Ren, speechless, silently takes out a wet handkerchief.

“What?”

“Please clean your hands.”

“Huh? Oh. Ah, thank you.”

Ayano takes the handkerchief and begins to clean her hand, sticky from the orange juice.

“You're pretty smart, Ren.”

“You are very welcome,” Ren answers calmly, as he observes Kazuma and Misao, about ten meters to the front.

The two, walking down the road with arms locked, exude an unusually intimate atmosphere. Though they are unable to hear what the two are saying, from the occasional smiles between them, it is easy to tell there is more to their relationship.

"Don't just stand there, hide! We'll be seen!"

Ayano grabs Ren's hand, and ''pulls'' him behind the pole alongside her, but no matter how you might try, it is simply impossible for an electric pole to hide two people.

“Nee-sama, you still want to follow them?”

”Of course.”

“Why?”

Faced with this candid question, Ayano is left momentarily speechless.

"Wh-What kind of question is that?!"

"Because, no matter how I look at it, they are simply on a date. What we are doing is simply prying."

Ren does not exaggerate, but simply says what he truly feels, and Ayano is deeply stung.

"Wh-what prying...This doesn't have such an indecent motive! I am just..."

“Just...?”

"Just...Misao…! That's right! Misao might still intend to take Kazuma's life!"

"No matter what method she may try, she will never beat him."

“Argh...”

Her hastily constructed excuse calmly rebutted, Ayano is left speechless once more.

“Do-Don’t you know? That guy is a sucker for beautiful women!”

“Beautiful women, is it?”

“That's right! Didn’t I tell you before? That guy even tried to force himself on Misao last time!” Ayano, finally raising her head, declares unashamedly.

Ren ponders this for a time, before blushing, and abashedly asking, "So, we will have to continue to spy on the two, until Misao nee-sama...until Misao nee-sama begins to use her beauty to seduce Nii-sama?"

Ayano cannot help but to visualize the scene in her mind. She pictures herself hiding in a dark corner, watching the two as they hug, kiss, and then continue to the next step...

(……Maybe I kind of hate doing this……)

Thinking about these scenes not meant for viewing, Ayano feels like turning back.

At this moment, if he had chosen to continue to persuade her along these lines, Ayano may just have given up. Unfortunately, Ren chose another method - a method so wrong, it couldn't have been worse.

Perhaps because he thinks this reason is more accurate, Ren opens his mouth to ask...

"Nee-sama, could it be that you are...jealous?"

He has no proof, just a feeling. Maybe the wish he holds, that "Kazuma nii-sama and Ayano nee-sama will get along" may be mixed in as well.

In other words, a careless statement.

“Ren...?”

Seeing a smile that could cause a child to live in eternal fear, Ren realizes he has stepped on a land mine.

(Wh-wh-wha?!)

This smile that was not a smile caught Ren, like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to run or even look away.

“Ah…… ah……”

“What did you just say?”

Faced with this question and the smile that, of course, does not reach her eyes, Ren can only shake his head, rigidly like a robot.

Ayano softly reaches out her hand, and places it on Ren's face, filled with fear.

“Ren is such a good kid, that's the way to live to a ripe, old age!”

Ren is helpless to do anything but nod.

“They are still following us.”

“Yeah.”

Misao says so softly and happily, Kazuma on the other hand, replies with a tired expression.

Without even needing to look, the two know they are being tailed - if it can even be considered tailing.

Hiding your tracks, disguising the tail, the precise selection of follow distance and position...no matter how you look at it, this doesn't qualify as tailing. To put it bluntly, even an amateur should do better. It almost makes you want to scream that if they really want to hide, they should at least shut up.

(To entrust those two with the future of the Kannagi...aren't you worried, Soushu?)

Kazuma cannot help but sympathize with Juugo, though never putting it to words. What he considers now is...

“What is it?”

Seeing Misao with an innocent smile, Kazuma gives her a smile in return.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering, where are you taking me?”

“We are almost there.”

Given the way Misao is pulling Kazuma along, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's forcing him along, but Kazuma offers no resistance and follows.

(The feeling of waiting for the gallows...I guess it would be just like this!)

This is what he thinks.

At an alley corner, Misao suddenly stops. This place is surrounded by rows of buildings, and even in broad daylight, it seems rather shady. Misao silently remains in place, while an icy chill fills the air.

Ignoring the rapidly changing atmosphere, Kazuma calmly asks, "Is this place fine?"

“Yup. This is the destination.”

Misao answers in a firm tone, followed with an exaggerated bow.

“So...I wish you luck.”

As she says those words, Kazuma's body flies.

As if hit by an invisible car, or struck in the head by a metallic bat, his body forcefully smashes into the ground.

Several moments later, a veritable explosion of sound shakes the air. As if Kazuma wasn't even given enough time to recognize the sound of gunfire, the body that rolls on the ground seems powerless, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

On the other hand, Misao wears a smile, watching as Kazuma is blown away. She slowly retreats without ever looking away.

As if swapping positions, as Misao retreats, ten men appear from the shadow of the surrounding buildings. The men wore western suits, seemingly businessmen at first glance, but though their ethnicities and ages are all different, their teamwork is at a very high level.

They spread out and surround Kazuma, now lying on the floor, in a fan shaped formation, extracting the contents of their cases in a swift, practiced motion.

What lies within is not documents, or product samples, but a pitch black, metallic object, a device designed solely for killing - an MP5K, a smaller type of MP5, an assault rifle designed for portability.

The men casually place this thing that would not normally appear in a businessman's briefcase near their waists, as if it is only natural, and without hesitation, they pull the trigger.

The bullets are fired out in full-auto, and several hundred shots crash into Kazuma's body as one. Hit asphalt was crushed into a fine mist, staining their surroundings with gray.

The men take no notice, and continue to spray fire over a wide area in Kazuma's direction.

It takes less than three seconds for them to run through their magazines, and they quickly insert a new clip before resuming fire.

Then this scene repeated itself once more.

When all three cartridges have been expended, the men swiftly take cover, while something drops from the sky at high velocity.

-BOOM-

An explosion.

The violent explosion blew away everything where it landed.

“…… This way…… No matter how strong that man is……”

Looking at the dusty scene of the explosion, Misao mutters to herself without emotion.

Indeed, there aren't many who could survive such an encounter. To expend close to a thousand bullets and over a dozen missiles - to call this overkill would be an understatement.

An attack that would make you feel the objective is not to "kill," but to "eradicate," to the point that nothing would remain. This is just such an attack.

She shifts her eyes slightly, seeing Ayano and Ren hugging each other on the ground.

They seem to be too shocked to stand, but as long as the two are unharmed, it is fine. Even if she has already severed her ties, she is unable to forget her respect for the Kannagi, let alone have them as enemies.

On the other hand, in the corner where Kazuma lay, the remains of the destroyed building begin to collapse, forming a small hill of concrete rubble. Even were you to search under that hill, probably not a scrap of cloth remained.

“We must dig the corpse out.”

Witnessing the horrifying scene before her, Misao calmly says to herself. At this moment, the men bearing the assault rifles run out and encircle the small hill of concrete.

An awful silence looms over the area.

“………………”

Pa-chunk. [SFX: concrete shifting]

A faint sound emerged from the bottom of the small hill, slicing through the silence.

“----------------!”

The originally puppet-like, emotionless faces of the men seem shaken for the first time.

A black shadow appears from within the misty white dust, and the sound of steady footsteps flow forth.

“Fi-Fire!”

A command shouted in a voice that no longer radiates calm. Driven by fear, and the voice, the men reflexively pull the trigger.

The erupting gunfire, loud enough to cause deafness, echoes through the alley. After being hit by several hundred more bullets, the black shadow falls once more.

“…… Phew……”

Someone breathes out in relief, as if released from a heavy burden. Following his lead, the other men begin to relax, one by one. At this moment-

A tornado appears.

The seemingly rampaging tornado is tightly controlled, only cutting the bodies of the ten men. Five bodies, already torn to pieces, dance in the sky. Simultaneously, the tornado disperses all the dust. In the blink of an eye, the air has become unbelievably clear.

"Making such a scene, as always."

Kazuma smiles happily.

After recovering from momentary shock, Misao's face resumes its gentle smile as she looks at Kazuma.

Other than a little dirt, he suffered no damage at all. It appears he used a wind barrier to deflect everything.

Misao puts her hand in her pocket, as if nothing has happened, and radios a signal.

"Just to warn you, don't waste your energy," Kazuma unhurriedly advises Misao.

“The snipers are dead - both of them.”

After hearing this snide comment, delivered in a matter-of-course tone, Misao's smile instantly vanishes.

In addition to the first sniper, over one kilometer away, Misao had prepared a secondary sniper as a trump card. Placed in front of, and behind, with Kazuma in the center, two kilometers separated the two.

And yet Kazuma had killed them. This meant that while defending against such a savage attack, he was calmly scanning an area with a radius of at least one kilometer without missing a step.

Though what he says is unbelievable, the radio has yet to respond. Misao offers a bitter smile, and discards her radio.

“Gee, are you a monster?”

“People often say that I am,” Kazuma answers calmly.

"But, for you to think of such a method-! Compared to your en-jutsu, modern weaponry is definitely much more effective - alas, it still isn't enough."

“So it seems. How about cruise missiles next time?”

Both of them reveal a kind smile.

At this time, the bodies of the men killed by the tornado and thrown to the skies begin to rain down.

Kazuma deflects the corpses with his wind-

-KABOOM- [SFX: explosion]

Misao, on the other hand, remorselessly burns the corpses to ash with her fire.

Seeing the corpses turn to dust, to be blown away by the wind, Kazuma asks in a low voice, "Those men were hired by you, weren't they?"

“I don’t recall hiring dead people.”

Misao, smiling, replies.

Yes, Misao is smiling. Though the mercenaries she hired turned a street corner to ruin, causing death and injury to many, that smile holds not a shred of insincerity.

Pure and innocent, a smile to be pitied - the smile of someone who has crossed a line that should never be crossed, the smile of someone on the wrong path.

"You've changed, Misao...Was I the cause...?" Kazuma asks, in a rare, pained tone.

“I changed? Did you know me that well?”

“…… That is true.”

Kazuma waves away his sorrow, reverting to a cold expression.

“So, your plan ends here?”

“Yes, this is it for today.”

“Is that so? You may go then.”

Hearing these words, Misao is slightly shocked.

“Is it really okay to just let me go?”

“I have said this before. No matter what method you may try, you cannot even scratch me.”

"You will regret it.”

“Let's wait and see.”

Misao does not reply, and silently turns to leave.

Seeing the shadow of her back fade away in the distance, Kazuma sighs softly.

“Ten years…… is really a long time……”

His quiet words pass unheard, and disappear into the winds.

=== 4 ===
"Gunfire broke out at 4 PM today, in an incident in Chiyoda Ward, Kudankita district, and has already claimed more than 30 lives."

The nightly news is reporting on the earlier episode, which can only be expected. Even though the legend of Japanese security has already long since broken down, things have yet to reach the point where a firefight in the center of Tokyo is a common occurrence.

Because the incident took place near the royal residence, all of Tokyo instantly went on high alert. As if under martial law, police can be seen everywhere.

Pointing at the ruinous street corner appearing on the television, Juugo shows Ayano a look of suspicion.

“You are saying ''all this'' is Misao’s doing?”

“Yes…… umm…… it should be……”

Ayano answers hesitantly. The more she looks at the scene depicted on the television, the less real it seems.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Misao the two know would never be associated with such an incident. Normally a very sympathetic girl, even were she to hold a grudge, she would never be so cruel as to involve innocents, and were she to decide to take revenge, she would choose a method that would not involve others.

But...

"For an obedient, docile girl like Misao... Once she gets angry, her actions are surprisingly audacious..." Ayano mumbles wholeheartedly.

From speaking with Masayuki, they had learned that Misao had already disappeared two days prior, along with an eight digit sum from the Ogami family account.

It goes without saying that she has yet to be seen again.

"Don't look as though this doesn't concern you, why didn't you grab her on the spot?"

"Because, Kazuma...he-"

In response to Juugo's reprimand, Ayano responds coquettishly.

“No excuses. After all, you are to be the next Soushu.“

(Just what do you expect me to do in that kind of situation...)

Ayano puts on an obedient front in the face of Juugo's lecture, but within her, the earlier incident is replaying itself.

“Ugh, I can't hear a thing.”

With Kazuma's safe return, and the subsequent exit of his assailants, Ayano became a stalker once more, but the distance between them was too large, and she was unable to listen in.

At times like these, En-jutsu was useless. Among the various forms of En-jutsu, which exhibits an overwhelming attack power, there is nothing that can be used for reconnaissance.

In the end, Ayano did not manage to catch even a single word of the conversation.

“That guy seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Is that so? He looks pained to me.”

“Pained? That guy? What a joyous occasion.”

“Nee-sama……”

The reason why Ayano can have such an attitude is because she thinks that it is all over.

She believes that Misao has no cards left to play, and all that is left is the aftermath. Or so she thought.

Unfortunately...

After the conversation comes to a peaceful resolution, Misao turns, not to run away, but to calmly walk away.

Kazuma does not give chase, and just silently watches as she takes her leave.

In the moments during which Ayano is too stunned to move, Misao leisurely disappears.

“Wa-Wait a minute!”

Coming back to her senses, Ayano runs to Kazuma’s side, and grabs his collar.

“Why did you let her escape!?”

“Why should I capture her?”

Kazuma does not seem surprised by Ayano’s appearance, and questions her in turn, as if only natural.

“What do you mean why…… This incident was caused by Misao!”

“From the way I see it, they're the ones responsible?”

In response to Ayano, who is pointing at the remains of the building, Kazuma points instead at the corpses of the fallen men.

“That's what I'm saying! They were following her orders!“

”Is that so? That's news to me.”

“Yo-You really……”

The hand gripping his collar increases in force. From her attitude it is plain to see that what Ayano really wants to grab is Kazuma's throat.

“If you let her be, Misao will do the same thing again!”

“Does it matter? There wasn't any harm done anyway.”

“Are you blind?”

Ayano once again points to the pathetic scene behind her.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kazuma corrects himself.

"No harm to me.”

Pachi.

“You bastard! Just stand there and receive your punishment!”

A flaming fist (Note: not a metaphor) strikes at Kazuma. Dodging the strike with ease, Kazuma begins to chat with his brother, who walks up to him.

“Oh, Ren. How've you been?”

“Well……”

“Damn it! Die! Die this instant!”

“How noisy!”

Kazuma closes the distance as Ayano draws her fist, and light twists her right hand upwards.

“Gya!”

Ayano’s elbow is flipped up, and the joints in her arm, elbow, and shoulder are all stretched to the limit at the same time. Under this condition, Ayano can only arc her body, tip-toe and bear with it. Her body loses balance completely, and all she can do is surrender.

“Ugh……”

Ignoring Ayano, who is trying her best to recover her balance, Kazuma warns Ren, “I am heading back, you guys should leave too. It'll be troublesome if the police sees you.”

“Cya then.”

He carelessly waves his hand and sweeps his eyes towards Ayano with an expression of victory, now stumbling on the floor.

“Yo-You!”

With his back to Ayano, who is glaring at him, Kazuma walks off.

“Nee-sama, are you okay?”

Treating Ren's words of concern with the regard she would give a gust of breeze, Ayano silently watches Kazuma's back.

(That guy-! One day I will definitely teach him a lesson!)

Ayano forgets that she is listening to her father’s lecturing, and grows angry at the thought.

Juugo does not fail to notice. When he sees that Ayano is not paying attention, he stands up - Ayano shows no reaction - walks forward - Ayano still does not react - and knocks his fist on the top of her head.

Dong!

An extremely exaggerated sound comes forth. Ayano is in such pain that she cannot even scream, and her entire body collapses on the tatami.

Having suffered the blow on the top of her head while kneeling, the impact had nowhere to go but straight down. Agonizing under a blow that seemed as if it would crush her skull, Ayano can only endure.

“I…… I object to violence……” Ayano protests, with tears in her eyes.

"Don't just say the words, ''change''.”

Juugo, of course, ignores her protest.

"It seems I've spoiled you too much in the past. I will have to be more strict from now."

"But that's..."

Disregarding Ayano's pitiful expression, Juugo returns to the topic at hand.

“So? Did you notice any other clues?”

“Kazuma is very suspicious!” Ayano shouts at almost exactly the same time.

“………………………”

Juugo simply looks at Ayano without saying a word. To call his gaze critical would be conservative.

“…… Is that all?”

“Be……Because it's weird, isn't it?! Why didn't Kazuma kill Misao!?”

“Hmm……”

Juugo grows silent, not speaking a word. Seizing this opportunity, Ayano presses on.

”Otou-sama, just think about it, doesn’t Kazuma resent the Kannagi to the core? To not even kill a single person up until now, it just seems so weird.”

“He seems to have told Ren that he 'no longer hates the Kannagi family'.”

“Who knows? Even if that's true, if someone took the initiative to attack him, that shouldn't still be the case. Didn’t we see it already? The fourteen or fifteen men who surrounded and attacked him, he beat to a pulp. That is Kazuma’s 'usual' way of doing things.”

“...Mm-hmm...”

Juugo nods. To this point, he has had no objections.

“But in that case, why didn't he lay a hand on Misao?”

“No idea. But anyone can see that Misao is very special in Kazuma’s eyes. There must be something between them,” Ayano says bluntly, with a stern, or rather, sharp expression.

“He fell in love with Misao?”

Ayano’s body trembles slightly. She looks at her father with the unsure eyes of a lost child.

“Otou-sama thinks so too?”

“Who knows?”

Juugo answers vaguely, he hopes that he is just thinking too much.

(Kazuma must return to the Kannagi. But, Misao is unable to be his support.)

To say he does not expect Kazuma to replace the Fuuga would be a lie. Going further, Juugo has not forgotten the danger Kazuma poses.

Kazuma had shown his scars once before. Juugo cannot pretend not to have seen that unhealed wound.

(Kazuma needs a place to return to. And for that……)

Juugo looks at Ayano with eyes that hold deep meaning, but Ayano is currently too focused on her own troubles, and fails to notice those eyes at all.

“Anyway, lets find Kazuma and ask him about it first.”

Ayano returns back to her senses, and nods in agreement.

“Ye…… Yeah... By the way, why is that guy always so mysterious?”

“Indeed.”

Jugo gives a bitter smile. He feels unease precisely because he understands that it is due to Kazuma's mistrust of the Kannagi.

“Somehow, we must find a way……”

In the end, Juugo never got a chance to ask Kazuma about the circumstances between him and Misao, and by now, the opportunity has already long passed.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 1

2009-06-11T03:44:09Z

Kalessin: It just seems weird to use the word females in this context. You usually don't use the noun versions of male and female for people. It tends to be dehumanizing.

== Chapter One - Banquet for Victory -The Chosen Ones- ==
=== 1 ===
It was a common occurrence.

You could say it’s something that had become a part of their lives.

However, Yukari and Nanase could both sense the tension.

A tension that was hard to ignore.

“Didn’t I say so already? You girls definitely won’t be bored. I know a great club! I just need to show my face for us to get in.”

“Come on! Let’s go! What fun is there to be had with only girls?”

As the two exchanged glances, a group of men with weak appearances made a vulgar speech in a flippant manner. They didn’t look too bad, but their idiotic speech and actions showed no class at all.

In simpler terms, they were trying to pick the girls up.

It was a common occurrence.

Even though their appearances may have differed, the three were beautiful girls that made one’s eyes light up. They knew exactly how to deal with such pick-up artists. Or at least they did, until now.

“...”

Suddenly, the third girl, who had not spoken a word until now, began to move. She slowly raised her head and looked into the eyes of the man in front of her.

“That place is frequently visited by idols, stars, and models! We have many such friends, and if you are interested, we can introduce them to you...”

Glared at by cold eyes that chilled to the bone, the originally glib man was unable to speak another word.

“Get lost.”

“...Yes.”

The men left pitifully. Yet the girl did not even look at them and instead put on an unchanging, cold expression and left as if nothing had happened.

“...Ayano.”

“What’s wrong?”

The girl, Ayano Kannagi, seemed rather displeased, and turned her head with those words.

“You seem to be really harsh to the people who’ve tried to pick us up recently.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Ayano replied, straying from the point.

“But...”

Yukari lifted her head to look at Nanase with pleading eyes.

Nanase nods and says, “Yup, you’re really overdoing it recently. Let’s take last time for example: you actually used the corner of your schoolbag to hit the guy’s temple.”

“Ah, that one was really scary. The whites of his eyes showed, and blood was flowing from his ears and nose–”

“...Does it matter, anyway? We called an ambulance for him.”

Nanase looked hard at the moody Ayano and slowly closed in on the main point.

“Ayano, something happened between you and a guy, didn’t it?”

“Wh–what... What are you talking about?!”

The sudden question left Ayano unable to hide the stir in her heart.

“Hehe~”

Nanase gave off a smile deep with meaning.

“You, a girl with a father-complex, finally seem to be starting to show interest in guys other than your father.”

“I am not a father-lover.”

Ayano swiftly regained her composure, and said strongly, “I’ve just never met a guy better than my father. That’s all.”

“...”

Nanase met Yukari’s eyes, as if to say “What a headache,” and sighed.

“I admit, your father is indeed a mature and relaxed middle-aged man, but you cannot possibly find that kind of feeling in a young guy, right?”

“That’s not true. Father was young once too, so as long as I find someone similar–”

Halfway through, she shut her mouth and frowned, as the conversation had somehow reminded her of that detestable man.

Seemingly difficult to approach, yet uncommonly relaxed – a person undoubtedly qualified to be compared to her father.

He was not like Juugo at all. Indeed, he was the total opposite.

But... he was very powerful. Not just his strength, but his entire existence. In that sense, he was comparable to Juugo, the strongest man that she knew–

“Aya---no~”

Hearing the call rife with laughter, Ayano, who had stopped moving, returned to her senses.

“You are thinking of the guy you like right now, aren’t you?”

“Of... Of course not! That kind of guy!”

“What kind of guy?”

Having been asked such a question, Ayano lost her strength for a moment.

“Nanase... Even you...”

“Be honest! It’s such an interesting topic. I bet even Yukari won’t let it go easily either, right?”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Yukari nodded happily. Ayano stared at her two friends who intended to extract every single detail with antagonistic scrutiny.

Yukari Shinomiya and Nanase Kudo. They were both students of Seiryo Academy, where Ayano studied, and also her best friends – even though there were times when she wondered about the friendship between them.

Yukari’s shoulder-length, beautiful hair moved up and down like waves, her face always showed a gentle smile, and her speech was slightly slow. It was unclear whether she should be considered “mellow” or just “slow.” Regardless, from this description, you can probably imagine that she is a laid-back person.

In contrast, Nanase’s hairstyle was a refreshing, blunt bob. She seemed casually calm, and her swift movements and tone showed no sign that they belonged to a girl, giving people an unsettled feeling, making her the type to receive a lot of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.<ref>In Japan, girls are the ones who give out chocolate on Valentine’s, so the implication here is that Nanase is popular with other girls.</ref>

These two girls were opposites no matter how you look at it, but what was truly remarkable was that when they teased Ayano, they exhibited perfect harmony in their cooperation – although to Ayano, this was something unbearable.

“Come on. Tell us. What kind of person is he?”

“I already said there is no such person! By the way...”

Ayano stared at Yukari with accusing eyes.

“Aren’t we going to eat some cake now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why are we on this road?!”

In the direction which Ayano pointed her finger stood a long row of accommodations designed for a very specific purpose.

Just as with a haunted house in a backcountry area, though there was nothing particularly odd about their appearance, they possessed an atmosphere unlike that of a normal hotel.

That’s right. For, as the three (except for a certain someone) were chatting happily, they had unintentionally come to the entrance of a street of love hotels.

Having realized that they were arguing in a special area, Ayano couldn’t help but blush. But Yukari’s smile did not change at all.

“This is a short-cut.”

“Even so, this kind of place...”

“Don’t worry. No one would think that we are going to play 3P.”

Ayano’s face carried a pained expression as she looked at this innocently smiling friend who had just said something very shocking.

“You... Don’t use that cute face to say something so shocking, okay?”

“Kay~ But this kind of thing is nothing compared to your normal behavior.”

“... What do you mean by that?”

Against Ayano’s squinting eyes, Yukari put on her usual smiling face. Though she may have looked easy-going, she was definitely not on the losing side.

Ayano, who realized that she was at a disadvantage, decided to forcefully end the conversation.

“Anyway, let’s not walk this way. Let’s go another way!”

“Geez, you are so squeaky clean.”

“Squeaky clean? That doesn’t even need to be said! This kind of hotel, whose only use is for people to share a bed – who knows what the people going in are thinking?!”

Ayano sounded violent and scowled angrily at the love hotels as though they had killed her father, when suddenly, her expression froze.

Yukari and Nanase followed Ayano’s line of sight. What lay there was...

“As agitated as always.”

A man and a beautiful lady, sticking closely together, walking out from the hotel street.

His age appeared to be about twenty-something, with an upright face that could be considered handsome, but his expression seemed to be rather sloven. A light smirk appeared on his mouth, forcefully pulling his grade down thirty percent.

“You should at least think about where you are.”

The man made fun of the dumbfounded Ayano and continued to speak.

“You're already a high school student. It’s about time you knew what shame is...”

The man before her eyes was Kazuma Yagami. This was the man who Ayano hated most. As for the woman beside him, she had never seen her before. In addition, this was a love hotel street.

Having caught up to this point, Ayano’s brain, which had finally returned to a normal temperature, suddenly began to heat up. Gripped with an inexplicable fury, Ayano shouted, “You... What are you doing in a place like this?!”

“...Ayano?”

Yukari and Nanase shared a puzzled look, looking at their friend who had suddenly fallen into a rage. Neither pair of eyes showed any indecision, and they seemed to be asking simultaneously, “What is she talking about?”

It wasn’t a question that needed to be asked. Just as Ayano had said, there is only one thing to do in a love hotel – even if there are many different ways and methods of doing it; there is basically only one reason to be there.

On the other hand, Kazuma, who had drawn Ayano’s rage upon him, simply showed a light smile, as usual.

“Asking me what I am doing... Ah, it is so hard to say it out loud~ ♥”

He acted shy, daintily using his hand to cover his mouth as he spoke.

At that momement, the dozens of logic-related neural synapses in Ayano’s brain snapped all at once.

Feeling the furious spiritual energy coming from Ayano, Yukari and Nanase couldn’t help but move back. But even when engulfed in such a strong murderous intent, one that even normal people would notice and fear, Kazuma and the woman beside him did not change the relaxed smiles on their faces.

The woman ignored Ayano’s furious eyes as if they were nothing. She put her lips close to Kazuma’s ear and asked, “This girl, is she your girlfriend?”

“Kirika... That joke isn’t funny at all!”

After such a semi-derogatory question, Kazuma answered with an irritated look. Listening, Kirika glanced at Ayano and laughed lightly.

(...! This darn woman–!)

Seeing the seemingly taunting attitude of this person, Ayano viewed Kirika as an “enemy.” As if seeking a weak spot, she sized up Kirika from head to toe. But...

(Argh...)

Though slim, she had a good figure filled with femininity.

From the angle of a “woman,” Ayano had no way to compete.

Ayano was also a rare beauty, but her state of maturity was far below Kirika’s. Future development or hidden potential had no effect now. Because in a battle in the real world, current capabilities decide everything.

Even so, if her opponent were just someone who devoted all nutrients – even those that should go to the brain – into her breasts and hips, Ayano would not concede defeat.

But Kirika was different. Those thin, long eyes of hers carried the light of wisdom, clearly indicating that she was not just some vulgar woman who only knew how to fawn on guys.

Slightly older than Kazuma, she looked as if she was around twenty-five. From the way she could casually face up to Ayano’s killing intent as if it were not there, she was clearly not an average businesswoman. Maybe they were in the same trade?

Ayano bore the silent torture of inferiority and continued to glare at the two with angry eyes.

“Kazuma?”

Kirika accepted Ayano’s eyes generously and held her body even more closely against Kazuma’s arm. Rather than a demonstration of love, this action seemed more like she was trying to hang on tightly.

“Should I arrest you for lewd acts against an underage female?”

“Don’t be like that.”

Kazuma seemed very displeased.

“She is just a distant relative. I’ve done nothing, nor have any intentions of doing anything.”

“Then why is she angry?”

“She’s always angry. Just ignore her.”

“Oh~”

Kirika looked towards Ayano once more, her face showing a smile with deep meaning. Ayano noticed, her mind tangling in an instant.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 017.jpg|thumb]]

“I think it would be better to explain.”

“There’s no need for that. It’s too troublesome. Let’s go!”

Upon saying this, Kazuma pulled Kirika and walked away. As his eyes meet Ayano’s, he put on a serious expression and warned Ayano, “Go back quickly! This is no place for children.”

Kazuma walked past Ayano with ease, who was so angry her whole body was trembling. As the two sides passed one another, Kirika looked at Ayano before departing in an utterly relaxed manner. Those eyes, filled with sympathy, totally enraged Ayano.

Yukari remained where she was, silently sending off the close pair with her eyes. She looked to the side and coincidentally met Nanase’s eyes.

At that moment, silence was golden. The two exchanged bitter smiles, and as if they had discussed it much earlier, looked towards Ayano who still had not turned back.

“So that’s it.”

Nanase nodded heavily.

“No wonder you were so harsh to those people who tried to pick us up.”

“That’s right. It is really tough to like someone like that.”

“But what a surprise. I never thought Ayano would like flippant guys like that.”

“...You two...”

Ayano turned slowly.

In a gentle, but equally chilling tone, she answered, “What are you two talking about?”

“What else?”

Yukari answered straightforwardly.

“Ayano, you like that guy right? Although it looks one-sided.”

“You... What makes you two think that way?”

“Just think about your reaction just now. No matter how we look at it, it is the reaction of ‘a jealous girl seeing the guy she likes getting snatched away,’ right?”

“There is no such thing! It is definitely not that way!!”

Ayano shouted out, blushing. Her voice was so loud it almost seemed to reach as far as the eye could see.

“Ayano, you’re too loud.”

Ignoring Yukari’s warning, Ayano furiously continued to say, “Why would I like that kind of lowlife?! That is the type of person I hate most in this world! If I could have, I would have sliced him into pieces!!”

“Then why are you angry?”

Yukari rebutted with a calm voice.

“If you really didn’t like him, then it wouldn’t matter who he sleeps with, right? What would there be to be angry about?”

“That... That’s because... That...

...I just cannot bear to see someone like Kazuma sleep with that kind of beauty! They are not at all compatible!”

Ayano gripped her fist tightly and tried her best to explain, as the other two looked at her with cold eyes.

(What do you think?)

(She doesn’t seem to be lying... Could it be that she hasn’t even realized it herself?)

(If that’s the case, then she’s not just slow – there’s something completely wrong with her...)

(But... that is just like Ayano.)

(Yeah, that’s true)

“You two! Don’t whisper among yourselves right in front of me!”

Having gotten shouted at by Ayano, Nanase swiftly straightened her body. Following this, she used a very serious expression, like someone who is faking marriage just to grab a hold of the password to a credit card, in order to say, “Ah. Okay, okay. I get it, you really hate that man.”

“Yup, completely understood.”

Yukari chimed in instantly. They were indeed Ayano’s best friends, their actions matching flawlessly.

Ayano’s expression revealed her continued suspicion.

“...Really?”

“Of course.”

“Fine then.”

Ayano nodded, though her expression still showed displeasure. After everything had come to an end, and the two of them had given a sigh of relief–

“Ah, that is the girl. Mr. Hanagi.”

Those guys had chosen the worst possible time to appear.

“These are the ones?”

The man they called Hanagi pointed his finger towards the three and said...

“You guys were scared off by these three girls?”

“Because the girl in the middle has a really scary stare...”

“That girl is really arrogant. Please teach her some manners, Go-san!”

The men who were saying these things were the punks, numbers one and two (temporarily named), who had been driven off by Ayano earlier. It seemed that because they had been rejected so vehemently by Ayano, resentment had arisen, and so they had found someone to help them take their revenge!

– They don’t come any lower than that.

“We invited you so nicely to have some fun, and yet you told us to ‘get lost.’ That was really rude. Now apologize.”

“...”

Ayano stared at the group of men, her eyes indicating that they were unworthy even of notice. Seeing those ice cold eyes, punks numbers one and two couldn’t help but retreat several steps, though Hanagi showed no sign of fear.

“That trick of yours won’t work! Hanagi-san knows Shaolin fist techniques!”

“Please do it! Go Hanagi-san!”

Numbers one and two cowered behind Hanagi and continued to shout. Ignoring the two who were merely relying on Hanagi’s strength, Ayano stared at Hanagi alone.

As they had mentioned, the man before her eyes seemed to have undergone a certain level of training. As he wore only a thin, sleeveless sweater under his leather coat, his protruding muscles could be clearly seen. It was a body specially made for combat.

“For a woman to be so arrogant, that’s why you are having such an unlucky encounter. Don’t try to go against men from now on.”

Hanagi reached his hand out in a rough manner, intending to grab Ayano’s chin to lift her face.

At the instant his fingertips touched her chin, Ayano moved swiftly.

She angled her body and moved forward, while at the same time dodging Hanagi’s hand. Ayano cleanly swung her bent left arm into Hanagi’s defenseless chest.

Ayano’s elbow struck the lower region of Hanagi’s earlobe, where his jaw was. This was a sudden, full-force attack and a powerful strike that even contained ''ki''. It would not have been surprising if his jaw had fallen off of his face.

Hanagi’s body flew into the air in a spiral. His legs, which had left the ground, tangled together like twisted bread and subsequently splayed outwards with reactive force.

Hanagi’s body kept on spinning, and after a sickening three and a half round rotation, he naturally had a failed landing – his whole body flattened against the outer wall of a hotel.

Splat.

A wet sound propagated along the entire street. This was definitely not a sound made by a human body. If a freshly slaughtered piece of flesh, with blood still dripping, were smashed into a wall, it would probably make this kind of sound.

Several seconds after Hanagi has been hammered into the wall, he fell to the floor like a flattened cockroach.

On the red bricks of the hotel wall, a fluid even more red than the bricks formed an eerie human figure.

“Uh... Uh~”

Seeing Hanagi, blood pouring out of seven holes and his body twitching, Nanase drew a cross towards the sky. Beside her, Yukari placed her hands together and closed her eyes to pray.

“Huh... Huh huh...”

“Hanagi-san...”

The remaining two guys gave voice to pitiful cries in tones that had reached the utmost limit of fear.

Ayano silently walked past the two men, who were unable to move their feet, and could only stand there like idiots.

She fired off two kicks at lightning speed. The tip of her foot hit right in the center between the legs of the two men.

“Argh!”

“Wah!”

The tip of her pointed shoe hit the pelvis, while the most important part was struck heavily. Ayano contemplated the two, now rolling on the ground in pain with a pink foam of blood and spittle coming from their mouths, with disgust.

“How dirty!”

“Ah– Please send an ambulance over. There are three heavily wounded people.”

A cold voice came from behind. Behind her, Nanase was using a public phone to contact 911. She read out the number of the phone booth to inform the other party of the location.

“Please be quick. One of them doesn’t seem likely to make it.”

After that, she hung up, ignoring their inquiries for her name. This action could be said to be very well-trained since the reason she didn’t use her own cellphone was to avoid leaving any trace.

“So, have you vented your anger?” Nanase asked Ayano calmly.

“...I did not do it on purpose.”

Ayano pouted and replied unhappily, but the two did not believe her.

They had known very well since the beginning that she had just been redirecting her anger at Kazuma. If she had not met Kazuma earlier, Ayano would not have been so cruel!

But there is one thing they did not understand. Nanase leaned in close to Yukari’s ear and quietly asked...

(By the way, is that guy really that good?)

(Hmm... I feel that he is above average, but...)

He did not seem like a man that would make Ayano feel jealous. That was their opinion.

For though they had known Ayano for a long time, they still did not know what the Kannagis did for a living, nor of the power that was within their bloodline.

They would still have a few days to wait before witnessing for themselves the true power of Kazuma.

=== 2 ===
“Has Kazuma still not arrived?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Ayano replied to the Soushu’s, Juugo’s, question in a sour tone of voice. She appeared to have drunken some alcohol, and her gaze seemed blank.

Stared at by his daughter, who was radiating malcontent, Juugo blinked.

“What is it between you and Kazuma?”

“Nothing.”

Ayano slammed the wine cup on the table with a bang.

“I hate that guy! I don’t want to see his face or hear his name ever again! That sort of guy can just go have a good time with some old woman!”

“...So that is it.”

Juugo could roughly guess what had happened and decided not to probe any further.

“In celebration of the annihilation of the Fuuga clan!”

“Cheers to Hyoue who is now roasting in hell, suffering for all eternity!”

“Cheers!”

Vulgar toasts like this one abounded. Everyone seemed exuberant, and the air was filled with the sound of cups clinking in toasts.

The cause for celebration was something that had happened about a week ago.

The subordinates of the Kannagis, the Fuuga clan, had suddenly revolted. The leader of the Fuuga clan, Hyoue Kazamaki, had allowed his son Ryuuya to be possessed by a powerful ''youma'', and many of the Kannagis had been killed.

The ones who had fought them were Ayano and Ren, practitioners of the Kannagi main family, and Ren’s brother, Kazuma Yagami, who had been exiled due to his ineptitude as an ''En-jutsushi'' and had eventually become a ''Fuu-jutsushi''.

After a fierce battle, the three had finally defeated Hyoue and Ryuuya. On the fourth day following, that is, that evening, a banquet for their victory was being held.

The banquet was unlike any before it. Just about every member of the Kannagi family able to attend was in attendance. They had all joyfully joined the banquet and were now raising their cups in celebration of the annihilation of their hated enemy.

This reaction came as no surprise. For these people, who claimed to be the strongest, Hyoue and Ryuya, had been existences who could not be permitted.

The fact that they had been able to possess a ''youma'' beyond their powers was in and of itself unforgivable. Furthermore, they had been of the Fuuga clan, a group of low level ''jutsushis'' who they had stepped on for a long period of time.

For them, to fear weaklings like the Fuugas to the extent that they had had to go into hiding was a humiliation that could never be vindicated.

However, since the Fuuga clan had been completely destroyed, that shame, if not erased, was at least forgotten. In their joy, it wasn’t at all odd for them to be going somewhat overboard in their celebrations.

“Hmph! For those dogs to forget who had raised and fed them and to even go so far as to bite their masters’ hands! Those ungrateful bastards!”

“How dare they resist us? We, who are blessed by the Spirit Lord! What an outrage!”

“Cheers to the Fuuga clan’s demise!”

“Cheers!”

All around the tables, cups met, and everyone downed their cups in one go.

Just as the banquet was approaching its climax, Kazuma appeared.

“Kazuma-san has arrived.”

As the servant made his announcement, all noise in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

Amidst the silence, a youth walked through the paper door the servant had opened and stepped into the hall with a confident swagger.

Unfriendly eyes gathered upon this youth who walked in without a word. Just for the record, among the glares, the one which bore the greatest hatred was Ayano’s, but let’s leave that matter aside for now.

Actually, it was not without reason that this man was so despised. The Kannagis had had over fifty ''jutsushis'' before the battle with the Fuuga clan, and yet there were only a few more than thirty present at the banquet. The total dead and wounded amounted to more than twenty.

Seven were dead, the rest injured with varying degrees of severity. Those seven had been attacked by Ryuya – the only ones attacked by Ryuuya.

In other words, the majority of the casualties were the work of Kazuma. Everyone gathered here had family members who had been sent to the hospital by Kazuma. Under such circumstances, it was only natural that they didn’t wear smiles to welcome him.

Their hateful glares glanced off of Kazuma, who acted as if they weren’t even there. His attitude served only to increase their hatred for him.

This was the sort of feeling you get from being looked down on by someone whom you had looked down on in the past. Needless to say, Kazuma completely ignored their presence. He seemed to consider them beneath contempt. No matter how much Juugo tried to defend him, the negative feelings toward Kazuma only strengthened further.

Kazuma nodded toward Ren, the only one who smiled at him, and then bowed before Juugo.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“I don’t mind at all. I am the one who forced you to join us.”

Juugo smiled, forgiving Kazuma’s tardiness, and told Kazuma to sit beside him. In short order, wine and hors d’oeuvres were placed before Kazuma’s eyes.

“Welcome back, Nii-sama!”

Ren ran over and hugged his brother’s arm tightly like a spoiled puppy. Kazuma didn’t stop him. On the contrary, he reached out his hand to caress his brother’s head. But he didn’t give the customary reply, “I’m back.”

Because, for a long time now, this place had not been Kazuma’s, that is, Kazuma Yagami’s, home.

Ren didn’t seem to notice Kazuma’s thoughts and served him diligently.

“Ah, let me pour you some wine.”

“...Okay.”

Kazuma lifted the cup with his hands but put it back on the table without drinking a single drop.

Ren questioned hesitantly, “Nii-sama, why not have a drink?”

“I’m not thirsty.”

Ren looked at the untouched food.

“...Won’t you eat something?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“...”

Ren felt puzzled and lifted his eyes to look at his brother.

Kazuma continued to look straight ahead, ignoring Ren.

“Erm... Err...”

Just as Ren began to panic, thinking he had done something to anger his brother, a big hand was placed lightly on Ren’s head.

“...Nii-sama?”

The direction of Kazuma’s gaze hadn’t changed, nor did he speak. In spite of this, the feeling of that warm hand was enough to satisfy Ren. Leaning against his brother’s body, Ren closed his eyes and showed a peaceful smile.

To Kazuma, the Kannagi residence was still enemy territory. Not only would he not eat any food placed before him, no matter how relaxed the others might look, he wouldn’t let his guard down even for an instant.

That is why Kazuma noticed immediately when a young woman approached him.

He deliberately didn’t move, observing her as if nothing untoward was happening, waiting for her to take action.

The young woman was around twenty and was wearing a kimono. She seemed to be used to wearing one, for her actions were not the least bit awkward.

Her hairstyle, rather than being a blunt blob, was more of a round and simple [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#hairstyle|hairstyle]] with its sides cut evenly. Together with small, cute cheeks, she was a beautiful Japanese-style woman that would make you think of the outdated appellation “[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#yamato_nadeshiko|Yamato Nadeshiko]].”

Seeing the girl kneeling before him bow deeply, Kazuma said with a hazy expression, “If I recall... You are Ogami...”

“My name is Misao Ogami. I’ve been ordered to take care of Kazuma-sama. If you have any needs, please just inform me.”

“...Oh?”

Kazuma used his fingertips to hold Misao’s chin and lift up her face.

Looking at her nervous expression, Kazuma smiled and asked teasingly, “Even at night?”

Faced with such a direct intimation, Misao blushed and her eyes shifted downward. Even though she was embarrassed, she didn’t try to escape from Kazuma’s hand. She murmured in hardly a whisper, “If... that is your wish.”

Seeing that Misao didn’t resist, Kazuma’s face closed in even more. At that moment, Kazuma, as if repelled, suddenly leaned back.

A ray of red lightning pierced the air where Kazuma’s head had just been. With a loud thunk, something embedded itself in the pillar behind him.

“You despicable piece of shit! Get your dirty hands off her!”

Needless to say, the furious girl with the incomparable rage was Ayano. Kazuma didn’t even bother to look at her, but instead turned his head back.

A long, thin red stick was now embedded in the pillar – Ayano’s chopstick.

The chopstick possessed no sharp point, and yet it was half-sunken into the pillar. Guessing at the strength with which she must have thrown it, Kazuma laughed.

Ayano stalked toward Kazuma and raised her hand for a karate chop, aiming at Kazuma’s hand, which had been on Misao’s face the entire time. Seeing a chop that carried the strength to break thirty tiles, he quickly removed his hand.

Ayano had murder in her eyes as she scowled at Kazuma, who had a smile on his face, and then slowly walked next to Misao.

“Misao, what are you thinking! Why ruin your life for scum like that?!”

“Huh... Ermm... Sorry.”

Faced with such an aggressive aura, Misao couldn’t help but apologize. Seeing such a happy scene, Kazuma purposely put on a hurt expression.

“Why are you making me sound so bad?”

“I was just telling the truth, wasn’t I? You already have a girlfriend. How dare you still lay your hands on other girls?! You jerk!”

“Girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Liar! That one earlier...”

“If you mean Kirika, we’re not in that kind of relationship. She is just–”

“Just your sex friend, right?”

Ayano finished Kazuma’s sentence in an eerily gentle tone. Even though her face showed a smile, upon closer inspection, her temples were pulsing with anger.

Observing her expression, Kazuma smiled at her comprehension, and said, “Yup, you could put it that way too.”

Violent spiritual energy burst forth from Ayano’s entire body, and her body subconsciously entered battle mode.

“Ayano-sama.”

However, she was stopped just before she could erupt. Confronted with Misao’s appeal, Ayano was reluctantly forced to restrain her murderous intent.

“Please, don’t be angry. It was Kazuma-sama who avenged my brothers. To repay that debt, this sort of thing is nothing...”

“You should be grateful to me instead!” Ayano said proudly.

“This guy only fought because it was his job! We’ve already paid him enough to reward him! There’s no need to thank him. You have a problem with that?”

This last line was, of course, directed at Kazuma.

“Nope, that is largely true.” Kazuma admitted frankly.

“I don’t know what this fiery lass did that you should be grateful for, but at the very least, there is no need to thank me. Leaving Masato and Takeshi aside, you can consider half of the blame that Takeya died to be mine.”

Upon such a shocking statement, a commotion erupted around them.

After making so much noise, it was only natural that they had attracted notice. Their bickering had become the center of attention, and to hear such an alarming statement made everyone prick up their ears and listen quietly.

“What do you mean?” Ayano asked in a sharp tone.

Kazuma brushed off her intensity like a thick-skinned willow tree brushes off the wind and smiled.

“Even though the one who kill him was Ryuuya, he had already been defeated earlier by me. Ryuuya only cut the unconscious Takeya apart. Well, I guess that even if he had still been conscious then, the result wouldn’t have been any different.”

Kazuma said this nonchalantly and shifted his eyes back to Misao. He faced the bowed-down Misao, whose expression could not be seen, and reassured her gently.

“So, you see? There’s no need to be so courteous. How about taking that out of your sleeve?”

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 039.jpg|thumb]]
At the instant Kazuma finished his sentence, Misao suddenly moved. Her foot forcefully stomping on the tatami, she pulled out the dagger which had been hidden in her sleeve all along.

“Ah... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Screaming wildly, the dagger gripped tightly in her fists, Misao jumped into Kazuma’s chest.

For a moment, everyone remained completely motionless. Though everyone in the hall had witnessed the scene, it appeared that they were unable to comprehend its implications in time and were at a loss for what to do.

Misao and Kazuma both just sat there without flinching, like a pair of intimate lovers, the two in a silent embrace.

“Ka... Kazuma?”

Ayano’s quivering voice called out the name of the man she hated most.

He did not reply.

“Kazuma?! Ans... Answer me quickly! Kazuma! Kazuma!!”

“What?”

Kazuma suddenly raised his head and answered as if nothing had happened. Using his fingertips to pinch the dagger that should have been in Misao’s hands, he raised it before his eyes and waved it.

“...!”

Maybe because of her relief, Ayano fell to the floor, still in shock, and shouted loudly, “If... If you heard me, you should have at least made a sound! I’d thought that you’d died!”

“Is there anything troubling to you about my death?”

“That... That...”

Ayano was momentarily unable to speak. She tried her best to stop all the blood in her body from gathering at her face, while at the same time working hard to come up with a rebuttal.

“I... I don’t want Misao to become a murderer.”

“That makes sense.”

“That’s right!”

(...?)

Ayano nodded in agreement, but felt that Kazuma’s reaction seemed off somehow. At the same time, she couldn’t say with certainty what was wrong about it.

Ignoring Ayano, who was puzzling over this, Kazuma placed his eyes on Misao, who had fallen on him.

“So are you still angry?”

“...!”

Misao forcefully pushed herself off of Kazuma and used the momentum to jump backward. She put a little distance between them and stared at Kazuma with eyes full of hatred.

But Kazuma didn’t seem to mind those eyes at all. He calmly broke eye contact with Misao and passed the dagger in his hand to Ayano.

“Take it.”

“Ah, okay.”

She took it reflexively and then looked closely at the dagger.

The blade of the dagger was about ten centimeters long. It would serve well for peeling apples and not much more. There didn’t appear to be any poison on it either.

(...Did she really think that a fruit knife could kill Kazuma?)

What a foolish action. Ayano bitterly regretted her earlier display of anxiousness.

At that point in time, the others were finally emerging from their shock. However, none stood up to arrest Misao because all of the people in the branch family felt the same way.

(What about Father?)

Ayano looked toward Juugo.

“What is the matter?”

“What do you mean by ‘What is the matter?’ Don’t just look. Do something.”

“Hmm...”

Juugo looked at the scene of the crime with cold eyes.

“Kazuma.”

“Ah?”

“If you do not wish to deal with her, shall I punish Misao for you?”

Even though his tone seemed calm, its meaning was clear. “If you want to kill her, just do it.” Juugo was usually kind and well-tempered, but he was not so kind as to forgive someone who had just attempted murder.

Kazuma’s reply was totally unexpected.

“I don’t think this goes so far as to require punishment. Nothing happened. Just let her go!”

Upon hearing this reply, Juugo revealed a surprised expression, and Ayano’s puzzled look could be clearly seen.

Ayano finally realized why she has been feeling that something was off. Misao was still alive. That alone was something which didn’t make sense.

On the battlefield, Kazuma wouldn’t have cared about anything else. Even if it was just a little girl, even if she was not moving of her own free will or if she was being threatened or manipulated, Kazuma wouldn’t have gone easy on her.

Given Kazuma’s habits, after he had dodged the attack, no, the instant the dagger had been drawn, Misao’s head should have landed on the floor.

(But this... What was going on?)

Filled with questions, Ayano began to look at the two.

Misao looked pale and weak. Though her eyes still bore hatred, it seemed that she did not have the strength to act again.

Her area of expertise was in defending seals and providing support from behind; she was not a ''jutsushi'' who fought on the frontline. Although her abilities were not weak, her personality was simply not suited to battle, let alone killing.

This may even have been the first time she had directed a knife at someone. Her mentality of avoiding causing harm was no different from a normal person’s. Just now she had acted on impulse, but after her failure, she didn’t have the ability to try again.

Kazuma lowered his head and looked silently at Misao. Those eyes carried no warmth, but neither did they show coldness.

(This is too abnormal, too weird! And... this makes me feel very unhappy!)

“What is the meaning of this–?”

“So be it. Since you have said as much, I have no reason to punish her either.”

Juugo interrupted Ayano, who had lost her composure, and came to a simple conclusion.

“But we cannot allow you to stay here either. Go back and reflect on this for a while!”

With that, he ordered someone by his side to take Misao away. Misao struggled to get rid of the hands that were about to catch her.

“Why?!”

Ignoring the man who seemed troubled by her struggling, Misao stared at Kazuma and shouted, “Why did Nii-sama have to die?!”

“Because he was too weak.”

Kazuma replied very bluntly.

“...!!”

The hall was filled with rage in an instant. Misao was not alone in feeling that Kazuma has caused deaths in the family. To these people, Kazuma’s words had gone far beyond their ability to tolerate.

“You asshole...!!”

Ayano stood up, her face flushed red with anger. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Kazuma.

“What the hell is wrong with you! Can’t you differentiate between what can and cannot be said?! What do you mean by ‘because he was too weak?’ Don’t joke around! Is it because you have become strong that you have forgotten what it was like to be weak?!”

Kazuma showed Ayano, who continued to lecture him, no sign of remorse at all. Instead, he looked at her coldly.

“Looks like you still don’t understand.”

He then looked around at the people who were staring at him angrily.

“Why are you all putting on the look of a victim?”

“What... What do you mean by that?”

Kazuma’s eyes swept across the room once more. All he saw were puzzled yet angry expressions. Again confirming that no one had understood what he meant, he sighed.

“I don’t think you guys have ever wondered why the Fuuga clan revolted.”

“What do you mean by why... Of course it was to awaken their God!”

“No.”

Kazuma rejected this flat-out.

“That was just a means to an end, just one of the powers they needed to rise against the Kannagis.”

“Why don’t you tell us the reason then?” Ayano asked without even thinking.

Kazuma gave Ayano a contemptuous look.

“...These people of the Fuuga clan were definitely not a group of useless waste. Instead, they were even rather skilled ''Fuu-jutsushi''. Their combat abilities might have been very weak, but the inherent characteristics of wind are not suited to battle in the first place.”

In terms of attack power, among the four main powers – earth, water, fire, and wind – wind was the weakest.

This was because it was the lightest.

No matter how fast they might be, light attacks did not possess the strength to kill with one blow.

I believe that everyone has had the experience of being cut by a piece of paper before. With enough speed, and if timed well, even a flimsy piece of paper can become a blade. And yet, it can only cut the surface of the skin. A slash without weight is unable to cut off flesh and bone all in one go.

The weight of water and earth is far beyond that of wind, and fire possesses a large amount of energy. If they were to fight against these powers, a ''Fuu-jutsushi'' would have to summon and control several times more spirits than they would.

Precisely for this reason, the role ''Fuu-jutsushis'' played was to use the wind’s mobility to search and to track, as well as to control the surrounding air while providing battle support. The Fuuga clan could actually have been said to have been a typical example of wind practitioners.

“The Kannagis were born with combat abilities, and the Fuugas excelled at information gathering and battle support. To provide for the other’s inability, to coexist peacefully and equally, that should have been the way that they interacted.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kazuma observed Juugo, who was showing a bitter expression. He was the only one there who understood the truth of Kazuma’s words.

“Unfortunately, you, who only know how to use raw power as a standard, looked down on the Fuuga clan, who had no combat abilities. But without the Fuuga, you would not even have known where the enemy was!”

“What you are trying to say is... because we have always looked down on the Fuuga, we deserved to be killed by them?” Ayano pouted unhappily.

But Kazuma shook his head in denial.

“I never said that what you did was wrong. The strong are always right; that is the unequivocal truth.”

“But then...”

“But as you execute your right to crush the weak, you must also bear the burden of being crushed by people even stronger. Even if you are killed, you can have no complaints as this is the very thing you have done.”

“...!”

Ayano’s expression changed drastically. She seemed to have understood what Kazuma was trying to say.

“Just because the Fuuga clan was ‘too weak,’ that was why you all looked down on them. Just because ''you'' are ’too weak,’ that is why you were crushed by Ryuuya. It is a very simple thing to understand.”

This was not a question of who was right and who was wrong. Since both sides believed in the “law of power,” in the end, only the strong survived. That was all.

“If you people have acknowledged everything that you have done toward the Fuuga clan, then the Fuuga clan can also only acknowledge what they did to you. To crush the weak, does it not allow you to be crushed by those even stronger? Just who do you think you are?”

This merciless accusation reached the ears of everyone present like the roar of thunder, but it failed to touch their arrogant hearts.

“This, I am unable to accept.”

A voice of disagreement emerged from a place very close to Juugo’s seat of honor.

“Kazuma-san, your argument seems to have neglected one very important fact.”

The man spoke in a vicious and unrelenting tone. He was Masayuki Ogami, the head of the Ogami family, and Misao’s father. But he did not seem to care at all about his daughter, who had her head lowered and was keeping quiet.

“The value of our lives is definitely not equal. We, the Kannagis, are blessed by the spirits – a chosen clan! Yet you put us and the Fuugas, those lowlifes, on the same level. That is very appalling. Not to mention, it...”

He stared furiously at Kazuma, as if Kazuma was the killer of his son.

“Not to mention, it gives those scum the right to kill us!”

Hearing Masayuki’s words, Kazuma answered with a calm smile.

“Who is it that was chosen?”

“...What?”

“Those words. Why don’t you wait until you have power like Ayano’s before saying them! To hear a weakling boasting about his bloodline, how pathetic! It is as if you have nothing else to boast about except your bloodline.”

“You... You asshole...!”

Masayuki instantly became agitated. In comparison, Kazuma’s mocking tone still hadn’t changed.

“By the way, you should be thanking Hyoue instead!”

“?”

“He helped you to get rid of Masato, who was a nuisance in your eyes. At the very least, go burn some incense and pay your respects!”

“...! You...! What did you just say...!”

When Masayuki Ogami’s younger brother, Masato Ogami, had been alive, he had been known as the strongest practitioner of the branch family. Everyone knew that had he not left his home to train because he had hated fighting with his brother over the succession, he would have been the one to lead the family.

Seeing the shaken Masayuki, Kazuma said as if taunting him.

“It ''is'' a nuisance to have a younger brother better than you, isn’t it?”

“Damn... Damn you, you asshole!!”

Masayuki’s face changed color as he shouted. He stood up from the tatami, and with blood red eyes, stared murder at Kazuma.

This time, there was an almost palpable tension between the two. The killing intents around the room formed a whirlpool and gathered around Kazuma, who was still sitting in his original spot.

At that moment, Ren, who had been leaning against Kazuma’s shoulder, moved. He wriggled his upper body, his whole body stuck on Kazuma in a tight embrace. He looked as if he was trying to stop Kazuma and lacked the strength to do so.

Seeing this, a question went through Ayano’s mind.

(This kid... Since when did he become so quiet?)

Even when Misao had attempted to stab Kazuma, she had not heard Ren’s voice. No matter how much faith he had in his brother’s strength, it was unnatural for him to not so much as cry out.

Under everyone’s stare, Ren’s upper body slowly slid down along Kazuma’s body. He placed his face on Kazuma’s leg, and after a few seconds like this...

“Hmm... Nii-sama...”

“So he is asleep!” Ayano couldn’t help but say.

Before the blissful sleep-talking, the originally tense atmosphere dispersed in an instant.

“...”

His bloodlust gone, Masayuki sat down once more. His expression was solemn, but he no longer was in the mood to maintain his anger.

Masayuki’s reaction did not matter to Kazuma, as he had not cared from the beginning.

“Soushu.”

“...Yes.”

Juugo understood everything very well, and because of that, his voice sounded abnormally bitter.

“It is impossible to dream of these guys reflecting upon this. But please do not forget, it is the Kannagis’ arrogance that sparked this fight. If there are no changes, the same thing will just repeat itself.”

“...I understand.”

“Good.”

Kazuma lifted Ren’s head and placed him on Ayano’s leg.

“Kazuma?”

“There is nothing left for me here. I am going back.”

With this sentence, Kazuma left the residence without looking back.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Volume 1]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-11T01:38:37Z

Kalessin: New page: "Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute." Wouldn't it be his ''sleeping'' post...

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-11T01:13:36Z

Kalessin: It makes more sense for this to be outside. It happened outside in the anime, and ground and floor have been mixed up in other places in this translation, so I'm assuming it's actually ground.

== Chapter Two - Assault – Determination After Removing All Doubts ==

=== 1 ===

The boy’s arm was wreathed in red flame.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

A wordless scream escaped the boy’s mouth.

So hot – there was no room in his mind for anything but the heat, all thought being stolen by the crimson flame.

He continuously rolled on the ground, attempting to extinguish the flame. Nearby, some children observed his pitiable state.

I say children, but that belies the range of their ages. The smallest were young children of only four or five while the oldest were full-grown teenagers of fifteen or sixteen.

Their sole common denominator could be seen on their faces.

Scorn.

This group of children joyfully surrounded the burning youth, laughing with mirth.

An unfeigned laughter that came from the heart. Innocent. Naive. Cruel.

The cruelty of a child who cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Like children who pluck off the wings of a dragonfly just to watch it struggle, they enjoyed the youth’s predicament as he painfully struggled the same way.

“A member of the main family getting burned by fire!”

“How useless!”

“‘A humiliation to the clan,’ my father said!”

“Someone as worthless as you has no right to bear the name ‘Kannagi!’”

The boy could only hug his burnt arm, his face showing a painful expression as the others continued to mock him, one after another.

“It’s my turn!”

A young girl around ten years old raised her hand to declare.

“Oh– Go on. Quickly now!”

The children cheered. The girl, encouraged, held her fist to her chest and began to concentrate.

“Heh!”

Following the cute shout, a red flame suddenly appeared like a ghost above the cringing youth.

The fire slowly descended until it touched the boy’s back.

Sssssssss!

“...!”

The sound of burning meat could be heard. The youth’s body, originally curled into a ball, straightened out forcefully. This scene served only to amplify the mocking.

“My turn next!”

“I wanna go too!”

His legs, his back, his shoulders – all were continuously tattooed by the ferocious flame. Each time the boy’s body instinctively twitched. Each time it gave off a burning smell.

Despite the horrid cruelty of their actions, none present felt the least degree of guilt. To them, fire was nothing to fear.

Were they to be put in his shoes, they would not experience the smallest discomfort. Even for those whose “power” was ‘weak,’ the most that would burn would be their clothes – their bodies would remain completely unharmed.

This was because their clan had been blessed with fire‘s protection.

Because of this, these children were completely unaware of the dangers of fire, and they did not understand the pain of being scorched.

You cannot imagine what you do not know, and because they were unable to imagine the pain, they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

The boy silently endured the innocent and naive torture of the other children in the clan alone.

“Ah... Ah...”

By the time the children were finally satisfied, the youth was left to painfully contend with his smoking body.

“Ahhh– that was fun.”

“Bye bye. Let’s play again~”

As part of their exit ritual, everyone present gave the twitching body a merciless kick. But before anyone could leave, the eldest and largest boy went further and stomped on the boy’s head.

“...Hmm?”

“What’s wrong with Toru?”

Hearing the large boy, Toru Kuga, let out a pathetic cry, the others turned in surprise.

“You... You foolish idiot!”

The head that Toru had forcefully stepped on was now slowly lifting itself upward. The youth used his hands as support against the ground and stared intently at Toru from below.

“You... What are you trying to do...?”

Seeing those eyes, filled with murder, Toru couldn’t help but retreat in fright. Immediately filled with shame at his actions, he became angry.

“What’s with that look? This worthless scum actually dares to resist?!”

Toru summoned a flame, angrily throwing it in the youth’s direction.

The youth quickly rose and dodged the incoming flame. Dragging his heavily wounded frame, he dashed at incredible speed, closing in on Toru.

“W... Wah...”

Aiming directly at the terrified Toru’s face, he exerted all the strength in his body to strike him with his palm.

Pachunk! [SFX: something breaking]

Toru’s nose had broken.

“Toru!”

While the group could only stare, aghast at the sudden incident, the boy attacked two more people. Driven in his berserk rage, his fist broke the first’s cheekbones and the second’s chin, causing them to roll in pain as he did earlier.

“...Wu...Ah...!”

But his mad rush ended there. The burden his actions had placed on his pained body was beyond the limits of his will. His stomach heaved, and as if trying to reject everything, he vomited over and over.

“You...! How dare you...!”

Realizing that they were no longer at risk, the others took heart. In order to punish this thing that didn’t know its place, they began to focus their mental energy.

But–

“All of you... Get lost!”

A weak, yet furious voice stopped them. They looked back in fear, and before their eyes was...

“I am going to slaughter you...”

Fresh blood streaming from his nose, Toru gazed at the boy with bloodshot, insane eyes, devoid of reason.

“I am so going to slaughter you–!”

An insane fury amplified Toru’s abilities several-fold. Stretching his right hand directly upward, he summoned a huge fireball that seemed encased by a pair of hands.

“Go and die!”

The youth’s eyes didn’t blink. They could only stare at the fireball. Despite his body’s inability to move, he refused to give in. Like a wounded beast with death fast approaching, he searched for any sign of weakness in his enemy.

– Kaboom!

“Hmph! Now you know my strength!”

Seeing the youth wrapped in flame, Toru smiled.

The flame gradually dispersed. But amidst the disappearing flame, what appeared was...

“Ah... Ah?”

Contrary to Toru’s expectations, the boy yet lived. Parts of his body were burnt black, but his limbs still remained; he had successfully withstood Toru’s flame.

Using every last drop of his ''ki'' to create a defensive barrier, the youth had just barely managed to survive.

“You... You asshole...”

Toru’s expression grew more sinister. If he were to prove unable to beat this youth who lacked even a hint of ability as an ''En-jutsu'', he would forever be looked down upon and despised by the others.

“Arrogant trash!”

This scream, filled with displeasure, failed to reach the boy’s ears. His body had long since surpassed its limits, and having spent all his ''ki,'' he was no different from a walking corpse.

Not content to simply leave the youth to die, Toru prepared to give him a fatal strike. Against his fate, the youth was helpless.

“...”

Kazuma suddenly opened his eyes. This was a rare occasion for him – he usually had a hard time waking up – but his consciousness was fully awake.

But it was only to be expected. How could anyone refuse to wake up after having a dream like that?

Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute.

“Frankly speaking, what an unpleasant dream.”

Closing his eyes, he emptied all the air in his lungs with a moan.

Something that had happened exactly ten years ago, a painful experience that caused nightmares.

Of the eighteen years he had spent among the Kannagis, that was his most painful experience. Had no one put a stop to it, he might have died.

Due to the level of his injuries, despite receiving the highest level recovery ''jutsus'' daily, it had taken him a month to recover.

But that was not what was important. To Kazuma, it was his first defeat.

Not in terms of the injuries he sustained.

But for giving in to despair.

Once he had understood that he could not win against the Kannagis’ flames, that he would forever be a weakling, Kazuma had given up on fighting back.

He had given in to those that scorned him.

From that day forward, Kazuma had continued to run away. Not resisting, pitifully pleading for mercy, enduring endless torment, endless public humiliation.

But it no longer mattered.

Because he was no longer willing to partake of that misery.

“...I can’t forget.”

Kazuma realized that his memories of his past humiliations were as clear as if they had happened only yesterday and murmured to himself.

“I don’t even mind.”

Even though he was now in Japan once more, he had never even considered taking revenge – even though doing so would have been a painfully simple task.

To bend his pinky three centimeters; if the effort needed to kill Toru were converted to energy – that would be precisely how much would be required. Any strength Toru had gained in the last four years would be inconsequential.

(...That’s odd...?)

Kazuma’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted. He realized he could not picture Toru.

“Have I not seen him yet?”

Despite meeting several groups of branch family ''jutsushis'', he hadn’t spent any time verifying their identities, so he was unsure whether or not he had met Toru.

“...Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, Kazuma covered himself with the covers once more. Though fully awake, he had nothing in particular to do, and didn’t feel like getting up just yet.

(Let’s get some more sleep...)

Alas, the heavens did not seem to agree with this unproductive decision.

Dulululululululululu–

Kazuma glared at the ringing phone, openly displaying his irritation.

What a crafty ring. The more he tried to ignore the ringing, the more insistent it seemed to get, and yet it wasn’t so loud that he would wreck the phone in frustration.

“Damn it!”

Left with no other alternative, Kazuma reached for the phone. But instead of leaving his bed for the phone, he brought the phone to him.

“...Who’s making a call so early in the morning?” he grumbled in a mournful tone, despite the fact it was already late morning.

“Hello?”

He spoke in a sluggish tone – giving away the fact that he had just woken up – but his tranquil mind was pondering the courteous reply from the other end.

“Oh?”

This time, Kazuma was fully awake. There was no longer any sign of fatigue on the face that suddenly emerged from the covers.

“Today? Ah, sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kazuma answered politely, and then hung up. He flipped the covers back and crawled out, stretching lazily.

With his usual complacent smile now on his face, Kazuma muttered.

“Looks like it’s gonna be a busy day.”

=== 2 ===

Walking home after school, Ayano's eyes catch upon a small shadow about ten meters away.

“Hey-“

She was just about to call out when she suddenly stopped, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face.

Ayano slowly snuck up on the shadow, step by step, who had yet to notice Ayano's presence.

“Wh-wha!”

Standing immediately behind her target, she grabs her victim in a bear hug, as if to envelop the entirety of the small figure. Against the youth, caught in her embrace, now giving off a cute scream and struggling to escape with all his might, Ayano skillfully secures all movement.

“Nee……Nee-sama!?”

“Completely unguarded, this means you still need more training, Ren.”

“To say this now is really…… Anyway, just let me go first, Nee-sama!”

“No way~ Free yourself!”

Looking at the two fooling around, passersby cannot help but crack a faint, bittersweet smile.

Judging by their appearances, the two are a rare and beautiful pair of "sisters." Though one of them only looks to be around the age of ten, they are still pleasing to the eyes.

“Nee……Nee-sama! Really……”

Realizing they've become the center of attention, Ren's face reddens. Despite all appearances, he is, after all, a twelve year old boy. Thus, it isn't strange for him to feel shy about female physical contact.

After finally being released from confinement, Ren demands, “Seriously...What is Nee-sama thinking?!” as he gasps for air.

However, his expression, along with wet, pleading eyes instead generates the feeling that he is really cute, and not scary in the least. More than likely, it wouldn't scare even a three year old.

“Ahahaha! Sorry, sorry, this is a display of love for Ren too.”

It goes without saying that Ayano is not in the least afraid. She pats Ren’s shoulder, and cheekily ignores Ren’s complaints.

“Honestly!”

Unable to vent his displeasure, Ren's expression sours instantly.

This method is very effective. Because this is simply too cute, there is no way to ignore him.

“I am really sorry. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“I won't let you change the subject.”

Ren's mood does not seem to improve. He turns his head to the side, unwilling to meet Ayano's eyes.

Ayano uses both hands to grab Ren’s head, and forces him to turn his face back towards her.

“If you still will not listen...

She slowly moves her face closer, almost touching his nose.

“Then I will kiss you! ♥”

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

This is how easily Ayano toys with the youth, who is dancing in the palm of her hand.

“Huh? So something like that happened.”

On the second floor of the hamburger shop near the station, the two are chatting about the victory banquet a few days earlier.

Hearing Ren’s innocent reaction, Ayano reveals an evil smirk and answers.

“Yeah, when Ren was asleep.”

“……Geez, don’t bring that up anymore!”

Ren’s cheeks flush red. He'd been asleep that day, from beginning to end. The shock and shame of waking up on Ayano's lap showed no sign of subsiding even now.

For the first time, he truly felt what it meant to want to hide his head in the ground.

"What will I do if Father finds out about this..."

Seeing the uneasy Ren, Ayano grabs a French fry and says with ease, “What else can you do? He already knows doesn’t he? There seems to be quite a number of people visiting him these few days.”

Ren's father, Genma, had not participated in the battle against the Fuuga, having earlier lost to Kazuma in the quarrel between father and son, and is still resting in the hospital.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Ren collapses on the table, hugs his head and moans.

Genma, already very strict with himself, is even more strict with his relatives. It isn't hard to imagine his reaction when he finally hears of his son's blunder.

"It's fine. Don't be so down."

“But I ''am'' 'so down'.”

Ren reproaches Ayano's irresponsible remark in an incomparably downhearted voice.

“Because once father is angry, he is really strict.”

“……I guess!”

Ayano replies in a carefree tone. Whether or not he would be angry is another matter entirely. The image of an "easygoing Genma" is beyond imagination.

(Will that guy smile before Ren’s face?)

Even though she has only seen him either mocking or whole-heartedly laughing.

“When the time comes, you can just place all the blame on Kazuma.”

“To place blame on others would only make Father even angrier.”

“……That is true……This kind of person is really hard to deal with.”

“Awuuuuuuuuuh!”

Ren spreads himself on the table and moans.

“Huh?”

It's a coincidence, but...

If he had been sitting upright, his view would have been blocked by protruding branches, causing the scene to have escaped his notice, but because he had collapsed on the table in despair, he instead became witness to an incredible sight.

“What is it?”

“That person……”

Ayano lowers her head to look in the direction Ren indicates.

Lying directly ahead, at the edge of her purview, a female is standing. A beautiful, mesmerizing woman with shiny black hair, wearing a clean, pure white coat, the starkly contrasting colors making her even more attractive.

Ayano smiles at Ren, with mischief in mind.

“What a beautiful person. Do you know her?”

Ren ignores the implication, and mutters, "That person, isn't that Misao nee-sama?"

“Eh? Ehhhhhh?”

Ayano quickly looks back to inspect the woman downstairs more closely. After a few seconds...

“It seems to be her……”

Indeed, it is Misao Ogami. However, she is completely changed from three days ago. Even the simple fact that she is not wearing a kimono gives a completely different impression. Though Ayano has known Misao from the time they were little, in her memory, this is the first time she has ever seen her in Western-wear.

Perhaps because of that, what can be seen of her legs extending below her coat look exceptionally appealing.

To describe the feeling in a single word, it would be coquettish. Though normally she seems plain, as if wanting to escape notice, now she makes a magnificent impression. Actually, within the five minutes the two had been watching, there have already been three attempts to pick her up.

Misao serenely rejects their advances, and as she had showed them respect despite the rejection, all leave without causing trouble. If this scene were seen by Nanase and Yukari, Ayano would be chastised, saying "learn from her."

After staring, awestruck, for a while, Ren grumbles.

"She seems to be waiting for someone."

"That...is really surprising."

Ayano sounds as though she still cannot believe her eyes, because this is unimaginably different from what she thought earlier.

“Is it a date?”

“…… Is it not?”

A girl like Misao would not dress up in such an extravagant manner to meet a friend of the same gender!

Ayano's interest grows.

“I wonder who is she dating?”

Inattentively sipping her orange juice, she observes the scene outside the window with great interest. Given the intensity of her gaze, anyone watching from the side would find her actions very suspicious.

“…… Nee-sama.”

Ren looks at Ayano, who is spying on Misao with a bitter smile. He himself turns to follow the scene outside. At this moment, the other party appears.

“Nii-sama?!”

He can’t help but doubt his own eyes. But it is indeed Ren’s brother, Kazuma. His appearance is no coincidence, the proof being Misao, smiling broadly, and running to meet Kazuma.

Before Ren, who is dumbstruck, the two intimately hold hands and walk off.

Even after the two disappear from view, Ren is still frozen, staring dumbly at the window. It is an absolutely impossible occurrence, because to Misao, Kazuma is "the man who killed Nii-sama."

A faint sound brought Ren back to his senses.

-squish- [SFX: something being squashed]

Something light and soft was being squashed. Not a rare sound by any means, and yet hearing it filled one with unease.

Ren faces Ayano with unease. As he does not dare look directly at her, he shifts his eyes upwards from below, following the table upwards to Ayano’s direction.

The first thing he sees is Ayano's hand. Her slender fingers ''grip'' the paper cup, still full with juice, and crushes it into the shape of her fist. The juice spills out, forming an orange colored ocean. Her fries and hamburger are completely soaked, and no longer worth eating.

Ayano’s hand crackles, the sound of ice, unable to escape from the cup, being pulverized by her hand, which continuously trembles.

Ren is so frightened, he does dare not look up.

Though he doesn't understand the cause, he recognizes Ayano's extreme anger. If he isn't careful, he might just become her target.

Pak!

Suddenly, Ayano slams the table and stands up.

“Argh!”

To the cringing Ren, Ayano softly says...

“……I am going to follow them.”

“……Huh?”

Before Ren can open his mouth, Ayano has already ran out of the shop.

“Wait…… Wait a minute……”

Ren hurriedly picks up their plates, and, in one go, hands them to the shop assistant lady waiting at the trash bin.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

With his back to the shop assistant showing a professional smile, Ren swiftly runs towards the toilet.

=== 3 ===
After waiting several dozen seconds, Ren runs to catch up to Ayano.

“Nee-sama?”

But by now, there is no sign of Ayano. After looking around in vain, Ren runs in the direction from which Kazuma and Misao took their leave...

...and immediately discovers Ayano, whose actions make her presence immediately obvious.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 073.jpg|thumb]]
“……Nee-sama……”

As a beautiful girl hiding behind an electric pole, sneakily surveying her prey, she stands out more than if she were doing nothing at all.

For a moment, he strongly considers pretending he does not know Ayano and returning home, but he only entertains the thought, unwilling to do such a thing.

Ren bravely steps forward, and walks up to Ayano, who can now be considered an exemplary suspicious character.

“……Nee-sama.”

"What were you doing, taking so long?"

Ren, speechless, silently takes out a wet handkerchief.

“What?”

“Please clean your hands.”

“Huh? Oh. Ah, thank you.”

Ayano takes the handkerchief and begins to clean her hand, sticky from the orange juice.

“You're pretty smart, Ren.”

“You are very welcome,” Ren answers calmly, as he observes Kazuma and Misao, about ten meters to the front.

The two, walking down the road with arms locked, exude an unusually intimate atmosphere. Though they are unable to hear what the two are saying, from the occasional smiles between them, it is easy to tell there is more to their relationship.

"Don't just stand there, hide! We'll be seen!"

Ayano grabs Ren's hand, and ''pulls'' him behind the pole alongside her, but no matter how you might try, it is simply impossible for an electric pole to hide two people.

“Nee-sama, you still want to follow them?”

”Of course.”

“Why?”

Faced with this candid question, Ayano is left momentarily speechless.

"Wh-What kind of question is that?!"

"Because, no matter how I look at it, they are simply on a date. What we are doing is simply prying."

Ren does not exaggerate, but simply says what he truly feels, and Ayano is deeply stung.

"Wh-what prying...This doesn't have such an indecent motive! I am just..."

“Just...?”

"Just...Misao…! That's right! Misao might still intend to take Kazuma's life!"

"No matter what method she may try, she will never beat him."

“Argh...”

Her hastily constructed excuse calmly rebutted, Ayano is left speechless once more.

“Do-Don’t you know? That guy is a sucker for beautiful women!”

“Beautiful women, is it?”

“That's right! Didn’t I tell you before? That guy even tried to force himself on Misao last time!” Ayano, finally raising her head, declares unashamedly.

Ren ponders this for a time, before blushing, and abashedly asking, "So, we will have to continue to spy on the two, until Misao nee-sama...until Misao nee-sama begins to use her beauty to seduce Nii-sama?"

Ayano cannot help but to visualize the scene in her mind. She pictures herself hiding in a dark corner, watching the two as they hug, kiss, and then continue to the next step...

(……Maybe I kind of hate doing this……)

Thinking about these scenes not meant for viewing, Ayano feels like turning back.

At this moment, if he had chosen to continue to persuade her along these lines, Ayano may just have given up. Unfortunately, Ren chose another method - a method so wrong, it couldn't have been worse.

Perhaps because he thinks this reason is more accurate, Ren opens his mouth to ask...

"Nee-sama, could it be that you are...jealous?"

He has no proof, just a feeling. Maybe the wish he holds, that "Kazuma nii-sama and Ayano nee-sama will get along" may be mixed in as well.

In other words, a careless statement.

“Ren...?”

Seeing a smile that could cause a child to live in eternal fear, Ren realizes he has stepped on a land mine.

(Wh-wh-wha?!)

This smile that was not a smile caught Ren, like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to run or even look away.

“Ah…… ah……”

“What did you just say?”

Faced with this question and the smile that, of course, does not reach her eyes, Ren can only shake his head, rigidly like a robot.

Ayano softly reaches out her hand, and places it on Ren's face, filled with fear.

“Ren is such a good kid, that's the way to live to a ripe, old age!”

Ren is helpless to do anything but nod.

“They are still following us.”

“Yeah.”

Misao says so softly and happily, Kazuma on the other hand, replies with a tired expression.

Without even needing to look, the two know they are being tailed - if it can even be considered tailing.

Hiding your tracks, disguising the tail, the precise selection of follow distance and position...no matter how you look at it, this doesn't qualify as tailing. To put it bluntly, even an amateur should do better. It almost makes you want to scream that if they really want to hide, they should at least shut up.

(To entrust those two with the future of the Kannagi...aren't you worried, Soushu?)

Kazuma cannot help but sympathize with Juugo, though never putting it to words. What he considers now is...

“What is it?”

Seeing Misao with an innocent smile, Kazuma gives her a smile in return.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering, where are you taking me?”

“We are almost there.”

Given the way Misao is pulling Kazuma along, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's forcing him along, but Kazuma offers no resistance and follows.

(The feeling of waiting for the gallows...I guess it would be just like this!)

This is what he thinks.

At an alley corner, Misao suddenly stops. This place is surrounded by rows of buildings, and even in broad daylight, it seems rather shady. Misao silently remains in place, while an icy chill fills the air.

Ignoring the rapidly changing atmosphere, Kazuma calmly asks, "Is this place fine?"

“Yup. This is the destination.”

Misao answers in a firm tone, followed with an exaggerated bow.

“So...I wish you luck.”

As she says those words, Kazuma's body flies.

As if hit by an invisible car, or struck in the head by a metallic bat, his body forcefully smashes into the ground.

Several moments later, a veritable explosion of sound shakes the air. As if Kazuma wasn't even given enough time to recognize the sound of gunfire, the body that rolls on the ground seems powerless, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

On the other hand, Misao wears a smile, watching as Kazuma is blown away. She slowly retreats without ever looking away.

As if swapping positions, as Misao retreats, ten men appear from the shadow of the surrounding buildings. The men wore western suits, seemingly businessmen at first glance, but though their ethnicities and ages are all different, their teamwork is at a very high level.

They spread out and surround Kazuma, now lying on the floor, in a fan shaped formation, extracting the contents of their cases in a swift, practiced motion.

What lies within is not documents, or product samples, but a pitch black, metallic object, a device designed solely for killing - an MP5K, a smaller type of MP5, an assault rifle designed for portability.

The men casually place this thing that would not normally appear in a businessman's briefcase near their waists, as if it is only natural, and without hesitation, they pull the trigger.

The bullets are fired out in full-auto, and several hundred shots crash into Kazuma's body as one. Hit asphalt was crushed into a fine mist, staining their surroundings with gray.

The men take no notice, and continue to spray fire over a wide area in Kazuma's direction.

It takes less than three seconds for them to run through their magazines, and they quickly insert a new clip before resuming fire.

Then this scene repeated itself once more.

When all three cartridges have been expended, the men swiftly take cover, while something drops from the sky at high velocity.

-BOOM-

An explosion.

The violent explosion blew away everything where it landed.

“…… This way…… No matter how strong that man is……”

Looking at the dusty scene of the explosion, Misao mutters to herself without emotion.

Indeed, there aren't many who could survive such an encounter. To expend close to a thousand bullets and over a dozen missiles - to call this overkill would be an understatement.

An attack that would make you feel the objective is not to "kill," but to "eradicate," to the point that nothing would remain. This is just such an attack.

She shifts her eyes slightly, seeing Ayano and Ren hugging each other on the ground.

They seem to be too shocked to stand, but as long as the two are unharmed, it is fine. Even if she has already severed her ties, she is unable to forget her respect for the Kannagi, let alone have them as enemies.

On the other hand, in the corner where Kazuma lay, the remains of the destroyed building begin to collapse, forming a small hill of concrete rubble. Even were you to search under that hill, probably not a scrap of cloth remained.

“We must dig the corpse out.”

Witnessing the horrifying scene before her, Misao calmly says to herself. At this moment, the men bearing the assault rifles run out and encircle the small hill of concrete.

An awful silence looms over the area.

“………………”

Pa-chunk. [SFX: concrete shifting]

A faint sound emerged from the bottom of the small hill, slicing through the silence.

“----------------!”

The originally puppet-like, emotionless faces of the men seem shaken for the first time.

A black shadow appears from within the misty white dust, and the sound of steady footsteps flow forth.

“Fi-Fire!”

A command shouted in a voice that no longer radiates calm. Driven by fear, and the voice, the men reflexively pull the trigger.

The erupting gunfire, loud enough to cause deafness, echoes through the alley. After being hit by several hundred more bullets, the black shadow falls once more.

“…… Phew……”

Someone breathes out in relief, as if released from a heavy burden. Following his lead, the other men begin to relax, one by one. At this moment-

A tornado appears.

The seemingly rampaging tornado is tightly controlled, only cutting the bodies of the ten men. Five bodies, already torn to pieces, dance in the sky. Simultaneously, the tornado disperses all the dust. In the blink of an eye, the air has become unbelievably clear.

"Making such a scene, as always."

Kazuma smiles happily.

After recovering from momentary shock, Misao's face resumes its gentle smile as she looks at Kazuma.

Other than a little dirt, he suffered no damage at all. It appears he used a wind barrier to deflect everything.

Misao puts her hand in her pocket, as if nothing has happened, and radios a signal.

"Just to warn you, don't waste your energy," Kazuma unhurriedly advises Misao.

“The snipers are dead - both of them.”

After hearing this snide comment, delivered in a matter-of-course tone, Misao's smile instantly vanishes.

In addition to the first sniper, over one kilometer away, Misao had prepared a secondary sniper as a trump card. Placed in front of, and behind, with Kazuma in the center, two kilometers separated the two.

And yet Kazuma had killed them. This meant that while defending against such a savage attack, he was calmly scanning an area with a radius of at least one kilometer without missing a step.

Though what he says is unbelievable, the radio has yet to respond. Misao offers a bitter smile, and discards her radio.

“Gee, are you a monster?”

“People often say that I am,” Kazuma answers calmly.

"But, for you to think of such a method-! Compared to your en-jutsu, modern weaponry is definitely much more effective - alas, it still isn't enough."

“So it seems. How about cruise missiles next time?”

Both of them reveal a kind smile.

At this time, the bodies of the men killed by the tornado and thrown to the skies begin to rain down.

Kazuma deflects the corpses with his wind-

-KABOOM- [SFX: explosion]

Misao, on the other hand, remorselessly burns the corpses to ash with her fire.

Seeing the corpses turn to dust, to be blown away by the wind, Kazuma asks in a low voice, "Those men were hired by you, weren't they?"

“I don’t recall hiring dead people.”

Misao, smiling, replies.

Yes, Misao is smiling. Though the mercenaries she hired turned a street corner to ruin, causing death and injury to many, that smile holds not a shred of insincerity.

Pure and innocent, a smile to be pitied - the smile of someone who has crossed a line that should never be crossed, the smile of someone on the wrong path.

"You've changed, Misao...Was I the cause...?" Kazuma asks, in a rare, pained tone.

“I changed? Did you know me that well?”

“…… That is true.”

Kazuma waves away his sorrow, reverting to a cold expression.

“So, your plan ends here?”

“Yes, this is it for today.”

“Is that so? You may go then.”

Hearing these words, Misao is slightly shocked.

“Is it really okay to just let me go?”

“I have said this before. No matter what method you may try, you cannot even scratch me.”

"You will regret it.”

“Let's wait and see.”

Misao does not reply, and silently turns to leave.

Seeing the shadow of her back fade away in the distance, Kazuma sighs softly.

“Ten years…… is really a long time……”

His quiet words pass unheard, and disappear into the winds.

=== 4 ===
"Gunfire broke out at 4 PM today, in an incident in Chiyoda Ward, Kudankita district, and has already claimed more than 30 lives."

The nightly news is reporting on the earlier episode, which can only be expected. Even though the legend of Japanese security has already long since broken down, things have yet to reach the point where a firefight in the center of Tokyo is a common occurrence.

Because the incident took place near the royal residence, all of Tokyo instantly went on high alert. As if under martial law, police can be seen everywhere.

Pointing at the ruinous street corner appearing on the television, Juugo shows Ayano a look of suspicion.

“You are saying ''all this'' is Misao’s doing?”

“Yes…… umm…… it should be……”

Ayano answers hesitantly. The more she looks at the scene depicted on the television, the less real it seems.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Misao the two know would never be associated with such an incident. Normally a very sympathetic girl, even were she to hold a grudge, she would never be so cruel as to involve innocents, and were she to decide to take revenge, she would choose a method that would not involve others.

But...

"For an obedient, docile girl like Misao... Once she gets angry, her actions are surprisingly audacious..." Ayano mumbles wholeheartedly.

From speaking with Masayuki, they had learned that Misao had already disappeared two days prior, along with an eight digit sum from the Ogami family account.

It goes without saying that she has yet to be seen again.

"Don't look as though this doesn't concern you, why didn't you grab her on the spot?"

"Because, Kazuma...he-"

In response to Juugo's reprimand, Ayano responds coquettishly.

“No excuses. After all, you are to be the next Soushu.“

(Just what do you expect me to do in that kind of situation...)

Ayano puts on an obedient front in the face of Juugo's lecture, but within her, the earlier incident is replaying itself.

“Ugh, I can't hear a thing.”

With Kazuma's safe return, and the subsequent exit of his assailants, Ayano became a stalker once more, but the distance between them was too large, and she was unable to listen in.

At times like these, En-jutsu was useless. Among the various forms of En-jutsu, which exhibits an overwhelming attack power, there is nothing that can be used for reconnaissance.

In the end, Ayano did not manage to catch even a single word of the conversation.

“That guy seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Is that so? He looks pained to me.”

“Pained? That guy? What a joyous occasion.”

“Nee-sama……”

The reason why Ayano can have such an attitude is because she thinks that it is all over.

She believes that Misao has no cards left to play, and all that is left is the aftermath. Or so she thought.

Unfortunately...

After the conversation comes to a peaceful resolution, Misao turns, not to run away, but to calmly walk away.

Kazuma does not give chase, and just silently watches as she takes her leave.

In the moments during which Ayano is too stunned to move, Misao leisurely disappears.

“Wa-Wait a minute!”

Coming back to her senses, Ayano runs to Kazuma’s side, and grabs his collar.

“Why did you let her escape!?”

“Why should I capture her?”

Kazuma does not seem surprised by Ayano’s appearance, and questions her in turn, as if only natural.

“What do you mean why…… This incident was caused by Misao!”

“From the way I see it, they're the ones responsible?”

In response to Ayano, who is pointing at the remains of the building, Kazuma points instead at the corpses of the fallen men.

“That's what I'm saying! They were following her orders!“

”Is that so? That's news to me.”

“Yo-You really……”

The hand gripping his collar increases in force. From her attitude it is plain to see that what Ayano really wants to grab is Kazuma's throat.

“If you let her be, Misao will do the same thing again!”

“Does it matter? There wasn't any harm done anyway.”

“Are you blind?”

Ayano once again points to the pathetic scene behind her.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kazuma corrects himself.

"No harm to me.”

Pachi.

“You bastard! Just stand there and receive your punishment!”

A flaming fist (Note: not a metaphor) strikes at Kazuma. Dodging the strike with ease, Kazuma begins to chat with his brother, who walks up to him.

“Oh, Ren. How've you been?”

“Well……”

“Damn it! Die! Die this instant!”

“How noisy!”

Kazuma closes the distance as Ayano draws her fist, and light twists her right hand upwards.

“Gya!”

Ayano’s elbow is flipped up, and the joints in her arm, elbow, and shoulder are all stretched to the limit at the same time. Under this condition, Ayano can only arc her body, tip-toe and bear with it. Her body loses balance completely, and all she can do is surrender.

“Ugh……”

Ignoring Ayano, who is trying her best to recover her balance, Kazuma warns Ren, “I am heading back, you guys should leave too. It'll be troublesome if the police sees you.”

“Cya then.”

He carelessly waves his hand and sweeps his eyes towards Ayano with an expression of victory, now stumbling on the floor.

“Yo-You!”

With his back to Ayano, who is glaring at him, Kazuma walks off.

“Nee-sama, are you okay?”

Treating Ren's words of concern with the regard she would give a gust of breeze, Ayano silently watches Kazuma's back.

(That guy-! One day I will definitely teach him a lesson!)

Ayano forgets that she is listening to her father’s lecturing, and grows angry at the thought.

Juugo does not fail to notice. When he sees that Ayano is not paying attention, he stands up - Ayano shows no reaction - walks forward - Ayano still does not react - and knocks his fist on the top of her head.

Dong!

An extremely exaggerated sound comes forth. Ayano is in such pain that she cannot even scream, and her entire body collapses on the tatami.

Having suffered the blow on the top of her head while kneeling, the impact had nowhere to go but straight down. Agonizing under a blow that seemed as if it would crush her skull, Ayano can only endure.

“I…… I object to violence……” Ayano protests, with tears in her eyes.

"Don't just say the words, ''change''.”

Juugo, of course, ignores her protest.

"It seems I've spoiled you too much in the past. I will have to be more strict from now."

"But that's..."

Disregarding Ayano's pitiful expression, Juugo returns to the topic at hand.

“So? Did you notice any other clues?”

“Kazuma is very suspicious!” Ayano shouts at almost exactly the same time.

“………………………”

Juugo simply looks at Ayano without saying a word. To call his gaze critical would be conservative.

“…… Is that all?”

“Be……Because it's weird, isn't it?! Why didn't Kazuma kill Misao!?”

“Hmm……”

Juugo grows silent, not speaking a word. Seizing this opportunity, Ayano presses on.

”Otou-sama, just think about it, doesn’t Kazuma resent the Kannagi to the core? To not even kill a single person up until now, it just seems so weird.”

“He seems to have told Ren that he 'no longer hates the Kannagi family'.”

“Who knows? Even if that's true, if someone took the initiative to attack him, that shouldn't still be the case. Didn’t we see it already? The fourteen or fifteen men who surrounded and attacked him, he beat to a pulp. That is Kazuma’s 'usual' way of doing things.”

“...Mm-hmm...”

Juugo nods. To this point, he has had no objections.

“But in that case, why didn't he lay a hand on Misao?”

“No idea. But anyone can see that Misao is very special in Kazuma’s eyes. There must be something between them,” Ayano says bluntly, with a stern, or rather, sharp expression.

“He fell in love with Misao?”

Ayano’s body trembles slightly. She looks at her father with the unsure eyes of a lost child.

“Otou-sama thinks so too?”

“Who knows?”

Juugo answers vaguely, he hopes that he is just thinking too much.

(Kazuma must return to the Kannagi. But, Misao is unable to be his support.)

To say he does not expect Kazuma to replace the Fuuga would be a lie. Going further, Juugo has not forgotten the danger Kazuma poses.

Kazuma had shown his scars once before. Juugo cannot pretend not to have seen that unhealed wound.

(Kazuma needs a place to return to. And for that……)

Juugo looks at Ayano with eyes that hold deep meaning, but Ayano is currently too focused on her own troubles, and fails to notice those eyes at all.

“Anyway, lets find Kazuma and ask him about it first.”

Ayano returns back to her senses, and nods in agreement.

“Ye…… Yeah... By the way, why is that guy always so mysterious?”

“Indeed.”

Jugo gives a bitter smile. He feels unease precisely because he understands that it is due to Kazuma's mistrust of the Kannagi.

“Somehow, we must find a way……”

In the end, Juugo never got a chance to ask Kazuma about the circumstances between him and Misao, and by now, the opportunity has already long passed.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 2

2009-06-11T01:03:47Z

Kalessin: /* 1 */ Fixed tenses and improved wording and flow of text.

== Chapter Two - Assault – Determination After Removing All Doubts ==

=== 1 ===

The boy’s arm was wreathed in red flame.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

A wordless scream escaped the boy’s mouth.

So hot – there was no room in his mind for anything but the heat, all thought being stolen by the crimson flame.

He continuously rolled on the floor, attempting to extinguish the flame. Nearby, some children observed his pitiable state.

I say children, but that belies the range of their ages. The smallest were young children of only four or five while the oldest were full-grown teenagers of fifteen or sixteen.

Their sole common denominator could be seen on their faces.

Scorn.

This group of children joyfully surrounded the burning youth, laughing with mirth.

An unfeigned laughter that came from the heart. Innocent. Naive. Cruel.

The cruelty of a child who cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Like children who pluck off the wings of a dragonfly just to watch it struggle, they enjoyed the youth’s predicament as he painfully struggled the same way.

“A member of the main family getting burned by fire!”

“How useless!”

“‘A humiliation to the clan,’ my father said!”

“Someone as worthless as you has no right to bear the name ‘Kannagi!’”

The boy could only hug his burnt arm, his face showing a painful expression as the others continued to mock him, one after another.

“It’s my turn!”

A young girl around ten years old raised her hand to declare.

“Oh– Go on. Quickly now!”

The children cheered. The girl, encouraged, held her fist to her chest and began to concentrate.

“Heh!”

Following the cute shout, a red flame suddenly appeared like a ghost above the cringing youth.

The fire slowly descended until it touched the boy’s back.

Sssssssss!

“...!”

The sound of burning meat could be heard. The youth’s body, originally curled into a ball, straightened out forcefully. This scene served only to amplify the mocking.

“My turn next!”

“I wanna go too!”

His legs, his back, his shoulders – all were continuously tattooed by the ferocious flame. Each time the boy’s body instinctively twitched. Each time it gave off a burning smell.

Despite the horrid cruelty of their actions, none present felt the least degree of guilt. To them, fire was nothing to fear.

Were they to be put in his shoes, they would not experience the smallest discomfort. Even for those whose “power” was ‘weak,’ the most that would burn would be their clothes – their bodies would remain completely unharmed.

This was because their clan had been blessed with fire‘s protection.

Because of this, these children were completely unaware of the dangers of fire, and they did not understand the pain of being scorched.

You cannot imagine what you do not know, and because they were unable to imagine the pain, they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

The boy silently endured the innocent and naive torture of the other children in the clan alone.

“Ah... Ah...”

By the time the children were finally satisfied, the youth was left to painfully contend with his smoking body.

“Ahhh– that was fun.”

“Bye bye. Let’s play again~”

As part of their exit ritual, everyone present gave the twitching body a merciless kick. But before anyone could leave, the eldest and largest boy went further and stomped on the boy’s head.

“...Hmm?”

“What’s wrong with Toru?”

Hearing the large boy, Toru Kuga, let out a pathetic cry, the others turned in surprise.

“You... You foolish idiot!”

The head that Toru had forcefully stepped on was now slowly lifting itself upward. The youth used his hands as support against the floor and stared intently at Toru from below.

“You... What are you trying to do...?”

Seeing those eyes, filled with murder, Toru couldn’t help but retreat in fright. Immediately filled with shame at his actions, he became angry.

“What’s with that look? This worthless scum actually dares to resist?!”

Toru summoned a flame, angrily throwing it in the youth’s direction.

The youth quickly rose and dodged the incoming flame. Dragging his heavily wounded frame, he dashed at incredible speed, closing in on Toru.

“W... Wah...”

Aiming directly at the terrified Toru’s face, he exerted all the strength in his body to strike him with his palm.

Pachunk! [SFX: something breaking]

Toru’s nose had broken.

“Toru!”

While the group could only stare, aghast at the sudden incident, the boy attacked two more people. Driven in his berserk rage, his fist broke the first’s cheekbones and the second’s chin, causing them to roll in pain as he did earlier.

“...Wu...Ah...!”

But his mad rush ended there. The burden his actions had placed on his pained body was beyond the limits of his will. His stomach heaved, and as if trying to reject everything, he vomited over and over.

“You...! How dare you...!”

Realizing that they were no longer at risk, the others took heart. In order to punish this thing that didn’t know its place, they began to focus their mental energy.

But–

“All of you... Get lost!”

A weak, yet furious voice stopped them. They looked back in fear, and before their eyes was...

“I am going to slaughter you...”

Fresh blood streaming from his nose, Toru gazed at the boy with bloodshot, insane eyes, devoid of reason.

“I am so going to slaughter you–!”

An insane fury amplified Toru’s abilities several-fold. Stretching his right hand directly upward, he summoned a huge fireball that seemed encased by a pair of hands.

“Go and die!”

The youth’s eyes didn’t blink. They could only stare at the fireball. Despite his body’s inability to move, he refused to give in. Like a wounded beast with death fast approaching, he searched for any sign of weakness in his enemy.

– Kaboom!

“Hmph! Now you know my strength!”

Seeing the youth wrapped in flame, Toru smiled.

The flame gradually dispersed. But amidst the disappearing flame, what appeared was...

“Ah... Ah?”

Contrary to Toru’s expectations, the boy yet lived. Parts of his body were burnt black, but his limbs still remained; he had successfully withstood Toru’s flame.

Using every last drop of his ''ki'' to create a defensive barrier, the youth had just barely managed to survive.

“You... You asshole...”

Toru’s expression grew more sinister. If he were to prove unable to beat this youth who lacked even a hint of ability as an ''En-jutsu'', he would forever be looked down upon and despised by the others.

“Arrogant trash!”

This scream, filled with displeasure, failed to reach the boy’s ears. His body had long since surpassed its limits, and having spent all his ''ki,'' he was no different from a walking corpse.

Not content to simply leave the youth to die, Toru prepared to give him a fatal strike. Against his fate, the youth was helpless.

“...”

Kazuma suddenly opened his eyes. This was a rare occasion for him – he usually had a hard time waking up – but his consciousness was fully awake.

But it was only to be expected. How could anyone refuse to wake up after having a dream like that?

Maintaining his waking posture, Kazuma faced upward and he looked silently at the ceiling. Unblinking, he remained like this for a full half-minute.

“Frankly speaking, what an unpleasant dream.”

Closing his eyes, he emptied all the air in his lungs with a moan.

Something that had happened exactly ten years ago, a painful experience that caused nightmares.

Of the eighteen years he had spent among the Kannagis, that was his most painful experience. Had no one put a stop to it, he might have died.

Due to the level of his injuries, despite receiving the highest level recovery ''jutsus'' daily, it had taken him a month to recover.

But that was not what was important. To Kazuma, it was his first defeat.

Not in terms of the injuries he sustained.

But for giving in to despair.

Once he had understood that he could not win against the Kannagis’ flames, that he would forever be a weakling, Kazuma had given up on fighting back.

He had given in to those that scorned him.

From that day forward, Kazuma had continued to run away. Not resisting, pitifully pleading for mercy, enduring endless torment, endless public humiliation.

But it no longer mattered.

Because he was no longer willing to partake of that misery.

“...I can’t forget.”

Kazuma realized that his memories of his past humiliations were as clear as if they had happened only yesterday and murmured to himself.

“I don’t even mind.”

Even though he was now in Japan once more, he had never even considered taking revenge – even though doing so would have been a painfully simple task.

To bend his pinky three centimeters; if the effort needed to kill Toru were converted to energy – that would be precisely how much would be required. Any strength Toru had gained in the last four years would be inconsequential.

(...That’s odd...?)

Kazuma’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted. He realized he could not picture Toru.

“Have I not seen him yet?”

Despite meeting several groups of branch family ''jutsushis'', he hadn’t spent any time verifying their identities, so he was unsure whether or not he had met Toru.

“...Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, Kazuma covered himself with the covers once more. Though fully awake, he had nothing in particular to do, and didn’t feel like getting up just yet.

(Let’s get some more sleep...)

Alas, the heavens did not seem to agree with this unproductive decision.

Dulululululululululu–

Kazuma glared at the ringing phone, openly displaying his irritation.

What a crafty ring. The more he tried to ignore the ringing, the more insistent it seemed to get, and yet it wasn’t so loud that he would wreck the phone in frustration.

“Damn it!”

Left with no other alternative, Kazuma reached for the phone. But instead of leaving his bed for the phone, he brought the phone to him.

“...Who’s making a call so early in the morning?” he grumbled in a mournful tone, despite the fact it was already late morning.

“Hello?”

He spoke in a sluggish tone – giving away the fact that he had just woken up – but his tranquil mind was pondering the courteous reply from the other end.

“Oh?”

This time, Kazuma was fully awake. There was no longer any sign of fatigue on the face that suddenly emerged from the covers.

“Today? Ah, sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kazuma answered politely, and then hung up. He flipped the covers back and crawled out, stretching lazily.

With his usual complacent smile now on his face, Kazuma muttered.

“Looks like it’s gonna be a busy day.”

=== 2 ===

Walking home after school, Ayano's eyes catch upon a small shadow about ten meters away.

“Hey-“

She was just about to call out when she suddenly stopped, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face.

Ayano slowly snuck up on the shadow, step by step, who had yet to notice Ayano's presence.

“Wh-wha!”

Standing immediately behind her target, she grabs her victim in a bear hug, as if to envelop the entirety of the small figure. Against the youth, caught in her embrace, now giving off a cute scream and struggling to escape with all his might, Ayano skillfully secures all movement.

“Nee……Nee-sama!?”

“Completely unguarded, this means you still need more training, Ren.”

“To say this now is really…… Anyway, just let me go first, Nee-sama!”

“No way~ Free yourself!”

Looking at the two fooling around, passersby cannot help but crack a faint, bittersweet smile.

Judging by their appearances, the two are a rare and beautiful pair of "sisters." Though one of them only looks to be around the age of ten, they are still pleasing to the eyes.

“Nee……Nee-sama! Really……”

Realizing they've become the center of attention, Ren's face reddens. Despite all appearances, he is, after all, a twelve year old boy. Thus, it isn't strange for him to feel shy about female physical contact.

After finally being released from confinement, Ren demands, “Seriously...What is Nee-sama thinking?!” as he gasps for air.

However, his expression, along with wet, pleading eyes instead generates the feeling that he is really cute, and not scary in the least. More than likely, it wouldn't scare even a three year old.

“Ahahaha! Sorry, sorry, this is a display of love for Ren too.”

It goes without saying that Ayano is not in the least afraid. She pats Ren’s shoulder, and cheekily ignores Ren’s complaints.

“Honestly!”

Unable to vent his displeasure, Ren's expression sours instantly.

This method is very effective. Because this is simply too cute, there is no way to ignore him.

“I am really sorry. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“I won't let you change the subject.”

Ren's mood does not seem to improve. He turns his head to the side, unwilling to meet Ayano's eyes.

Ayano uses both hands to grab Ren’s head, and forces him to turn his face back towards her.

“If you still will not listen...

She slowly moves her face closer, almost touching his nose.

“Then I will kiss you! ♥”

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

This is how easily Ayano toys with the youth, who is dancing in the palm of her hand.

“Huh? So something like that happened.”

On the second floor of the hamburger shop near the station, the two are chatting about the victory banquet a few days earlier.

Hearing Ren’s innocent reaction, Ayano reveals an evil smirk and answers.

“Yeah, when Ren was asleep.”

“……Geez, don’t bring that up anymore!”

Ren’s cheeks flush red. He'd been asleep that day, from beginning to end. The shock and shame of waking up on Ayano's lap showed no sign of subsiding even now.

For the first time, he truly felt what it meant to want to hide his head in the ground.

"What will I do if Father finds out about this..."

Seeing the uneasy Ren, Ayano grabs a French fry and says with ease, “What else can you do? He already knows doesn’t he? There seems to be quite a number of people visiting him these few days.”

Ren's father, Genma, had not participated in the battle against the Fuuga, having earlier lost to Kazuma in the quarrel between father and son, and is still resting in the hospital.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Ren collapses on the table, hugs his head and moans.

Genma, already very strict with himself, is even more strict with his relatives. It isn't hard to imagine his reaction when he finally hears of his son's blunder.

"It's fine. Don't be so down."

“But I ''am'' 'so down'.”

Ren reproaches Ayano's irresponsible remark in an incomparably downhearted voice.

“Because once father is angry, he is really strict.”

“……I guess!”

Ayano replies in a carefree tone. Whether or not he would be angry is another matter entirely. The image of an "easygoing Genma" is beyond imagination.

(Will that guy smile before Ren’s face?)

Even though she has only seen him either mocking or whole-heartedly laughing.

“When the time comes, you can just place all the blame on Kazuma.”

“To place blame on others would only make Father even angrier.”

“……That is true……This kind of person is really hard to deal with.”

“Awuuuuuuuuuh!”

Ren spreads himself on the table and moans.

“Huh?”

It's a coincidence, but...

If he had been sitting upright, his view would have been blocked by protruding branches, causing the scene to have escaped his notice, but because he had collapsed on the table in despair, he instead became witness to an incredible sight.

“What is it?”

“That person……”

Ayano lowers her head to look in the direction Ren indicates.

Lying directly ahead, at the edge of her purview, a female is standing. A beautiful, mesmerizing woman with shiny black hair, wearing a clean, pure white coat, the starkly contrasting colors making her even more attractive.

Ayano smiles at Ren, with mischief in mind.

“What a beautiful person. Do you know her?”

Ren ignores the implication, and mutters, "That person, isn't that Misao nee-sama?"

“Eh? Ehhhhhh?”

Ayano quickly looks back to inspect the woman downstairs more closely. After a few seconds...

“It seems to be her……”

Indeed, it is Misao Ogami. However, she is completely changed from three days ago. Even the simple fact that she is not wearing a kimono gives a completely different impression. Though Ayano has known Misao from the time they were little, in her memory, this is the first time she has ever seen her in Western-wear.

Perhaps because of that, what can be seen of her legs extending below her coat look exceptionally appealing.

To describe the feeling in a single word, it would be coquettish. Though normally she seems plain, as if wanting to escape notice, now she makes a magnificent impression. Actually, within the five minutes the two had been watching, there have already been three attempts to pick her up.

Misao serenely rejects their advances, and as she had showed them respect despite the rejection, all leave without causing trouble. If this scene were seen by Nanase and Yukari, Ayano would be chastised, saying "learn from her."

After staring, awestruck, for a while, Ren grumbles.

"She seems to be waiting for someone."

"That...is really surprising."

Ayano sounds as though she still cannot believe her eyes, because this is unimaginably different from what she thought earlier.

“Is it a date?”

“…… Is it not?”

A girl like Misao would not dress up in such an extravagant manner to meet a friend of the same gender!

Ayano's interest grows.

“I wonder who is she dating?”

Inattentively sipping her orange juice, she observes the scene outside the window with great interest. Given the intensity of her gaze, anyone watching from the side would find her actions very suspicious.

“…… Nee-sama.”

Ren looks at Ayano, who is spying on Misao with a bitter smile. He himself turns to follow the scene outside. At this moment, the other party appears.

“Nii-sama?!”

He can’t help but doubt his own eyes. But it is indeed Ren’s brother, Kazuma. His appearance is no coincidence, the proof being Misao, smiling broadly, and running to meet Kazuma.

Before Ren, who is dumbstruck, the two intimately hold hands and walk off.

Even after the two disappear from view, Ren is still frozen, staring dumbly at the window. It is an absolutely impossible occurrence, because to Misao, Kazuma is "the man who killed Nii-sama."

A faint sound brought Ren back to his senses.

-squish- [SFX: something being squashed]

Something light and soft was being squashed. Not a rare sound by any means, and yet hearing it filled one with unease.

Ren faces Ayano with unease. As he does not dare look directly at her, he shifts his eyes upwards from below, following the table upwards to Ayano’s direction.

The first thing he sees is Ayano's hand. Her slender fingers ''grip'' the paper cup, still full with juice, and crushes it into the shape of her fist. The juice spills out, forming an orange colored ocean. Her fries and hamburger are completely soaked, and no longer worth eating.

Ayano’s hand crackles, the sound of ice, unable to escape from the cup, being pulverized by her hand, which continuously trembles.

Ren is so frightened, he does dare not look up.

Though he doesn't understand the cause, he recognizes Ayano's extreme anger. If he isn't careful, he might just become her target.

Pak!

Suddenly, Ayano slams the table and stands up.

“Argh!”

To the cringing Ren, Ayano softly says...

“……I am going to follow them.”

“……Huh?”

Before Ren can open his mouth, Ayano has already ran out of the shop.

“Wait…… Wait a minute……”

Ren hurriedly picks up their plates, and, in one go, hands them to the shop assistant lady waiting at the trash bin.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

With his back to the shop assistant showing a professional smile, Ren swiftly runs towards the toilet.

=== 3 ===
After waiting several dozen seconds, Ren runs to catch up to Ayano.

“Nee-sama?”

But by now, there is no sign of Ayano. After looking around in vain, Ren runs in the direction from which Kazuma and Misao took their leave...

...and immediately discovers Ayano, whose actions make her presence immediately obvious.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 073.jpg|thumb]]
“……Nee-sama……”

As a beautiful girl hiding behind an electric pole, sneakily surveying her prey, she stands out more than if she were doing nothing at all.

For a moment, he strongly considers pretending he does not know Ayano and returning home, but he only entertains the thought, unwilling to do such a thing.

Ren bravely steps forward, and walks up to Ayano, who can now be considered an exemplary suspicious character.

“……Nee-sama.”

"What were you doing, taking so long?"

Ren, speechless, silently takes out a wet handkerchief.

“What?”

“Please clean your hands.”

“Huh? Oh. Ah, thank you.”

Ayano takes the handkerchief and begins to clean her hand, sticky from the orange juice.

“You're pretty smart, Ren.”

“You are very welcome,” Ren answers calmly, as he observes Kazuma and Misao, about ten meters to the front.

The two, walking down the road with arms locked, exude an unusually intimate atmosphere. Though they are unable to hear what the two are saying, from the occasional smiles between them, it is easy to tell there is more to their relationship.

"Don't just stand there, hide! We'll be seen!"

Ayano grabs Ren's hand, and ''pulls'' him behind the pole alongside her, but no matter how you might try, it is simply impossible for an electric pole to hide two people.

“Nee-sama, you still want to follow them?”

”Of course.”

“Why?”

Faced with this candid question, Ayano is left momentarily speechless.

"Wh-What kind of question is that?!"

"Because, no matter how I look at it, they are simply on a date. What we are doing is simply prying."

Ren does not exaggerate, but simply says what he truly feels, and Ayano is deeply stung.

"Wh-what prying...This doesn't have such an indecent motive! I am just..."

“Just...?”

"Just...Misao…! That's right! Misao might still intend to take Kazuma's life!"

"No matter what method she may try, she will never beat him."

“Argh...”

Her hastily constructed excuse calmly rebutted, Ayano is left speechless once more.

“Do-Don’t you know? That guy is a sucker for beautiful women!”

“Beautiful women, is it?”

“That's right! Didn’t I tell you before? That guy even tried to force himself on Misao last time!” Ayano, finally raising her head, declares unashamedly.

Ren ponders this for a time, before blushing, and abashedly asking, "So, we will have to continue to spy on the two, until Misao nee-sama...until Misao nee-sama begins to use her beauty to seduce Nii-sama?"

Ayano cannot help but to visualize the scene in her mind. She pictures herself hiding in a dark corner, watching the two as they hug, kiss, and then continue to the next step...

(……Maybe I kind of hate doing this……)

Thinking about these scenes not meant for viewing, Ayano feels like turning back.

At this moment, if he had chosen to continue to persuade her along these lines, Ayano may just have given up. Unfortunately, Ren chose another method - a method so wrong, it couldn't have been worse.

Perhaps because he thinks this reason is more accurate, Ren opens his mouth to ask...

"Nee-sama, could it be that you are...jealous?"

He has no proof, just a feeling. Maybe the wish he holds, that "Kazuma nii-sama and Ayano nee-sama will get along" may be mixed in as well.

In other words, a careless statement.

“Ren...?”

Seeing a smile that could cause a child to live in eternal fear, Ren realizes he has stepped on a land mine.

(Wh-wh-wha?!)

This smile that was not a smile caught Ren, like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to run or even look away.

“Ah…… ah……”

“What did you just say?”

Faced with this question and the smile that, of course, does not reach her eyes, Ren can only shake his head, rigidly like a robot.

Ayano softly reaches out her hand, and places it on Ren's face, filled with fear.

“Ren is such a good kid, that's the way to live to a ripe, old age!”

Ren is helpless to do anything but nod.

“They are still following us.”

“Yeah.”

Misao says so softly and happily, Kazuma on the other hand, replies with a tired expression.

Without even needing to look, the two know they are being tailed - if it can even be considered tailing.

Hiding your tracks, disguising the tail, the precise selection of follow distance and position...no matter how you look at it, this doesn't qualify as tailing. To put it bluntly, even an amateur should do better. It almost makes you want to scream that if they really want to hide, they should at least shut up.

(To entrust those two with the future of the Kannagi...aren't you worried, Soushu?)

Kazuma cannot help but sympathize with Juugo, though never putting it to words. What he considers now is...

“What is it?”

Seeing Misao with an innocent smile, Kazuma gives her a smile in return.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering, where are you taking me?”

“We are almost there.”

Given the way Misao is pulling Kazuma along, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's forcing him along, but Kazuma offers no resistance and follows.

(The feeling of waiting for the gallows...I guess it would be just like this!)

This is what he thinks.

At an alley corner, Misao suddenly stops. This place is surrounded by rows of buildings, and even in broad daylight, it seems rather shady. Misao silently remains in place, while an icy chill fills the air.

Ignoring the rapidly changing atmosphere, Kazuma calmly asks, "Is this place fine?"

“Yup. This is the destination.”

Misao answers in a firm tone, followed with an exaggerated bow.

“So...I wish you luck.”

As she says those words, Kazuma's body flies.

As if hit by an invisible car, or struck in the head by a metallic bat, his body forcefully smashes into the ground.

Several moments later, a veritable explosion of sound shakes the air. As if Kazuma wasn't even given enough time to recognize the sound of gunfire, the body that rolls on the ground seems powerless, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

On the other hand, Misao wears a smile, watching as Kazuma is blown away. She slowly retreats without ever looking away.

As if swapping positions, as Misao retreats, ten men appear from the shadow of the surrounding buildings. The men wore western suits, seemingly businessmen at first glance, but though their ethnicities and ages are all different, their teamwork is at a very high level.

They spread out and surround Kazuma, now lying on the floor, in a fan shaped formation, extracting the contents of their cases in a swift, practiced motion.

What lies within is not documents, or product samples, but a pitch black, metallic object, a device designed solely for killing - an MP5K, a smaller type of MP5, an assault rifle designed for portability.

The men casually place this thing that would not normally appear in a businessman's briefcase near their waists, as if it is only natural, and without hesitation, they pull the trigger.

The bullets are fired out in full-auto, and several hundred shots crash into Kazuma's body as one. Hit asphalt was crushed into a fine mist, staining their surroundings with gray.

The men take no notice, and continue to spray fire over a wide area in Kazuma's direction.

It takes less than three seconds for them to run through their magazines, and they quickly insert a new clip before resuming fire.

Then this scene repeated itself once more.

When all three cartridges have been expended, the men swiftly take cover, while something drops from the sky at high velocity.

-BOOM-

An explosion.

The violent explosion blew away everything where it landed.

“…… This way…… No matter how strong that man is……”

Looking at the dusty scene of the explosion, Misao mutters to herself without emotion.

Indeed, there aren't many who could survive such an encounter. To expend close to a thousand bullets and over a dozen missiles - to call this overkill would be an understatement.

An attack that would make you feel the objective is not to "kill," but to "eradicate," to the point that nothing would remain. This is just such an attack.

She shifts her eyes slightly, seeing Ayano and Ren hugging each other on the ground.

They seem to be too shocked to stand, but as long as the two are unharmed, it is fine. Even if she has already severed her ties, she is unable to forget her respect for the Kannagi, let alone have them as enemies.

On the other hand, in the corner where Kazuma lay, the remains of the destroyed building begin to collapse, forming a small hill of concrete rubble. Even were you to search under that hill, probably not a scrap of cloth remained.

“We must dig the corpse out.”

Witnessing the horrifying scene before her, Misao calmly says to herself. At this moment, the men bearing the assault rifles run out and encircle the small hill of concrete.

An awful silence looms over the area.

“………………”

Pa-chunk. [SFX: concrete shifting]

A faint sound emerged from the bottom of the small hill, slicing through the silence.

“----------------!”

The originally puppet-like, emotionless faces of the men seem shaken for the first time.

A black shadow appears from within the misty white dust, and the sound of steady footsteps flow forth.

“Fi-Fire!”

A command shouted in a voice that no longer radiates calm. Driven by fear, and the voice, the men reflexively pull the trigger.

The erupting gunfire, loud enough to cause deafness, echoes through the alley. After being hit by several hundred more bullets, the black shadow falls once more.

“…… Phew……”

Someone breathes out in relief, as if released from a heavy burden. Following his lead, the other men begin to relax, one by one. At this moment-

A tornado appears.

The seemingly rampaging tornado is tightly controlled, only cutting the bodies of the ten men. Five bodies, already torn to pieces, dance in the sky. Simultaneously, the tornado disperses all the dust. In the blink of an eye, the air has become unbelievably clear.

"Making such a scene, as always."

Kazuma smiles happily.

After recovering from momentary shock, Misao's face resumes its gentle smile as she looks at Kazuma.

Other than a little dirt, he suffered no damage at all. It appears he used a wind barrier to deflect everything.

Misao puts her hand in her pocket, as if nothing has happened, and radios a signal.

"Just to warn you, don't waste your energy," Kazuma unhurriedly advises Misao.

“The snipers are dead - both of them.”

After hearing this snide comment, delivered in a matter-of-course tone, Misao's smile instantly vanishes.

In addition to the first sniper, over one kilometer away, Misao had prepared a secondary sniper as a trump card. Placed in front of, and behind, with Kazuma in the center, two kilometers separated the two.

And yet Kazuma had killed them. This meant that while defending against such a savage attack, he was calmly scanning an area with a radius of at least one kilometer without missing a step.

Though what he says is unbelievable, the radio has yet to respond. Misao offers a bitter smile, and discards her radio.

“Gee, are you a monster?”

“People often say that I am,” Kazuma answers calmly.

"But, for you to think of such a method-! Compared to your en-jutsu, modern weaponry is definitely much more effective - alas, it still isn't enough."

“So it seems. How about cruise missiles next time?”

Both of them reveal a kind smile.

At this time, the bodies of the men killed by the tornado and thrown to the skies begin to rain down.

Kazuma deflects the corpses with his wind-

-KABOOM- [SFX: explosion]

Misao, on the other hand, remorselessly burns the corpses to ash with her fire.

Seeing the corpses turn to dust, to be blown away by the wind, Kazuma asks in a low voice, "Those men were hired by you, weren't they?"

“I don’t recall hiring dead people.”

Misao, smiling, replies.

Yes, Misao is smiling. Though the mercenaries she hired turned a street corner to ruin, causing death and injury to many, that smile holds not a shred of insincerity.

Pure and innocent, a smile to be pitied - the smile of someone who has crossed a line that should never be crossed, the smile of someone on the wrong path.

"You've changed, Misao...Was I the cause...?" Kazuma asks, in a rare, pained tone.

“I changed? Did you know me that well?”

“…… That is true.”

Kazuma waves away his sorrow, reverting to a cold expression.

“So, your plan ends here?”

“Yes, this is it for today.”

“Is that so? You may go then.”

Hearing these words, Misao is slightly shocked.

“Is it really okay to just let me go?”

“I have said this before. No matter what method you may try, you cannot even scratch me.”

"You will regret it.”

“Let's wait and see.”

Misao does not reply, and silently turns to leave.

Seeing the shadow of her back fade away in the distance, Kazuma sighs softly.

“Ten years…… is really a long time……”

His quiet words pass unheard, and disappear into the winds.

=== 4 ===
"Gunfire broke out at 4 PM today, in an incident in Chiyoda Ward, Kudankita district, and has already claimed more than 30 lives."

The nightly news is reporting on the earlier episode, which can only be expected. Even though the legend of Japanese security has already long since broken down, things have yet to reach the point where a firefight in the center of Tokyo is a common occurrence.

Because the incident took place near the royal residence, all of Tokyo instantly went on high alert. As if under martial law, police can be seen everywhere.

Pointing at the ruinous street corner appearing on the television, Juugo shows Ayano a look of suspicion.

“You are saying ''all this'' is Misao’s doing?”

“Yes…… umm…… it should be……”

Ayano answers hesitantly. The more she looks at the scene depicted on the television, the less real it seems.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Misao the two know would never be associated with such an incident. Normally a very sympathetic girl, even were she to hold a grudge, she would never be so cruel as to involve innocents, and were she to decide to take revenge, she would choose a method that would not involve others.

But...

"For an obedient, docile girl like Misao... Once she gets angry, her actions are surprisingly audacious..." Ayano mumbles wholeheartedly.

From speaking with Masayuki, they had learned that Misao had already disappeared two days prior, along with an eight digit sum from the Ogami family account.

It goes without saying that she has yet to be seen again.

"Don't look as though this doesn't concern you, why didn't you grab her on the spot?"

"Because, Kazuma...he-"

In response to Juugo's reprimand, Ayano responds coquettishly.

“No excuses. After all, you are to be the next Soushu.“

(Just what do you expect me to do in that kind of situation...)

Ayano puts on an obedient front in the face of Juugo's lecture, but within her, the earlier incident is replaying itself.

“Ugh, I can't hear a thing.”

With Kazuma's safe return, and the subsequent exit of his assailants, Ayano became a stalker once more, but the distance between them was too large, and she was unable to listen in.

At times like these, En-jutsu was useless. Among the various forms of En-jutsu, which exhibits an overwhelming attack power, there is nothing that can be used for reconnaissance.

In the end, Ayano did not manage to catch even a single word of the conversation.

“That guy seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Is that so? He looks pained to me.”

“Pained? That guy? What a joyous occasion.”

“Nee-sama……”

The reason why Ayano can have such an attitude is because she thinks that it is all over.

She believes that Misao has no cards left to play, and all that is left is the aftermath. Or so she thought.

Unfortunately...

After the conversation comes to a peaceful resolution, Misao turns, not to run away, but to calmly walk away.

Kazuma does not give chase, and just silently watches as she takes her leave.

In the moments during which Ayano is too stunned to move, Misao leisurely disappears.

“Wa-Wait a minute!”

Coming back to her senses, Ayano runs to Kazuma’s side, and grabs his collar.

“Why did you let her escape!?”

“Why should I capture her?”

Kazuma does not seem surprised by Ayano’s appearance, and questions her in turn, as if only natural.

“What do you mean why…… This incident was caused by Misao!”

“From the way I see it, they're the ones responsible?”

In response to Ayano, who is pointing at the remains of the building, Kazuma points instead at the corpses of the fallen men.

“That's what I'm saying! They were following her orders!“

”Is that so? That's news to me.”

“Yo-You really……”

The hand gripping his collar increases in force. From her attitude it is plain to see that what Ayano really wants to grab is Kazuma's throat.

“If you let her be, Misao will do the same thing again!”

“Does it matter? There wasn't any harm done anyway.”

“Are you blind?”

Ayano once again points to the pathetic scene behind her.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kazuma corrects himself.

"No harm to me.”

Pachi.

“You bastard! Just stand there and receive your punishment!”

A flaming fist (Note: not a metaphor) strikes at Kazuma. Dodging the strike with ease, Kazuma begins to chat with his brother, who walks up to him.

“Oh, Ren. How've you been?”

“Well……”

“Damn it! Die! Die this instant!”

“How noisy!”

Kazuma closes the distance as Ayano draws her fist, and light twists her right hand upwards.

“Gya!”

Ayano’s elbow is flipped up, and the joints in her arm, elbow, and shoulder are all stretched to the limit at the same time. Under this condition, Ayano can only arc her body, tip-toe and bear with it. Her body loses balance completely, and all she can do is surrender.

“Ugh……”

Ignoring Ayano, who is trying her best to recover her balance, Kazuma warns Ren, “I am heading back, you guys should leave too. It'll be troublesome if the police sees you.”

“Cya then.”

He carelessly waves his hand and sweeps his eyes towards Ayano with an expression of victory, now stumbling on the floor.

“Yo-You!”

With his back to Ayano, who is glaring at him, Kazuma walks off.

“Nee-sama, are you okay?”

Treating Ren's words of concern with the regard she would give a gust of breeze, Ayano silently watches Kazuma's back.

(That guy-! One day I will definitely teach him a lesson!)

Ayano forgets that she is listening to her father’s lecturing, and grows angry at the thought.

Juugo does not fail to notice. When he sees that Ayano is not paying attention, he stands up - Ayano shows no reaction - walks forward - Ayano still does not react - and knocks his fist on the top of her head.

Dong!

An extremely exaggerated sound comes forth. Ayano is in such pain that she cannot even scream, and her entire body collapses on the tatami.

Having suffered the blow on the top of her head while kneeling, the impact had nowhere to go but straight down. Agonizing under a blow that seemed as if it would crush her skull, Ayano can only endure.

“I…… I object to violence……” Ayano protests, with tears in her eyes.

"Don't just say the words, ''change''.”

Juugo, of course, ignores her protest.

"It seems I've spoiled you too much in the past. I will have to be more strict from now."

"But that's..."

Disregarding Ayano's pitiful expression, Juugo returns to the topic at hand.

“So? Did you notice any other clues?”

“Kazuma is very suspicious!” Ayano shouts at almost exactly the same time.

“………………………”

Juugo simply looks at Ayano without saying a word. To call his gaze critical would be conservative.

“…… Is that all?”

“Be……Because it's weird, isn't it?! Why didn't Kazuma kill Misao!?”

“Hmm……”

Juugo grows silent, not speaking a word. Seizing this opportunity, Ayano presses on.

”Otou-sama, just think about it, doesn’t Kazuma resent the Kannagi to the core? To not even kill a single person up until now, it just seems so weird.”

“He seems to have told Ren that he 'no longer hates the Kannagi family'.”

“Who knows? Even if that's true, if someone took the initiative to attack him, that shouldn't still be the case. Didn’t we see it already? The fourteen or fifteen men who surrounded and attacked him, he beat to a pulp. That is Kazuma’s 'usual' way of doing things.”

“...Mm-hmm...”

Juugo nods. To this point, he has had no objections.

“But in that case, why didn't he lay a hand on Misao?”

“No idea. But anyone can see that Misao is very special in Kazuma’s eyes. There must be something between them,” Ayano says bluntly, with a stern, or rather, sharp expression.

“He fell in love with Misao?”

Ayano’s body trembles slightly. She looks at her father with the unsure eyes of a lost child.

“Otou-sama thinks so too?”

“Who knows?”

Juugo answers vaguely, he hopes that he is just thinking too much.

(Kazuma must return to the Kannagi. But, Misao is unable to be his support.)

To say he does not expect Kazuma to replace the Fuuga would be a lie. Going further, Juugo has not forgotten the danger Kazuma poses.

Kazuma had shown his scars once before. Juugo cannot pretend not to have seen that unhealed wound.

(Kazuma needs a place to return to. And for that……)

Juugo looks at Ayano with eyes that hold deep meaning, but Ayano is currently too focused on her own troubles, and fails to notice those eyes at all.

“Anyway, lets find Kazuma and ask him about it first.”

Ayano returns back to her senses, and nods in agreement.

“Ye…… Yeah... By the way, why is that guy always so mysterious?”

“Indeed.”

Jugo gives a bitter smile. He feels unease precisely because he understands that it is due to Kazuma's mistrust of the Kannagi.

“Somehow, we must find a way……”

In the end, Juugo never got a chance to ask Kazuma about the circumstances between him and Misao, and by now, the opportunity has already long passed.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 1

2009-06-10T09:17:00Z

Kalessin:

== Chapter One - Banquet for Victory -The Chosen Ones- ==
=== 1 ===
It was a common occurrence.

You could say it’s something that had become a part of their lives.

However, Yukari and Nanase could both sense the tension.

A tension that was hard to ignore.

“Didn’t I say so already? You girls definitely won’t be bored. I know a great club! I just need to show my face for us to get in.”

“Come on! Let’s go! What fun is there to be had with only females?”

As the two exchanged glances, a group of men with weak appearances made a vulgar speech in a flippant manner. They didn’t look too bad, but their idiotic speech and actions showed no class at all.

In simpler terms, they were trying to pick the girls up.

It was a common occurrence.

Even though their appearances may have differed, the three were beautiful girls that made one’s eyes light up. They knew exactly how to deal with such pick-up artists. Or at least they did, until now.

“...”

Suddenly, the third girl, who had not spoken a word until now, began to move. She slowly raised her head and looked into the eyes of the man in front of her.

“That place is frequently visited by idols, stars, and models! We have many such friends, and if you are interested, we can introduce them to you...”

Glared at by cold eyes that chilled to the bone, the originally glib man was unable to speak another word.

“Get lost.”

“...Yes.”

The men left pitifully. Yet the girl did not even look at them and instead put on an unchanging, cold expression and left as if nothing had happened.

“...Ayano.”

“What’s wrong?”

The girl, Ayano Kannagi, seemed rather displeased, and turned her head with those words.

“You seem to be really harsh to the people who’ve tried to pick us up recently.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Ayano replied, straying from the point.

“But...”

Yukari lifted her head to look at Nanase with pleading eyes.

Nanase nods and says, “Yup, you’re really overdoing it recently. Let’s take last time for example: you actually used the corner of your schoolbag to hit the guy’s temple.”

“Ah, that one was really scary. The whites of his eyes showed, and blood was flowing from his ears and nose–”

“...Does it matter, anyway? We called an ambulance for him.”

Nanase looked hard at the moody Ayano and slowly closed in on the main point.

“Ayano, something happened between you and a guy, didn’t it?”

“Wh–what... What are you talking about?!”

The sudden question left Ayano unable to hide the stir in her heart.

“Hehe~”

Nanase gave off a smile deep with meaning.

“You, a girl with a father-complex, finally seem to be starting to show interest in guys other than your father.”

“I am not a father-lover.”

Ayano swiftly regained her composure, and said strongly, “I’ve just never met a guy better than my father. That’s all.”

“...”

Nanase met Yukari’s eyes, as if to say “What a headache,” and sighed.

“I admit, your father is indeed a mature and relaxed middle-aged man, but you cannot possibly find that kind of feeling in a young guy, right?”

“That’s not true. Father was young once too, so as long as I find someone similar–”

Halfway through, she shut her mouth and frowned, as the conversation had somehow reminded her of that detestable man.

Seemingly difficult to approach, yet uncommonly relaxed – a person undoubtedly qualified to be compared to her father.

He was not like Juugo at all. Indeed, he was the total opposite.

But... he was very powerful. Not just his strength, but his entire existence. In that sense, he was comparable to Juugo, the strongest man that she knew–

“Aya---no~”

Hearing the call rife with laughter, Ayano, who had stopped moving, returned to her senses.

“You are thinking of the guy you like right now, aren’t you?”

“Of... Of course not! That kind of guy!”

“What kind of guy?”

Having been asked such a question, Ayano lost her strength for a moment.

“Nanase... Even you...”

“Be honest! It’s such an interesting topic. I bet even Yukari won’t let it go easily either, right?”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Yukari nodded happily. Ayano stared at her two friends who intended to extract every single detail with antagonistic scrutiny.

Yukari Shinomiya and Nanase Kudo. They were both students of Seiryo Academy, where Ayano studied, and also her best friends – even though there were times when she wondered about the friendship between them.

Yukari’s shoulder-length, beautiful hair moved up and down like waves, her face always showed a gentle smile, and her speech was slightly slow. It was unclear whether she should be considered “mellow” or just “slow.” Regardless, from this description, you can probably imagine that she is a laid-back person.

In contrast, Nanase’s hairstyle was a refreshing, blunt bob. She seemed casually calm, and her swift movements and tone showed no sign that they belonged to a girl, giving people an unsettled feeling, making her the type to receive a lot of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.<ref>In Japan, girls are the ones who give out chocolate on Valentine’s, so the implication here is that Nanase is popular with other girls.</ref>

These two girls were opposites no matter how you look at it, but what was truly remarkable was that when they teased Ayano, they exhibited perfect harmony in their cooperation – although to Ayano, this was something unbearable.

“Come on. Tell us. What kind of person is he?”

“I already said there is no such person! By the way...”

Ayano stared at Yukari with accusing eyes.

“Aren’t we going to eat some cake now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why are we on this road?!”

In the direction which Ayano pointed her finger stood a long row of accommodations designed for a very specific purpose.

Just as with a haunted house in a backcountry area, though there was nothing particularly odd about their appearance, they possessed an atmosphere unlike that of a normal hotel.

That’s right. For, as the three (except for a certain someone) were chatting happily, they had unintentionally come to the entrance of a street of love hotels.

Having realized that they were arguing in a special area, Ayano couldn’t help but blush. But Yukari’s smile did not change at all.

“This is a short-cut.”

“Even so, this kind of place...”

“Don’t worry. No one would think that we are going to play 3P.”

Ayano’s face carried a pained expression as she looked at this innocently smiling friend who had just said something very shocking.

“You... Don’t use that cute face to say something so shocking, okay?”

“Kay~ But this kind of thing is nothing compared to your normal behavior.”

“... What do you mean by that?”

Against Ayano’s squinting eyes, Yukari put on her usual smiling face. Though she may have looked easy-going, she was definitely not on the losing side.

Ayano, who realized that she was at a disadvantage, decided to forcefully end the conversation.

“Anyway, let’s not walk this way. Let’s go another way!”

“Geez, you are so squeaky clean.”

“Squeaky clean? That doesn’t even need to be said! This kind of hotel, whose only use is for people to share a bed – who knows what the people going in are thinking?!”

Ayano sounded violent and scowled angrily at the love hotels as though they had killed her father, when suddenly, her expression froze.

Yukari and Nanase followed Ayano’s line of sight. What lay there was...

“As agitated as always.”

A man and a beautiful lady, sticking closely together, walking out from the hotel street.

His age appeared to be about twenty-something, with an upright face that could be considered handsome, but his expression seemed to be rather sloven. A light smirk appeared on his mouth, forcefully pulling his grade down thirty percent.

“You should at least think about where you are.”

The man made fun of the dumbfounded Ayano and continued to speak.

“You're already a high school student. It’s about time you knew what shame is...”

The man before her eyes was Kazuma Yagami. This was the man who Ayano hated most. As for the woman beside him, she had never seen her before. In addition, this was a love hotel street.

Having caught up to this point, Ayano’s brain, which had finally returned to a normal temperature, suddenly began to heat up. Gripped with an inexplicable fury, Ayano shouted, “You... What are you doing in a place like this?!”

“...Ayano?”

Yukari and Nanase shared a puzzled look, looking at their friend who had suddenly fallen into a rage. Neither pair of eyes showed any indecision, and they seemed to be asking simultaneously, “What is she talking about?”

It wasn’t a question that needed to be asked. Just as Ayano had said, there is only one thing to do in a love hotel – even if there are many different ways and methods of doing it; there is basically only one reason to be there.

On the other hand, Kazuma, who had drawn Ayano’s rage upon him, simply showed a light smile, as usual.

“Asking me what I am doing... Ah, it is so hard to say it out loud~ ♥”

He acted shy, daintily using his hand to cover his mouth as he spoke.

At that momement, the dozens of logic-related neural synapses in Ayano’s brain snapped all at once.

Feeling the furious spiritual energy coming from Ayano, Yukari and Nanase couldn’t help but move back. But even when engulfed in such a strong murderous intent, one that even normal people would notice and fear, Kazuma and the woman beside him did not change the relaxed smiles on their faces.

The woman ignored Ayano’s furious eyes as if they were nothing. She put her lips close to Kazuma’s ear and asked, “This girl, is she your girlfriend?”

“Kirika... That joke isn’t funny at all!”

After such a semi-derogatory question, Kazuma answered with an irritated look. Listening, Kirika glanced at Ayano and laughed lightly.

(...! This darn woman–!)

Seeing the seemingly taunting attitude of this person, Ayano viewed Kirika as an “enemy.” As if seeking a weak spot, she sized up Kirika from head to toe. But...

(Argh...)

Though slim, she had a good figure filled with femininity.

From the angle of a “woman,” Ayano had no way to compete.

Ayano was also a rare beauty, but her state of maturity was far below Kirika’s. Future development or hidden potential had no effect now. Because in a battle in the real world, current capabilities decide everything.

Even so, if her opponent were just someone who devoted all nutrients – even those that should go to the brain – into her breasts and hips, Ayano would not concede defeat.

But Kirika was different. Those thin, long eyes of hers carried the light of wisdom, clearly indicating that she was not just some vulgar woman who only knew how to fawn on guys.

Slightly older than Kazuma, she looked as if she was around twenty-five. From the way she could casually face up to Ayano’s killing intent as if it were not there, she was clearly not an average businesswoman. Maybe they were in the same trade?

Ayano bore the silent torture of inferiority and continued to glare at the two with angry eyes.

“Kazuma?”

Kirika accepted Ayano’s eyes generously and held her body even more closely against Kazuma’s arm. Rather than a demonstration of love, this action seemed more like she was trying to hang on tightly.

“Should I arrest you for lewd acts against an underage female?”

“Don’t be like that.”

Kazuma seemed very displeased.

“She is just a distant relative. I’ve done nothing, nor have any intentions of doing anything.”

“Then why is she angry?”

“She’s always angry. Just ignore her.”

“Oh~”

Kirika looked towards Ayano once more, her face showing a smile with deep meaning. Ayano noticed, her mind tangling in an instant.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 017.jpg|thumb]]

“I think it would be better to explain.”

“There’s no need for that. It’s too troublesome. Let’s go!”

Upon saying this, Kazuma pulled Kirika and walked away. As his eyes meet Ayano’s, he put on a serious expression and warned Ayano, “Go back quickly! This is no place for children.”

Kazuma walked past Ayano with ease, who was so angry her whole body was trembling. As the two sides passed one another, Kirika looked at Ayano before departing in an utterly relaxed manner. Those eyes, filled with sympathy, totally enraged Ayano.

Yukari remained where she was, silently sending off the close pair with her eyes. She looked to the side and coincidentally met Nanase’s eyes.

At that moment, silence was golden. The two exchanged bitter smiles, and as if they had discussed it much earlier, looked towards Ayano who still had not turned back.

“So that’s it.”

Nanase nodded heavily.

“No wonder you were so harsh to those people who tried to pick us up.”

“That’s right. It is really tough to like someone like that.”

“But what a surprise. I never thought Ayano would like flippant guys like that.”

“...You two...”

Ayano turned slowly.

In a gentle, but equally chilling tone, she answered, “What are you two talking about?”

“What else?”

Yukari answered straightforwardly.

“Ayano, you like that guy right? Although it looks one-sided.”

“You... What makes you two think that way?”

“Just think about your reaction just now. No matter how we look at it, it is the reaction of ‘a jealous girl seeing the guy she likes getting snatched away,’ right?”

“There is no such thing! It is definitely not that way!!”

Ayano shouted out, blushing. Her voice was so loud it almost seemed to reach as far as the eye could see.

“Ayano, you’re too loud.”

Ignoring Yukari’s warning, Ayano furiously continued to say, “Why would I like that kind of lowlife?! That is the type of person I hate most in this world! If I could have, I would have sliced him into pieces!!”

“Then why are you angry?”

Yukari rebutted with a calm voice.

“If you really didn’t like him, then it wouldn’t matter who he sleeps with, right? What would there be to be angry about?”

“That... That’s because... That...

...I just cannot bear to see someone like Kazuma sleep with that kind of beauty! They are not at all compatible!”

Ayano gripped her fist tightly and tried her best to explain, as the other two looked at her with cold eyes.

(What do you think?)

(She doesn’t seem to be lying... Could it be that she hasn’t even realized it herself?)

(If that’s the case, then she’s not just slow – there’s something completely wrong with her...)

(But... that is just like Ayano.)

(Yeah, that’s true)

“You two! Don’t whisper among yourselves right in front of me!”

Having gotten shouted at by Ayano, Nanase swiftly straightened her body. Following this, she used a very serious expression, like someone who is faking marriage just to grab a hold of the password to a credit card, in order to say, “Ah. Okay, okay. I get it, you really hate that man.”

“Yup, completely understood.”

Yukari chimed in instantly. They were indeed Ayano’s best friends, their actions matching flawlessly.

Ayano’s expression revealed her continued suspicion.

“...Really?”

“Of course.”

“Fine then.”

Ayano nodded, though her expression still showed displeasure. After everything had come to an end, and the two of them had given a sigh of relief–

“Ah, that is the girl. Mr. Hanagi.”

Those guys had chosen the worst possible time to appear.

“These are the ones?”

The man they called Hanagi pointed his finger towards the three and said...

“You guys were scared off by these three girls?”

“Because the girl in the middle has a really scary stare...”

“That girl is really arrogant. Please teach her some manners, Go-san!”

The men who were saying these things were the punks, numbers one and two (temporarily named), who had been driven off by Ayano earlier. It seemed that because they had been rejected so vehemently by Ayano, resentment had arisen, and so they had found someone to help them take their revenge!

– They don’t come any lower than that.

“We invited you so nicely to have some fun, and yet you told us to ‘get lost.’ That was really rude. Now apologize.”

“...”

Ayano stared at the group of men, her eyes indicating that they were unworthy even of notice. Seeing those ice cold eyes, punks numbers one and two couldn’t help but retreat several steps, though Hanagi showed no sign of fear.

“That trick of yours won’t work! Hanagi-san knows Shaolin fist techniques!”

“Please do it! Go Hanagi-san!”

Numbers one and two cowered behind Hanagi and continued to shout. Ignoring the two who were merely relying on Hanagi’s strength, Ayano stared at Hanagi alone.

As they had mentioned, the man before her eyes seemed to have undergone a certain level of training. As he wore only a thin, sleeveless sweater under his leather coat, his protruding muscles could be clearly seen. It was a body specially made for combat.

“For a woman to be so arrogant, that’s why you are having such an unlucky encounter. Don’t try to go against men from now on.”

Hanagi reached his hand out in a rough manner, intending to grab Ayano’s chin to lift her face.

At the instant his fingertips touched her chin, Ayano moved swiftly.

She angled her body and moved forward, while at the same time dodging Hanagi’s hand. Ayano cleanly swung her bent left arm into Hanagi’s defenseless chest.

Ayano’s elbow struck the lower region of Hanagi’s earlobe, where his jaw was. This was a sudden, full-force attack and a powerful strike that even contained ''ki''. It would not have been surprising if his jaw had fallen off of his face.

Hanagi’s body flew into the air in a spiral. His legs, which had left the ground, tangled together like twisted bread and subsequently splayed outwards with reactive force.

Hanagi’s body kept on spinning, and after a sickening three and a half round rotation, he naturally had a failed landing – his whole body flattened against the outer wall of a hotel.

Splat.

A wet sound propagated along the entire street. This was definitely not a sound made by a human body. If a freshly slaughtered piece of flesh, with blood still dripping, were smashed into a wall, it would probably make this kind of sound.

Several seconds after Hanagi has been hammered into the wall, he fell to the floor like a flattened cockroach.

On the red bricks of the hotel wall, a fluid even more red than the bricks formed an eerie human figure.

“Uh... Uh~”

Seeing Hanagi, blood pouring out of seven holes and his body twitching, Nanase drew a cross towards the sky. Beside her, Yukari placed her hands together and closed her eyes to pray.

“Huh... Huh huh...”

“Hanagi-san...”

The remaining two guys gave voice to pitiful cries in tones that had reached the utmost limit of fear.

Ayano silently walked past the two men, who were unable to move their feet, and could only stand there like idiots.

She fired off two kicks at lightning speed. The tip of her foot hit right in the center between the legs of the two men.

“Argh!”

“Wah!”

The tip of her pointed shoe hit the pelvis, while the most important part was struck heavily. Ayano contemplated the two, now rolling on the ground in pain with a pink foam of blood and spittle coming from their mouths, with disgust.

“How dirty!”

“Ah– Please send an ambulance over. There are three heavily wounded people.”

A cold voice came from behind. Behind her, Nanase was using a public phone to contact 911. She read out the number of the phone booth to inform the other party of the location.

“Please be quick. One of them doesn’t seem likely to make it.”

After that, she hung up, ignoring their inquiries for her name. This action could be said to be very well-trained since the reason she didn’t use her own cellphone was to avoid leaving any trace.

“So, have you vented your anger?” Nanase asked Ayano calmly.

“...I did not do it on purpose.”

Ayano pouted and replied unhappily, but the two did not believe her.

They had known very well since the beginning that she had just been redirecting her anger at Kazuma. If she had not met Kazuma earlier, Ayano would not have been so cruel!

But there is one thing they did not understand. Nanase leaned in close to Yukari’s ear and quietly asked...

(By the way, is that guy really that good?)

(Hmm... I feel that he is above average, but...)

He did not seem like a man that would make Ayano feel jealous. That was their opinion.

For though they had known Ayano for a long time, they still did not know what the Kannagis did for a living, nor of the power that was within their bloodline.

They would still have a few days to wait before witnessing for themselves the true power of Kazuma.

=== 2 ===
“Has Kazuma still not arrived?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Ayano replied to the Soushu’s, Juugo’s, question in a sour tone of voice. She appeared to have drunken some alcohol, and her gaze seemed blank.

Stared at by his daughter, who was radiating malcontent, Juugo blinked.

“What is it between you and Kazuma?”

“Nothing.”

Ayano slammed the wine cup on the table with a bang.

“I hate that guy! I don’t want to see his face or hear his name ever again! That sort of guy can just go have a good time with some old woman!”

“...So that is it.”

Juugo could roughly guess what had happened and decided not to probe any further.

“In celebration of the annihilation of the Fuuga clan!”

“Cheers to Hyoue who is now roasting in hell, suffering for all eternity!”

“Cheers!”

Vulgar toasts like this one abounded. Everyone seemed exuberant, and the air was filled with the sound of cups clinking in toasts.

The cause for celebration was something that had happened about a week ago.

The subordinates of the Kannagis, the Fuuga clan, had suddenly revolted. The leader of the Fuuga clan, Hyoue Kazamaki, had allowed his son Ryuuya to be possessed by a powerful ''youma'', and many of the Kannagis had been killed.

The ones who had fought them were Ayano and Ren, practitioners of the Kannagi main family, and Ren’s brother, Kazuma Yagami, who had been exiled due to his ineptitude as an ''En-jutsushi'' and had eventually become a ''Fuu-jutsushi''.

After a fierce battle, the three had finally defeated Hyoue and Ryuuya. On the fourth day following, that is, that evening, a banquet for their victory was being held.

The banquet was unlike any before it. Just about every member of the Kannagi family able to attend was in attendance. They had all joyfully joined the banquet and were now raising their cups in celebration of the annihilation of their hated enemy.

This reaction came as no surprise. For these people, who claimed to be the strongest, Hyoue and Ryuya, had been existences who could not be permitted.

The fact that they had been able to possess a ''youma'' beyond their powers was in and of itself unforgivable. Furthermore, they had been of the Fuuga clan, a group of low level ''jutsushis'' who they had stepped on for a long period of time.

For them, to fear weaklings like the Fuugas to the extent that they had had to go into hiding was a humiliation that could never be vindicated.

However, since the Fuuga clan had been completely destroyed, that shame, if not erased, was at least forgotten. In their joy, it wasn’t at all odd for them to be going somewhat overboard in their celebrations.

“Hmph! For those dogs to forget who had raised and fed them and to even go so far as to bite their masters’ hands! Those ungrateful bastards!”

“How dare they resist us? We, who are blessed by the Spirit Lord! What an outrage!”

“Cheers to the Fuuga clan’s demise!”

“Cheers!”

All around the tables, cups met, and everyone downed their cups in one go.

Just as the banquet was approaching its climax, Kazuma appeared.

“Kazuma-san has arrived.”

As the servant made his announcement, all noise in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

Amidst the silence, a youth walked through the paper door the servant had opened and stepped into the hall with a confident swagger.

Unfriendly eyes gathered upon this youth who walked in without a word. Just for the record, among the glares, the one which bore the greatest hatred was Ayano’s, but let’s leave that matter aside for now.

Actually, it was not without reason that this man was so despised. The Kannagis had had over fifty ''jutsushis'' before the battle with the Fuuga clan, and yet there were only a few more than thirty present at the banquet. The total dead and wounded amounted to more than twenty.

Seven were dead, the rest injured with varying degrees of severity. Those seven had been attacked by Ryuya – the only ones attacked by Ryuuya.

In other words, the majority of the casualties were the work of Kazuma. Everyone gathered here had family members who had been sent to the hospital by Kazuma. Under such circumstances, it was only natural that they didn’t wear smiles to welcome him.

Their hateful glares glanced off of Kazuma, who acted as if they weren’t even there. His attitude served only to increase their hatred for him.

This was the sort of feeling you get from being looked down on by someone whom you had looked down on in the past. Needless to say, Kazuma completely ignored their presence. He seemed to consider them beneath contempt. No matter how much Juugo tried to defend him, the negative feelings toward Kazuma only strengthened further.

Kazuma nodded toward Ren, the only one who smiled at him, and then bowed before Juugo.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“I don’t mind at all. I am the one who forced you to join us.”

Juugo smiled, forgiving Kazuma’s tardiness, and told Kazuma to sit beside him. In short order, wine and hors d’oeuvres were placed before Kazuma’s eyes.

“Welcome back, Nii-sama!”

Ren ran over and hugged his brother’s arm tightly like a spoiled puppy. Kazuma didn’t stop him. On the contrary, he reached out his hand to caress his brother’s head. But he didn’t give the customary reply, “I’m back.”

Because, for a long time now, this place had not been Kazuma’s, that is, Kazuma Yagami’s, home.

Ren didn’t seem to notice Kazuma’s thoughts and served him diligently.

“Ah, let me pour you some wine.”

“...Okay.”

Kazuma lifted the cup with his hands but put it back on the table without drinking a single drop.

Ren questioned hesitantly, “Nii-sama, why not have a drink?”

“I’m not thirsty.”

Ren looked at the untouched food.

“...Won’t you eat something?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“...”

Ren felt puzzled and lifted his eyes to look at his brother.

Kazuma continued to look straight ahead, ignoring Ren.

“Erm... Err...”

Just as Ren began to panic, thinking he had done something to anger his brother, a big hand was placed lightly on Ren’s head.

“...Nii-sama?”

The direction of Kazuma’s gaze hadn’t changed, nor did he speak. In spite of this, the feeling of that warm hand was enough to satisfy Ren. Leaning against his brother’s body, Ren closed his eyes and showed a peaceful smile.

To Kazuma, the Kannagi residence was still enemy territory. Not only would he not eat any food placed before him, no matter how relaxed the others might look, he wouldn’t let his guard down even for an instant.

That is why Kazuma noticed immediately when a young woman approached him.

He deliberately didn’t move, observing her as if nothing untoward was happening, waiting for her to take action.

The young woman was around twenty and was wearing a kimono. She seemed to be used to wearing one, for her actions were not the least bit awkward.

Her hairstyle, rather than being a blunt blob, was more of a round and simple [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#hairstyle|hairstyle]] with its sides cut evenly. Together with small, cute cheeks, she was a beautiful Japanese-style woman that would make you think of the outdated appellation “[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#yamato_nadeshiko|Yamato Nadeshiko]].”

Seeing the girl kneeling before him bow deeply, Kazuma said with a hazy expression, “If I recall... You are Ogami...”

“My name is Misao Ogami. I’ve been ordered to take care of Kazuma-sama. If you have any needs, please just inform me.”

“...Oh?”

Kazuma used his fingertips to hold Misao’s chin and lift up her face.

Looking at her nervous expression, Kazuma smiled and asked teasingly, “Even at night?”

Faced with such a direct intimation, Misao blushed and her eyes shifted downward. Even though she was embarrassed, she didn’t try to escape from Kazuma’s hand. She murmured in hardly a whisper, “If... that is your wish.”

Seeing that Misao didn’t resist, Kazuma’s face closed in even more. At that moment, Kazuma, as if repelled, suddenly leaned back.

A ray of red lightning pierced the air where Kazuma’s head had just been. With a loud thunk, something embedded itself in the pillar behind him.

“You despicable piece of shit! Get your dirty hands off her!”

Needless to say, the furious girl with the incomparable rage was Ayano. Kazuma didn’t even bother to look at her, but instead turned his head back.

A long, thin red stick was now embedded in the pillar – Ayano’s chopstick.

The chopstick possessed no sharp point, and yet it was half-sunken into the pillar. Guessing at the strength with which she must have thrown it, Kazuma laughed.

Ayano stalked toward Kazuma and raised her hand for a karate chop, aiming at Kazuma’s hand, which had been on Misao’s face the entire time. Seeing a chop that carried the strength to break thirty tiles, he quickly removed his hand.

Ayano had murder in her eyes as she scowled at Kazuma, who had a smile on his face, and then slowly walked next to Misao.

“Misao, what are you thinking! Why ruin your life for scum like that?!”

“Huh... Ermm... Sorry.”

Faced with such an aggressive aura, Misao couldn’t help but apologize. Seeing such a happy scene, Kazuma purposely put on a hurt expression.

“Why are you making me sound so bad?”

“I was just telling the truth, wasn’t I? You already have a girlfriend. How dare you still lay your hands on other girls?! You jerk!”

“Girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Liar! That one earlier...”

“If you mean Kirika, we’re not in that kind of relationship. She is just–”

“Just your sex friend, right?”

Ayano finished Kazuma’s sentence in an eerily gentle tone. Even though her face showed a smile, upon closer inspection, her temples were pulsing with anger.

Observing her expression, Kazuma smiled at her comprehension, and said, “Yup, you could put it that way too.”

Violent spiritual energy burst forth from Ayano’s entire body, and her body subconsciously entered battle mode.

“Ayano-sama.”

However, she was stopped just before she could erupt. Confronted with Misao’s appeal, Ayano was reluctantly forced to restrain her murderous intent.

“Please, don’t be angry. It was Kazuma-sama who avenged my brothers. To repay that debt, this sort of thing is nothing...”

“You should be grateful to me instead!” Ayano said proudly.

“This guy only fought because it was his job! We’ve already paid him enough to reward him! There’s no need to thank him. You have a problem with that?”

This last line was, of course, directed at Kazuma.

“Nope, that is largely true.” Kazuma admitted frankly.

“I don’t know what this fiery lass did that you should be grateful for, but at the very least, there is no need to thank me. Leaving Masato and Takeshi aside, you can consider half of the blame that Takeya died to be mine.”

Upon such a shocking statement, a commotion erupted around them.

After making so much noise, it was only natural that they had attracted notice. Their bickering had become the center of attention, and to hear such an alarming statement made everyone prick up their ears and listen quietly.

“What do you mean?” Ayano asked in a sharp tone.

Kazuma brushed off her intensity like a thick-skinned willow tree brushes off the wind and smiled.

“Even though the one who kill him was Ryuuya, he had already been defeated earlier by me. Ryuuya only cut the unconscious Takeya apart. Well, I guess that even if he had still been conscious then, the result wouldn’t have been any different.”

Kazuma said this nonchalantly and shifted his eyes back to Misao. He faced the bowed-down Misao, whose expression could not be seen, and reassured her gently.

“So, you see? There’s no need to be so courteous. How about taking that out of your sleeve?”

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 039.jpg|thumb]]
At the instant Kazuma finished his sentence, Misao suddenly moved. Her foot forcefully stomping on the tatami, she pulled out the dagger which had been hidden in her sleeve all along.

“Ah... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Screaming wildly, the dagger gripped tightly in her fists, Misao jumped into Kazuma’s chest.

For a moment, everyone remained completely motionless. Though everyone in the hall had witnessed the scene, it appeared that they were unable to comprehend its implications in time and were at a loss for what to do.

Misao and Kazuma both just sat there without flinching, like a pair of intimate lovers, the two in a silent embrace.

“Ka... Kazuma?”

Ayano’s quivering voice called out the name of the man she hated most.

He did not reply.

“Kazuma?! Ans... Answer me quickly! Kazuma! Kazuma!!”

“What?”

Kazuma suddenly raised his head and answered as if nothing had happened. Using his fingertips to pinch the dagger that should have been in Misao’s hands, he raised it before his eyes and waved it.

“...!”

Maybe because of her relief, Ayano fell to the floor, still in shock, and shouted loudly, “If... If you heard me, you should have at least made a sound! I’d thought that you’d died!”

“Is there anything troubling to you about my death?”

“That... That...”

Ayano was momentarily unable to speak. She tried her best to stop all the blood in her body from gathering at her face, while at the same time working hard to come up with a rebuttal.

“I... I don’t want Misao to become a murderer.”

“That makes sense.”

“That’s right!”

(...?)

Ayano nodded in agreement, but felt that Kazuma’s reaction seemed off somehow. At the same time, she couldn’t say with certainty what was wrong about it.

Ignoring Ayano, who was puzzling over this, Kazuma placed his eyes on Misao, who had fallen on him.

“So are you still angry?”

“...!”

Misao forcefully pushed herself off of Kazuma and used the momentum to jump backward. She put a little distance between them and stared at Kazuma with eyes full of hatred.

But Kazuma didn’t seem to mind those eyes at all. He calmly broke eye contact with Misao and passed the dagger in his hand to Ayano.

“Take it.”

“Ah, okay.”

She took it reflexively and then looked closely at the dagger.

The blade of the dagger was about ten centimeters long. It would serve well for peeling apples and not much more. There didn’t appear to be any poison on it either.

(...Did she really think that a fruit knife could kill Kazuma?)

What a foolish action. Ayano bitterly regretted her earlier display of anxiousness.

At that point in time, the others were finally emerging from their shock. However, none stood up to arrest Misao because all of the people in the branch family felt the same way.

(What about Father?)

Ayano looked toward Juugo.

“What is the matter?”

“What do you mean by ‘What is the matter?’ Don’t just look. Do something.”

“Hmm...”

Juugo looked at the scene of the crime with cold eyes.

“Kazuma.”

“Ah?”

“If you do not wish to deal with her, shall I punish Misao for you?”

Even though his tone seemed calm, its meaning was clear. “If you want to kill her, just do it.” Juugo was usually kind and well-tempered, but he was not so kind as to forgive someone who had just attempted murder.

Kazuma’s reply was totally unexpected.

“I don’t think this goes so far as to require punishment. Nothing happened. Just let her go!”

Upon hearing this reply, Juugo revealed a surprised expression, and Ayano’s puzzled look could be clearly seen.

Ayano finally realized why she has been feeling that something was off. Misao was still alive. That alone was something which didn’t make sense.

On the battlefield, Kazuma wouldn’t have cared about anything else. Even if it was just a little girl, even if she was not moving of her own free will or if she was being threatened or manipulated, Kazuma wouldn’t have gone easy on her.

Given Kazuma’s habits, after he had dodged the attack, no, the instant the dagger had been drawn, Misao’s head should have landed on the floor.

(But this... What was going on?)

Filled with questions, Ayano began to look at the two.

Misao looked pale and weak. Though her eyes still bore hatred, it seemed that she did not have the strength to act again.

Her area of expertise was in defending seals and providing support from behind; she was not a ''jutsushi'' who fought on the frontline. Although her abilities were not weak, her personality was simply not suited to battle, let alone killing.

This may even have been the first time she had directed a knife at someone. Her mentality of avoiding causing harm was no different from a normal person’s. Just now she had acted on impulse, but after her failure, she didn’t have the ability to try again.

Kazuma lowered his head and looked silently at Misao. Those eyes carried no warmth, but neither did they show coldness.

(This is too abnormal, too weird! And... this makes me feel very unhappy!)

“What is the meaning of this–?”

“So be it. Since you have said as much, I have no reason to punish her either.”

Juugo interrupted Ayano, who had lost her composure, and came to a simple conclusion.

“But we cannot allow you to stay here either. Go back and reflect on this for a while!”

With that, he ordered someone by his side to take Misao away. Misao struggled to get rid of the hands that were about to catch her.

“Why?!”

Ignoring the man who seemed troubled by her struggling, Misao stared at Kazuma and shouted, “Why did Nii-sama have to die?!”

“Because he was too weak.”

Kazuma replied very bluntly.

“...!!”

The hall was filled with rage in an instant. Misao was not alone in feeling that Kazuma has caused deaths in the family. To these people, Kazuma’s words had gone far beyond their ability to tolerate.

“You asshole...!!”

Ayano stood up, her face flushed red with anger. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Kazuma.

“What the hell is wrong with you! Can’t you differentiate between what can and cannot be said?! What do you mean by ‘because he was too weak?’ Don’t joke around! Is it because you have become strong that you have forgotten what it was like to be weak?!”

Kazuma showed Ayano, who continued to lecture him, no sign of remorse at all. Instead, he looked at her coldly.

“Looks like you still don’t understand.”

He then looked around at the people who were staring at him angrily.

“Why are you all putting on the look of a victim?”

“What... What do you mean by that?”

Kazuma’s eyes swept across the room once more. All he saw were puzzled yet angry expressions. Again confirming that no one had understood what he meant, he sighed.

“I don’t think you guys have ever wondered why the Fuuga clan revolted.”

“What do you mean by why... Of course it was to awaken their God!”

“No.”

Kazuma rejected this flat-out.

“That was just a means to an end, just one of the powers they needed to rise against the Kannagis.”

“Why don’t you tell us the reason then?” Ayano asked without even thinking.

Kazuma gave Ayano a contemptuous look.

“...These people of the Fuuga clan were definitely not a group of useless waste. Instead, they were even rather skilled ''Fuu-jutsushi''. Their combat abilities might have been very weak, but the inherent characteristics of wind are not suited to battle in the first place.”

In terms of attack power, among the four main powers – earth, water, fire, and wind – wind was the weakest.

This was because it was the lightest.

No matter how fast they might be, light attacks did not possess the strength to kill with one blow.

I believe that everyone has had the experience of being cut by a piece of paper before. With enough speed, and if timed well, even a flimsy piece of paper can become a blade. And yet, it can only cut the surface of the skin. A slash without weight is unable to cut off flesh and bone all in one go.

The weight of water and earth is far beyond that of wind, and fire possesses a large amount of energy. If they were to fight against these powers, a ''Fuu-jutsushi'' would have to summon and control several times more spirits than they would.

Precisely for this reason, the role ''Fuu-jutsushis'' played was to use the wind’s mobility to search and to track, as well as to control the surrounding air while providing battle support. The Fuuga clan could actually have been said to have been a typical example of wind practitioners.

“The Kannagis were born with combat abilities, and the Fuugas excelled at information gathering and battle support. To provide for the other’s inability, to coexist peacefully and equally, that should have been the way that they interacted.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kazuma observed Juugo, who was showing a bitter expression. He was the only one there who understood the truth of Kazuma’s words.

“Unfortunately, you, who only know how to use raw power as a standard, looked down on the Fuuga clan, who had no combat abilities. But without the Fuuga, you would not even have known where the enemy was!”

“What you are trying to say is... because we have always looked down on the Fuuga, we deserved to be killed by them?” Ayano pouted unhappily.

But Kazuma shook his head in denial.

“I never said that what you did was wrong. The strong are always right; that is the unequivocal truth.”

“But then...”

“But as you execute your right to crush the weak, you must also bear the burden of being crushed by people even stronger. Even if you are killed, you can have no complaints as this is the very thing you have done.”

“...!”

Ayano’s expression changed drastically. She seemed to have understood what Kazuma was trying to say.

“Just because the Fuuga clan was ‘too weak,’ that was why you all looked down on them. Just because ''you'' are ’too weak,’ that is why you were crushed by Ryuuya. It is a very simple thing to understand.”

This was not a question of who was right and who was wrong. Since both sides believed in the “law of power,” in the end, only the strong survived. That was all.

“If you people have acknowledged everything that you have done toward the Fuuga clan, then the Fuuga clan can also only acknowledge what they did to you. To crush the weak, does it not allow you to be crushed by those even stronger? Just who do you think you are?”

This merciless accusation reached the ears of everyone present like the roar of thunder, but it failed to touch their arrogant hearts.

“This, I am unable to accept.”

A voice of disagreement emerged from a place very close to Juugo’s seat of honor.

“Kazuma-san, your argument seems to have neglected one very important fact.”

The man spoke in a vicious and unrelenting tone. He was Masayuki Ogami, the head of the Ogami family, and Misao’s father. But he did not seem to care at all about his daughter, who had her head lowered and was keeping quiet.

“The value of our lives is definitely not equal. We, the Kannagis, are blessed by the spirits – a chosen clan! Yet you put us and the Fuugas, those lowlifes, on the same level. That is very appalling. Not to mention, it...”

He stared furiously at Kazuma, as if Kazuma was the killer of his son.

“Not to mention, it gives those scum the right to kill us!”

Hearing Masayuki’s words, Kazuma answered with a calm smile.

“Who is it that was chosen?”

“...What?”

“Those words. Why don’t you wait until you have power like Ayano’s before saying them! To hear a weakling boasting about his bloodline, how pathetic! It is as if you have nothing else to boast about except your bloodline.”

“You... You asshole...!”

Masayuki instantly became agitated. In comparison, Kazuma’s mocking tone still hadn’t changed.

“By the way, you should be thanking Hyoue instead!”

“?”

“He helped you to get rid of Masato, who was a nuisance in your eyes. At the very least, go burn some incense and pay your respects!”

“...! You...! What did you just say...!”

When Masayuki Ogami’s younger brother, Masato Ogami, had been alive, he had been known as the strongest practitioner of the branch family. Everyone knew that had he not left his home to train because he had hated fighting with his brother over the succession, he would have been the one to lead the family.

Seeing the shaken Masayuki, Kazuma said as if taunting him.

“It ''is'' a nuisance to have a younger brother better than you, isn’t it?”

“Damn... Damn you, you asshole!!”

Masayuki’s face changed color as he shouted. He stood up from the tatami, and with blood red eyes, stared murder at Kazuma.

This time, there was an almost palpable tension between the two. The killing intents around the room formed a whirlpool and gathered around Kazuma, who was still sitting in his original spot.

At that moment, Ren, who had been leaning against Kazuma’s shoulder, moved. He wriggled his upper body, his whole body stuck on Kazuma in a tight embrace. He looked as if he was trying to stop Kazuma and lacked the strength to do so.

Seeing this, a question went through Ayano’s mind.

(This kid... Since when did he become so quiet?)

Even when Misao had attempted to stab Kazuma, she had not heard Ren’s voice. No matter how much faith he had in his brother’s strength, it was unnatural for him to not so much as cry out.

Under everyone’s stare, Ren’s upper body slowly slid down along Kazuma’s body. He placed his face on Kazuma’s leg, and after a few seconds like this...

“Hmm... Nii-sama...”

“So he is asleep!” Ayano couldn’t help but say.

Before the blissful sleep-talking, the originally tense atmosphere dispersed in an instant.

“...”

His bloodlust gone, Masayuki sat down once more. His expression was solemn, but he no longer was in the mood to maintain his anger.

Masayuki’s reaction did not matter to Kazuma, as he had not cared from the beginning.

“Soushu.”

“...Yes.”

Juugo understood everything very well, and because of that, his voice sounded abnormally bitter.

“It is impossible to dream of these guys reflecting upon this. But please do not forget, it is the Kannagis’ arrogance that sparked this fight. If there are no changes, the same thing will just repeat itself.”

“...I understand.”

“Good.”

Kazuma lifted Ren’s head and placed him on Ayano’s leg.

“Kazuma?”

“There is nothing left for me here. I am going back.”

With this sentence, Kazuma left the residence without looking back.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Volume 1]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 1

2009-06-10T09:14:04Z

Kalessin: /* 2 */ Fixed tenses and improved wording and flow of text.

== Chapter One - Banquet for Victory -The Chosen Ones- ==
=== 1 ===
It was a common occurrence.

You could say it’s something that had become a part of their lives.

However, Yukari and Nanase could both sense the tension.

A tension that was hard to ignore.

“Didn’t I say so already? You girls definitely won’t be bored. I know a great club! I just need to show my face for us to get in.”

“Come on! Let’s go! What fun is there to be had with only females?”

As the two exchanged glances, a group of men with weak appearances made a vulgar speech in a flippant manner. They didn’t look too bad, but their idiotic speech and actions showed no class at all.

In simpler terms, they were trying to pick the girls up.

It was a common occurrence.

Even though their appearances may have differed, the three were beautiful girls that made one’s eyes light up. They knew exactly how to deal with such pick-up artists. Or at least they did, until now.

“...”

Suddenly, the third girl, who had not spoken a word until now, began to move. She slowly raised her head and looked into the eyes of the man in front of her.

“That place is frequently visited by idols, stars, and models! We have many such friends, and if you are interested, we can introduce them to you...”

Glared at by cold eyes that chilled to the bone, the originally glib man was unable to speak another word.

“Get lost.”

“...Yes.”

The men left pitifully. Yet the girl did not even look at them and instead put on an unchanging, cold expression and left as if nothing had happened.

“...Ayano.”

“What’s wrong?”

The girl, Ayano Kannagi, seemed rather displeased, and turned her head with those words.

“You seem to be really harsh to the people who’ve tried to pick us up recently.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Ayano replied, straying from the point.

“But...”

Yukari lifted her head to look at Nanase with pleading eyes.

Nanase nods and says, “Yup, you’re really overdoing it recently. Let’s take last time for example: you actually used the corner of your schoolbag to hit the guy’s temple.”

“Ah, that one was really scary. The whites of his eyes showed, and blood was flowing from his ears and nose–”

“...Does it matter, anyway? We called an ambulance for him.”

Nanase looked hard at the moody Ayano and slowly closed in on the main point.

“Ayano, something happened between you and a guy, didn’t it?”

“Wh–what... What are you talking about?!”

The sudden question left Ayano unable to hide the stir in her heart.

“Hehe~”

Nanase gave off a smile deep with meaning.

“You, a girl with a father-complex, finally seem to be starting to show interest in guys other than your father.”

“I am not a father-lover.”

Ayano swiftly regained her composure, and said strongly, “I’ve just never met a guy better than my father. That’s all.”

“...”

Nanase met Yukari’s eyes, as if to say “What a headache,” and sighed.

“I admit, your father is indeed a mature and relaxed middle-aged man, but you cannot possibly find that kind of feeling in a young guy, right?”

“That’s not true. Father was young once too, so as long as I find someone similar–”

Halfway through, she shut her mouth and frowned, as the conversation had somehow reminded her of that detestable man.

Seemingly difficult to approach, yet uncommonly relaxed – a person undoubtedly qualified to be compared to her father.

He was not like Juugo at all. Indeed, he was the total opposite.

But... he was very powerful. Not just his strength, but his entire existence. In that sense, he was comparable to Juugo, the strongest man that she knew–

“Aya---no~”

Hearing the call rife with laughter, Ayano, who had stopped moving, returned to her senses.

“You are thinking of the guy you like right now, aren’t you?”

“Of... Of course not! That kind of guy!”

“What kind of guy?”

Having been asked such a question, Ayano lost her strength for a moment.

“Nanase... Even you...”

“Be honest! It’s such an interesting topic. I bet even Yukari won’t let it go easily either, right?”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Yukari nodded happily. Ayano stared at her two friends who intended to extract every single detail with antagonistic scrutiny.

Yukari Shinomiya and Nanase Kudo. They were both students of Seiryo Academy, where Ayano studied, and also her best friends – even though there were times when she wondered about the friendship between them.

Yukari’s shoulder-length, beautiful hair moved up and down like waves, her face always showed a gentle smile, and her speech was slightly slow. It was unclear whether she should be considered “mellow” or just “slow.” Regardless, from this description, you can probably imagine that she is a laid-back person.

In contrast, Nanase’s hairstyle was a refreshing, blunt bob. She seemed casually calm, and her swift movements and tone showed no sign that they belonged to a girl, giving people an unsettled feeling, making her the type to receive a lot of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.<ref>In Japan, girls are the ones who give out chocolate on Valentine’s, so the implication here is that Nanase is popular with other girls.</ref>

These two girls were opposites no matter how you look at it, but what was truly remarkable was that when they teased Ayano, they exhibited perfect harmony in their cooperation – although to Ayano, this was something unbearable.

“Come on. Tell us. What kind of person is he?”

“I already said there is no such person! By the way...”

Ayano stared at Yukari with accusing eyes.

“Aren’t we going to eat some cake now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why are we on this road?!”

In the direction which Ayano pointed her finger stood a long row of accommodations designed for a very specific purpose.

Just as with a haunted house in a backcountry area, though there was nothing particularly odd about their appearance, they possessed an atmosphere unlike that of a normal hotel.

That’s right. For, as the three (except for a certain someone) were chatting happily, they had unintentionally come to the entrance of a street of love hotels.

Having realized that they were arguing in a special area, Ayano couldn’t help but blush. But Yukari’s smile did not change at all.

“This is a short-cut.”

“Even so, this kind of place...”

“Don’t worry. No one would think that we are going to play 3P.”

Ayano’s face carried a pained expression as she looked at this innocently smiling friend who had just said something very shocking.

“You... Don’t use that cute face to say something so shocking, okay?”

“Kay~ But this kind of thing is nothing compared to your normal behavior.”

“... What do you mean by that?”

Against Ayano’s squinting eyes, Yukari put on her usual smiling face. Though she may have looked easy-going, she was definitely not on the losing side.

Ayano, who realized that she was at a disadvantage, decided to forcefully end the conversation.

“Anyway, let’s not walk this way. Let’s go another way!”

“Geez, you are so squeaky clean.”

“Squeaky clean? That doesn’t even need to be said! This kind of hotel, whose only use is for people to share a bed – who knows what the people going in are thinking?!”

Ayano sounded violent and scowled angrily at the love hotels as though they had killed her father, when suddenly, her expression froze.

Yukari and Nanase followed Ayano’s line of sight. What lay there was...

“As agitated as always.”

A man and a beautiful lady, sticking closely together, walking out from the hotel street.

His age appeared to be about twenty-something, with an upright face that could be considered handsome, but his expression seemed to be rather sloven. A light smirk appeared on his mouth, forcefully pulling his grade down thirty percent.

“You should at least think about where you are.”

The man made fun of the dumbfounded Ayano and continued to speak.

“You're already a high school student. It’s about time you knew what shame is...”

The man before her eyes was Kazuma Yagami. This was the man who Ayano hated most. As for the woman beside him, she had never seen her before. In addition, this was a love hotel street.

Having caught up to this point, Ayano’s brain, which had finally returned to a normal temperature, suddenly began to heat up. Gripped with an inexplicable fury, Ayano shouted, “You... What are you doing in a place like this?!”

“...Ayano?”

Yukari and Nanase shared a puzzled look, looking at their friend who had suddenly fallen into a rage. Neither pair of eyes showed any indecision, and they seemed to be asking simultaneously, “What is she talking about?”

It wasn’t a question that needed to be asked. Just as Ayano had said, there is only one thing to do in a love hotel – even if there are many different ways and methods of doing it; there is basically only one reason to be there.

On the other hand, Kazuma, who had drawn Ayano’s rage upon him, simply showed a light smile, as usual.

“Asking me what I am doing... Ah, it is so hard to say it out loud~ ♥”

He acted shy, daintily using his hand to cover his mouth as he spoke.

At that momement, the dozens of logic-related neural synapses in Ayano’s brain snapped all at once.

Feeling the furious spiritual energy coming from Ayano, Yukari and Nanase couldn’t help but move back. But even when engulfed in such a strong murderous intent, one that even normal people would notice and fear, Kazuma and the woman beside him did not change the relaxed smiles on their faces.

The woman ignored Ayano’s furious eyes as if they were nothing. She put her lips close to Kazuma’s ear and asked, “This girl, is she your girlfriend?”

“Kirika... That joke isn’t funny at all!”

After such a semi-derogatory question, Kazuma answered with an irritated look. Listening, Kirika glanced at Ayano and laughed lightly.

(...! This darn woman–!)

Seeing the seemingly taunting attitude of this person, Ayano viewed Kirika as an “enemy.” As if seeking a weak spot, she sized up Kirika from head to toe. But...

(Argh...)

Though slim, she had a good figure filled with femininity.

From the angle of a “woman,” Ayano had no way to compete.

Ayano was also a rare beauty, but her state of maturity was far below Kirika’s. Future development or hidden potential had no effect now. Because in a battle in the real world, current capabilities decide everything.

Even so, if her opponent were just someone who devoted all nutrients – even those that should go to the brain – into her breasts and hips, Ayano would not concede defeat.

But Kirika was different. Those thin, long eyes of hers carried the light of wisdom, clearly indicating that she was not just some vulgar woman who only knew how to fawn on guys.

Slightly older than Kazuma, she looked as if she was around twenty-five. From the way she could casually face up to Ayano’s killing intent as if it were not there, she was clearly not an average businesswoman. Maybe they were in the same trade?

Ayano bore the silent torture of inferiority and continued to glare at the two with angry eyes.

“Kazuma?”

Kirika accepted Ayano’s eyes generously and held her body even more closely against Kazuma’s arm. Rather than a demonstration of love, this action seemed more like she was trying to hang on tightly.

“Should I arrest you for lewd acts against an underage female?”

“Don’t be like that.”

Kazuma seemed very displeased.

“She is just a distant relative. I’ve done nothing, nor have any intentions of doing anything.”

“Then why is she angry?”

“She’s always angry. Just ignore her.”

“Oh~”

Kirika looked towards Ayano once more, her face showing a smile with deep meaning. Ayano noticed, her mind tangling in an instant.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 017.jpg|thumb]]

“I think it would be better to explain.”

“There’s no need for that. It’s too troublesome. Let’s go!”

Upon saying this, Kazuma pulled Kirika and walked away. As his eyes meet Ayano’s, he put on a serious expression and warned Ayano, “Go back quickly! This is no place for children.”

Kazuma walked past Ayano with ease, who was so angry her whole body was trembling. As the two sides passed one another, Kirika looked at Ayano before departing in an utterly relaxed manner. Those eyes, filled with sympathy, totally enraged Ayano.

Yukari remained where she was, silently sending off the close pair with her eyes. She looked to the side and coincidentally met Nanase’s eyes.

At that moment, silence was golden. The two exchanged bitter smiles, and as if they had discussed it much earlier, looked towards Ayano who still had not turned back.

“So that’s it.”

Nanase nodded heavily.

“No wonder you were so harsh to those people who tried to pick us up.”

“That’s right. It is really tough to like someone like that.”

“But what a surprise. I never thought Ayano would like flippant guys like that.”

“...You two...”

Ayano turned slowly.

In a gentle, but equally chilling tone, she answered, “What are you two talking about?”

“What else?”

Yukari answered straightforwardly.

“Ayano, you like that guy right? Although it looks one-sided.”

“You... What makes you two think that way?”

“Just think about your reaction just now. No matter how we look at it, it is the reaction of ‘a jealous girl seeing the guy she likes getting snatched away,’ right?”

“There is no such thing! It is definitely not that way!!”

Ayano shouted out, blushing. Her voice was so loud it almost seemed to reach as far as the eye could see.

“Ayano, you’re too loud.”

Ignoring Yukari’s warning, Ayano furiously continued to say, “Why would I like that kind of lowlife?! That is the type of person I hate most in this world! If I could have, I would have sliced him into pieces!!”

“Then why are you angry?”

Yukari rebutted with a calm voice.

“If you really didn’t like him, then it wouldn’t matter who he sleeps with, right? What would there be to be angry about?”

“That... That’s because... That...

...I just cannot bear to see someone like Kazuma sleep with that kind of beauty! They are not at all compatible!”

Ayano gripped her fist tightly and tried her best to explain, as the other two looked at her with cold eyes.

(What do you think?)

(She doesn’t seem to be lying... Could it be that she hasn’t even realized it herself?)

(If that’s the case, then she’s not just slow – there’s something completely wrong with her...)

(But... that is just like Ayano.)

(Yeah, that’s true)

“You two! Don’t whisper among yourselves right in front of me!”

Having gotten shouted at by Ayano, Nanase swiftly straightened her body. Following this, she used a very serious expression, like someone who is faking marriage just to grab a hold of the password to a credit card, in order to say, “Ah. Okay, okay. I get it, you really hate that man.”

“Yup, completely understood.”

Yukari chimed in instantly. They were indeed Ayano’s best friends, their actions matching flawlessly.

Ayano’s expression revealed her continued suspicion.

“...Really?”

“Of course.”

“Fine then.”

Ayano nodded, though her expression still showed displeasure. After everything had come to an end, and the two of them had given a sigh of relief–

“Ah, that is the girl. Mr. Hanagi.”

Those guys had chosen the worst possible time to appear.

“These are the ones?”

The man they called Hanagi pointed his finger towards the three and said...

“You guys were scared off by these three girls?”

“Because the girl in the middle has a really scary stare...”

“That girl is really arrogant. Please teach her some manners, Go-san!”

The men who were saying these things were the punks, numbers one and two (temporarily named), who had been driven off by Ayano earlier. It seemed that because they had been rejected so vehemently by Ayano, resentment had arisen, and so they had found someone to help them take their revenge!

– They don’t come any lower than that.

“We invited you so nicely to have some fun, and yet you told us to ‘get lost.’ That was really rude. Now apologize.”

“...”

Ayano stared at the group of men, her eyes indicating that they were unworthy even of notice. Seeing those ice cold eyes, punks numbers one and two couldn’t help but retreat several steps, though Hanagi showed no sign of fear.

“That trick of yours won’t work! Hanagi-san knows Shaolin fist techniques!”

“Please do it! Go Hanagi-san!”

Numbers one and two cowered behind Hanagi and continued to shout. Ignoring the two who were merely relying on Hanagi’s strength, Ayano stared at Hanagi alone.

As they had mentioned, the man before her eyes seemed to have undergone a certain level of training. As he wore only a thin, sleeveless sweater under his leather coat, his protruding muscles could be clearly seen. It was a body specially made for combat.

“For a woman to be so arrogant, that’s why you are having such an unlucky encounter. Don’t try to go against men from now on.”

Hanagi reached his hand out in a rough manner, intending to grab Ayano’s chin to lift her face.

At the instant his fingertips touched her chin, Ayano moved swiftly.

She angled her body and moved forward, while at the same time dodging Hanagi’s hand. Ayano cleanly swung her bent left arm into Hanagi’s defenseless chest.

Ayano’s elbow struck the lower region of Hanagi’s earlobe, where his jaw was. This was a sudden, full-force attack and a powerful strike that even contained ''ki''. It would not have been surprising if his jaw had fallen off of his face.

Hanagi’s body flew into the air in a spiral. His legs, which had left the ground, tangled together like twisted bread and subsequently splayed outwards with reactive force.

Hanagi’s body kept on spinning, and after a sickening three and a half round rotation, he naturally had a failed landing – his whole body flattened against the outer wall of a hotel.

Splat.

A wet sound propagated along the entire street. This was definitely not a sound made by a human body. If a freshly slaughtered piece of flesh, with blood still dripping, were smashed into a wall, it would probably make this kind of sound.

Several seconds after Hanagi has been hammered into the wall, he fell to the floor like a flattened cockroach.

On the red bricks of the hotel wall, a fluid even more red than the bricks formed an eerie human figure.

“Uh... Uh~”

Seeing Hanagi, blood pouring out of seven holes and his body twitching, Nanase drew a cross towards the sky. Beside her, Yukari placed her hands together and closed her eyes to pray.

“Huh... Huh huh...”

“Hanagi-san...”

The remaining two guys gave voice to pitiful cries in tones that had reached the utmost limit of fear.

Ayano silently walked past the two men, who were unable to move their feet, and could only stand there like idiots.

She fired off two kicks at lightning speed. The tip of her foot hit right in the center between the legs of the two men.

“Argh!”

“Wah!”

The tip of her pointed shoe hit the pelvis, while the most important part was struck heavily. Ayano contemplated the two, now rolling on the ground in pain with a pink foam of blood and spittle coming from their mouths, with disgust.

“How dirty!”

“Ah– Please send an ambulance over. There are three heavily wounded people.”

A cold voice came from behind. Behind her, Nanase was using a public phone to contact 911. She read out the number of the phone booth to inform the other party of the location.

“Please be quick. One of them doesn’t seem likely to make it.”

After that, she hung up, ignoring their inquiries for her name. This action could be said to be very well-trained since the reason she didn’t use her own cellphone was to avoid leaving any trace.

“So, have you vented your anger?” Nanase asked Ayano calmly.

“...I did not do it on purpose.”

Ayano pouted and replied unhappily, but the two did not believe her.

They had known very well since the beginning that she had just been redirecting her anger at Kazuma. If she had not met Kazuma earlier, Ayano would not have been so cruel!

But there is one thing they did not understand. Nanase leaned in close to Yukari’s ear and quietly asked...

(By the way, is that guy really that good?)

(Hmm... I feel that he is above average, but...)

He did not seem like a man that would make Ayano feel jealous. That was their opinion.

For though they had known Ayano for a long time, they still did not know what the Kannagi’s did for a living, nor of the power that was within their bloodline.

They would still have a few days to wait before witnessing for themselves the true power of Kazuma.

=== 2 ===
“Has Kazuma still not arrived?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Ayano replied to the Soushu’s, Juugo’s, question in a sour tone of voice. She appeared to have drunken some alcohol, and her gaze seemed blank.

Stared at by his daughter, who was radiating malcontent, Juugo blinked.

“What is it between you and Kazuma?”

“Nothing.”

Ayano slammed the wine cup on the table with a bang.

“I hate that guy! I don’t want to see his face or hear his name ever again! That sort of guy can just go have a good time with some old woman!”

“...So that is it.”

Juugo could roughly guess what had happened and decided not to probe any further.

“In celebration of the annihilation of the Fuuga clan!”

“Cheers to Hyoue who is now roasting in hell, suffering for all eternity!”

“Cheers!”

Vulgar toasts like this one abounded. Everyone seemed exuberant, and the air was filled with the sound of cups clinking in toasts.

The cause for celebration was something that had happened about a week ago.

The subordinates of the Kannagis, the Fuuga clan, had suddenly revolted. The leader of the Fuuga clan, Hyoue Kazamaki, had allowed his son Ryuuya to be possessed by a powerful ''youma'', and many of the Kannagis had been killed.

The ones who had fought them were Ayano and Ren, practitioners of the Kannagi main family, and Ren’s brother, Kazuma Yagami, who had been exiled due to his ineptitude as an ''En-jutsushi'' and had eventually become a ''Fuu-jutsushi''.

After a fierce battle, the three had finally defeated Hyoue and Ryuuya. On the fourth day following, that is, that evening, a banquet for their victory was being held.

The banquet was unlike any before it. Just about every member of the Kannagi family able to attend was in attendance. They had all joyfully joined the banquet and were now raising their cups in celebration of the annihilation of their hated enemy.

This reaction came as no surprise. For these people, who claimed to be the strongest, Hyoue and Ryuya, had been existences who could not be permitted.

The fact that they had been able to possess a ''youma'' beyond their powers was in and of itself unforgivable. Furthermore, they had been of the Fuuga clan, a group of low level ''jutsushis'' who they had stepped on for a long period of time.

For them, to fear weaklings like the Fuugas to the extent that they had had to go into hiding was a humiliation that could never be vindicated.

However, since the Fuuga clan had been completely destroyed, that shame, if not erased, was at least forgotten. In their joy, it wasn’t at all odd for them to be going somewhat overboard in their celebrations.

“Hmph! For those dogs to forget who had raised and fed them and to even go so far as to bite their masters’ hands! Those ungrateful bastards!”

“How dare they resist us? We, who are blessed by the Spirit Lord! What an outrage!”

“Cheers to the Fuuga clan’s demise!”

“Cheers!”

All around the tables, cups met, and everyone downed their cups in one go.

Just as the banquet was approaching its climax, Kazuma appeared.

“Kazuma-san has arrived.”

As the servant made his announcement, all noise in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

Amidst the silence, a youth walked through the paper door the servant had opened and stepped into the hall with a confident swagger.

Unfriendly eyes gathered upon this youth who walked in without a word. Just for the record, among the glares, the one which bore the greatest hatred was Ayano’s, but let’s leave that matter aside for now.

Actually, it was not without reason that this man was so despised. The Kannagis had had over fifty ''jutsushis'' before the battle with the Fuuga clan, and yet there were only a few more than thirty present at the banquet. The total dead and wounded amounted to more than twenty.

Seven were dead, the rest injured with varying degrees of severity. Those seven had been attacked by Ryuya – the only ones attacked by Ryuuya.

In other words, the majority of the casualties were the work of Kazuma. Everyone gathered here had family members who had been sent to the hospital by Kazuma. Under such circumstances, it was only natural that they didn’t wear smiles to welcome him.

Their hateful glares glanced off of Kazuma, who acted as if they weren’t even there. His attitude served only to increase their hatred for him.

This was the sort of feeling you get from being looked down on by someone whom you had looked down on in the past. Needless to say, Kazuma completely ignored their presence. He seemed to consider them beneath contempt. No matter how much Juugo tried to defend him, the negative feelings toward Kazuma only strengthened further.

Kazuma nodded toward Ren, the only one who smiled at him, and then bowed before Juugo.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“I don’t mind at all. I am the one who forced you to join us.”

Juugo smiled, forgiving Kazuma’s tardiness, and told Kazuma to sit beside him. In short order, wine and hors d’oeuvres were placed before Kazuma’s eyes.

“Welcome back, Nii-sama!”

Ren ran over and hugged his brother’s arm tightly like a spoiled puppy. Kazuma didn’t stop him. On the contrary, he reached out his hand to caress his brother’s head. But he didn’t give the customary reply, “I’m back.”

Because, for a long time now, this place had not been Kazuma’s, that is, Kazuma Yagami’s, home.

Ren didn’t seem to notice Kazuma’s thoughts and served him diligently.

“Ah, let me pour you some wine.”

“...Okay.”

Kazuma lifted the cup with his hands but put it back on the table without drinking a single drop.

Ren questioned hesitantly, “Nii-sama, why not have a drink?”

“I’m not thirsty.”

Ren looked at the untouched food.

“...Won’t you eat something?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“...”

Ren felt puzzled and lifted his eyes to look at his brother.

Kazuma continued to look straight ahead, ignoring Ren.

“Erm... Err...”

Just as Ren began to panic, thinking he had done something to anger his brother, a big hand was placed lightly on Ren’s head.

“...Nii-sama?”

The direction of Kazuma’s gaze hadn’t changed, nor did he speak. In spite of this, the feeling of that warm hand was enough to satisfy Ren. Leaning against his brother’s body, Ren closed his eyes and showed a peaceful smile.

To Kazuma, the Kannagi residence was still enemy territory. Not only would he not eat any food placed before him, no matter how relaxed the others might look, he wouldn’t let his guard down even for an instant.

That is why Kazuma noticed immediately when a young woman approached him.

He deliberately didn’t move, observing her as if nothing untoward was happening, waiting for her to take action.

The young woman was around twenty and was wearing a kimono. She seemed to be used to wearing one, for her actions were not the least bit awkward.

Her hairstyle, rather than being a blunt blob, was more of a round and simple [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#hairstyle|hairstyle]] with its sides cut evenly. Together with small, cute cheeks, she was a beautiful Japanese-style woman that would make you think of the outdated appellation “[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#yamato_nadeshiko|Yamato Nadeshiko]].”

Seeing the girl kneeling before him bow deeply, Kazuma said with a hazy expression, “If I recall... You are Ogami...”

“My name is Misao Ogami. I’ve been ordered to take care of Kazuma-sama. If you have any needs, please just inform me.”

“...Oh?”

Kazuma used his fingertips to hold Misao’s chin and lift up her face.

Looking at her nervous expression, Kazuma smiled and asked teasingly, “Even at night?”

Faced with such a direct intimation, Misao blushed and her eyes shifted downward. Even though she was embarrassed, she didn’t try to escape from Kazuma’s hand. She murmured in hardly a whisper, “If... that is your wish.”

Seeing that Misao didn’t resist, Kazuma’s face closed in even more. At that moment, Kazuma, as if repelled, suddenly leaned back.

A ray of red lightning pierced the air where Kazuma’s head had just been. With a loud thunk, something embedded itself in the pillar behind him.

“You despicable piece of shit! Get your dirty hands off her!”

Needless to say, the furious girl with the incomparable rage was Ayano. Kazuma didn’t even bother to look at her, but instead turned his head back.

A long, thin red stick was now embedded in the pillar – Ayano’s chopstick.

The chopstick possessed no sharp point, and yet it was half-sunken into the pillar. Guessing at the strength with which she must have thrown it, Kazuma laughed.

Ayano stalked toward Kazuma and raised her hand for a karate chop, aiming at Kazuma’s hand, which had been on Misao’s face the entire time. Seeing a chop that carried the strength to break thirty tiles, he quickly removed his hand.

Ayano had murder in her eyes as she scowled at Kazuma, who had a smile on his face, and then slowly walked next to Misao.

“Misao, what are you thinking! Why ruin your life for scum like that?!”

“Huh... Ermm... Sorry.”

Faced with such an aggressive aura, Misao couldn’t help but apologize. Seeing such a happy scene, Kazuma purposely put on a hurt expression.

“Why are you making me sound so bad?”

“I was just telling the truth, wasn’t I? You already have a girlfriend. How dare you still lay your hands on other girls?! You jerk!”

“Girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Liar! That one earlier...”

“If you mean Kirika, we’re not in that kind of relationship. She is just–”

“Just your sex friend, right?”

Ayano finished Kazuma’s sentence in an eerily gentle tone. Even though her face showed a smile, upon closer inspection, her temples were pulsing with anger.

Observing her expression, Kazuma smiled at her comprehension, and said, “Yup, you could put it that way too.”

Violent spiritual energy burst forth from Ayano’s entire body, and her body subconsciously entered battle mode.

“Ayano-sama.”

However, she was stopped just before she could erupt. Confronted with Misao’s appeal, Ayano was reluctantly forced to restrain her murderous intent.

“Please, don’t be angry. It was Kazuma-sama who avenged my brothers. To repay that debt, this sort of thing is nothing...”

“You should be grateful to me instead!” Ayano said proudly.

“This guy only fought because it was his job! We’ve already paid him enough to reward him! There’s no need to thank him. You have a problem with that?”

This last line was, of course, directed at Kazuma.

“Nope, that is largely true.” Kazuma admitted frankly.

“I don’t know what this fiery lass did that you should be grateful for, but at the very least, there is no need to thank me. Leaving Masato and Takeshi aside, you can consider half of the blame that Takeya died to be mine.”

Upon such a shocking statement, a commotion erupted around them.

After making so much noise, it was only natural that they had attracted notice. Their bickering had become the center of attention, and to hear such an alarming statement made everyone prick up their ears and listen quietly.

“What do you mean?” Ayano asked in a sharp tone.

Kazuma brushed off her intensity like a thick-skinned willow tree brushes off the wind and smiled.

“Even though the one who kill him was Ryuuya, he had already been defeated earlier by me. Ryuuya only cut the unconscious Takeya apart. Well, I guess that even if he had still been conscious then, the result wouldn’t have been any different.”

Kazuma said this nonchalantly and shifted his eyes back to Misao. He faced the bowed-down Misao, whose expression could not be seen, and reassured her gently.

“So, you see? There’s no need to be so courteous. How about taking that out of your sleeve?”

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 039.jpg|thumb]]
At the instant Kazuma finished his sentence, Misao suddenly moved. Her foot forcefully stomping on the tatami, she pulled out the dagger which had been hidden in her sleeve all along.

“Ah... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Screaming wildly, the dagger gripped tightly in her fists, Misao jumped into Kazuma’s chest.

For a moment, everyone remained completely motionless. Though everyone in the hall had witnessed the scene, it appeared that they were unable to comprehend its implications in time and were at a loss for what to do.

Misao and Kazuma both just sat there without flinching, like a pair of intimate lovers, the two in a silent embrace.

“Ka... Kazuma?”

Ayano’s quivering voice called out the name of the man she hated most.

He did not reply.

“Kazuma?! Ans... Answer me quickly! Kazuma! Kazuma!!”

“What?”

Kazuma suddenly raised his head and answered as if nothing had happened. Using his fingertips to pinch the dagger that should have been in Misao’s hands, he raised it before his eyes and waved it.

“...!”

Maybe because of her relief, Ayano fell to the floor, still in shock, and shouted loudly, “If... If you heard me, you should have at least made a sound! I’d thought that you’d died!”

“Is there anything troubling to you about my death?”

“That... That...”

Ayano was momentarily unable to speak. She tried her best to stop all the blood in her body from gathering at her face, while at the same time working hard to come up with a rebuttal.

“I... I don’t want Misao to become a murderer.”

“That makes sense.”

“That’s right!”

(...?)

Ayano nodded in agreement, but felt that Kazuma’s reaction seemed off somehow. At the same time, she couldn’t say with certainty what was wrong about it.

Ignoring Ayano, who was puzzling over this, Kazuma placed his eyes on Misao, who had fallen on him.

“So are you still angry?”

“...!”

Misao forcefully pushed herself off of Kazuma and used the momentum to jump backward. She put a little distance between them and stared at Kazuma with eyes full of hatred.

But Kazuma didn’t seem to mind those eyes at all. He calmly broke eye contact with Misao and passed the dagger in his hand to Ayano.

“Take it.”

“Ah, okay.”

She took it reflexively and then looked closely at the dagger.

The blade of the dagger was about ten centimeters long. It would serve well for peeling apples and not much more. There didn’t appear to be any poison on it either.

(...Did she really think that a fruit knife could kill Kazuma?)

What a foolish action. Ayano bitterly regretted her earlier display of anxiousness.

At that point in time, the others were finally emerging from their shock. However, none stood up to arrest Misao because all of the people in the branch family felt the same way.

(What about Father?)

Ayano looked toward Juugo.

“What is the matter?”

“What do you mean by ‘What is the matter?’ Don’t just look. Do something.”

“Hmm...”

Juugo looked at the scene of the crime with cold eyes.

“Kazuma.”

“Ah?”

“If you do not wish to deal with her, shall I punish Misao for you?”

Even though his tone seemed calm, its meaning was clear. “If you want to kill her, just do it.” Juugo was usually kind and well-tempered, but he was not so kind as to forgive someone who had just attempted murder.

Kazuma’s reply was totally unexpected.

“I don’t think this goes so far as to require punishment. Nothing happened. Just let her go!”

Upon hearing this reply, Juugo revealed a surprised expression, and Ayano’s puzzled look could be clearly seen.

Ayano finally realized why she has been feeling that something was off. Misao was still alive. That alone was something which didn’t make sense.

On the battlefield, Kazuma wouldn’t have cared about anything else. Even if it was just a little girl, even if she was not moving of her own free will or if she was being threatened or manipulated, Kazuma wouldn’t have gone easy on her.

Given Kazuma’s habits, after he had dodged the attack, no, the instant the dagger had been drawn, Misao’s head should have landed on the floor.

(But this... What was going on?)

Filled with questions, Ayano began to look at the two.

Misao looked pale and weak. Though her eyes still bore hatred, it seemed that she did not have the strength to act again.

Her area of expertise was in defending seals and providing support from behind; she was not a ''jutsushi'' who fought on the frontline. Although her abilities were not weak, her personality was simply not suited to battle, let alone killing.

This may even have been the first time she had directed a knife at someone. Her mentality of avoiding causing harm was no different from a normal person’s. Just now she had acted on impulse, but after her failure, she didn’t have the ability to try again.

Kazuma lowered his head and looked silently at Misao. Those eyes carried no warmth, but neither did they show coldness.

(This is too abnormal, too weird! And... this makes me feel very unhappy!)

“What is the meaning of this–?”

“So be it. Since you have said as much, I have no reason to punish her either.”

Juugo interrupted Ayano, who had lost her composure, and came to a simple conclusion.

“But we cannot allow you to stay here either. Go back and reflect on this for a while!”

With that, he ordered someone by his side to take Misao away. Misao struggled to get rid of the hands that were about to catch her.

“Why?!”

Ignoring the man who seemed troubled by her struggling, Misao stared at Kazuma and shouted, “Why did Nii-sama have to die?!”

“Because he was too weak.”

Kazuma replied very bluntly.

“...!!”

The hall was filled with rage in an instant. Misao was not alone in feeling that Kazuma has caused deaths in the family. To these people, Kazuma’s words had gone far beyond their ability to tolerate.

“You asshole...!!”

Ayano stood up, her face flushed red with anger. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Kazuma.

“What the hell is wrong with you! Can’t you differentiate between what can and cannot be said?! What do you mean by ‘because he was too weak?’ Don’t joke around! Is it because you have become strong that you have forgotten what it was like to be weak?!”

Kazuma showed Ayano, who continued to lecture him, no sign of remorse at all. Instead, he looked at her coldly.

“Looks like you still don’t understand.”

He then looked around at the people who were staring at him angrily.

“Why are you all putting on the look of a victim?”

“What... What do you mean by that?”

Kazuma’s eyes swept across the room once more. All he saw were puzzled yet angry expressions. Again confirming that no one had understood what he meant, he sighed.

“I don’t think you guys have ever wondered why the Fuuga clan revolted.”

“What do you mean by why... Of course it was to awaken their God!”

“No.”

Kazuma rejected this flat-out.

“That was just a means to an end, just one of the powers they needed to rise against the Kannagis.”

“Why don’t you tell us the reason then?” Ayano asked without even thinking.

Kazuma gave Ayano a contemptuous look.

“...These people of the Fuuga clan were definitely not a group of useless waste. Instead, they were even rather skilled ''Fuu-jutsushi''. Their combat abilities might have been very weak, but the inherent characteristics of wind are not suited to battle in the first place.”

In terms of attack power, among the four main powers – earth, water, fire, and wind – wind was the weakest.

This was because it was the lightest.

No matter how fast they might be, light attacks did not possess the strength to kill with one blow.

I believe that everyone has had the experience of being cut by a piece of paper before. With enough speed, and if timed well, even a flimsy piece of paper can become a blade. And yet, it can only cut the surface of the skin. A slash without weight is unable to cut off flesh and bone all in one go.

The weight of water and earth is far beyond that of wind, and fire possesses a large amount of energy. If they were to fight against these powers, a ''Fuu-jutsushi'' would have to summon and control several times more spirits than they would.

Precisely for this reason, the role ''Fuu-jutsushis'' played was to use the wind’s mobility to search and to track, as well as to control the surrounding air while providing battle support. The Fuuga clan could actually have been said to have been a typical example of wind practitioners.

“The Kannagis were born with combat abilities, and the Fuugas excelled at information gathering and battle support. To provide for the other’s inability, to coexist peacefully and equally, that should have been the way that they interacted.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kazuma observed Juugo, who was showing a bitter expression. He was the only one there who understood the truth of Kazuma’s words.

“Unfortunately, you, who only know how to use raw power as a standard, looked down on the Fuuga clan, who had no combat abilities. But without the Fuuga, you would not even have known where the enemy was!”

“What you are trying to say is... because we have always looked down on the Fuuga, we deserved to be killed by them?” Ayano pouted unhappily.

But Kazuma shook his head in denial.

“I never said that what you did was wrong. The strong are always right; that is the unequivocal truth.”

“But then...”

“But as you execute your right to crush the weak, you must also bear the burden of being crushed by people even stronger. Even if you are killed, you can have no complaints as this is the very thing you have done.”

“...!”

Ayano’s expression changed drastically. She seemed to have understood what Kazuma was trying to say.

“Just because the Fuuga clan was ‘too weak,’ that was why you all looked down on them. Just because ''you'' are ’too weak,’ that is why you were crushed by Ryuuya. It is a very simple thing to understand.”

This was not a question of who was right and who was wrong. Since both sides believed in the “law of power,” in the end, only the strong survived. That was all.

“If you people have acknowledged everything that you have done toward the Fuuga clan, then the Fuuga clan can also only acknowledge what they did to you. To crush the weak, does it not allow you to be crushed by those even stronger? Just who do you think you are?”

This merciless accusation reached the ears of everyone present like the roar of thunder, but it failed to touch their arrogant hearts.

“This, I am unable to accept.”

A voice of disagreement emerged from a place very close to Juugo’s seat of honor.

“Kazuma-san, your argument seems to have neglected one very important fact.”

The man spoke in a vicious and unrelenting tone. He was Masayuki Ogami, the head of the Ogami family, and Misao’s father. But he did not seem to care at all about his daughter, who had her head lowered and was keeping quiet.

“The value of our lives is definitely not equal. We, the Kannagis, are blessed by the spirits – a chosen clan! Yet you put us and the Fuugas, those lowlifes, on the same level. That is very appalling. Not to mention, it...”

He stared furiously at Kazuma, as if Kazuma was the killer of his son.

“Not to mention, it gives those scum the right to kill us!”

Hearing Masayuki’s words, Kazuma answered with a calm smile.

“Who is it that was chosen?”

“...What?”

“Those words. Why don’t you wait until you have power like Ayano’s before saying them! To hear a weakling boasting about his bloodline, how pathetic! It is as if you have nothing else to boast about except your bloodline.”

“You... You asshole...!”

Masayuki instantly became agitated. In comparison, Kazuma’s mocking tone still hadn’t changed.

“By the way, you should be thanking Hyoue instead!”

“?”

“He helped you to get rid of Masato, who was a nuisance in your eyes. At the very least, go burn some incense and pay your respects!”

“...! You...! What did you just say...!”

When Masayuki Ogami’s younger brother, Masato Ogami, had been alive, he had been known as the strongest practitioner of the branch family. Everyone knew that had he not left his home to train because he had hated fighting with his brother over the succession, he would have been the one to lead the family.

Seeing the shaken Masayuki, Kazuma said as if taunting him.

“It ''is'' a nuisance to have a younger brother better than you, isn’t it?”

“Damn... Damn you, you asshole!!”

Masayuki’s face changed color as he shouted. He stood up from the tatami, and with blood red eyes, stared murder at Kazuma.

This time, there was an almost palpable tension between the two. The killing intents around the room formed a whirlpool and gathered around Kazuma, who was still sitting in his original spot.

At that moment, Ren, who had been leaning against Kazuma’s shoulder, moved. He wriggled his upper body, his whole body stuck on Kazuma in a tight embrace. He looked as if he was trying to stop Kazuma and lacked the strength to do so.

Seeing this, a question went through Ayano’s mind.

(This kid... Since when did he become so quiet?)

Even when Misao had attempted to stab Kazuma, she had not heard Ren’s voice. No matter how much faith he had in his brother’s strength, it was unnatural for him to not so much as cry out.

Under everyone’s stare, Ren’s upper body slowly slid down along Kazuma’s body. He placed his face on Kazuma’s leg, and after a few seconds like this...

“Hmm... Nii-sama...”

“So he is asleep!” Ayano couldn’t help but say.

Before the blissful sleep-talking, the originally tense atmosphere dispersed in an instant.

“...”

His bloodlust gone, Masayuki sat down once more. His expression was solemn, but he no longer was in the mood to maintain his anger.

Masayuki’s reaction did not matter to Kazuma, as he had not cared from the beginning.

“Soushu.”

“...Yes.”

Juugo understood everything very well, and because of that, his voice sounded abnormally bitter.

“It is impossible to dream of these guys reflecting upon this. But please do not forget, it is the Kannagis’ arrogance that sparked this fight. If there are no changes, the same thing will just repeat itself.”

“...I understand.”

“Good.”

Kazuma lifted Ren’s head and placed him on Ayano’s leg.

“Kazuma?”

“There is nothing left for me here. I am going back.”

With this sentence, Kazuma left the residence without looking back.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Volume 1]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 1

2009-06-08T06:44:17Z

Kalessin: /* 1 */ Fixed tenses and improved wording and flow of text.

== Chapter One - Banquet for Victory -The Chosen Ones- ==
=== 1 ===
It was a common occurrence.

You could say it’s something that had become a part of their lives.

However, Yukari and Nanase could both sense the tension.

A tension that was hard to ignore.

“Didn’t I say so already? You girls definitely won’t be bored. I know a great club! I just need to show my face for us to get in.”

“Come on! Let’s go! What fun is there to be had with only females?”

As the two exchanged glances, a group of men with weak appearances made a vulgar speech in a flippant manner. They didn’t look too bad, but their idiotic speech and actions showed no class at all.

In simpler terms, they were trying to pick the girls up.

It was a common occurrence.

Even though their appearances may have differed, the three were beautiful girls that made one’s eyes light up. They knew exactly how to deal with such pick-up artists. Or at least they did, until now.

“...”

Suddenly, the third girl, who had not spoken a word until now, began to move. She slowly raised her head and looked into the eyes of the man in front of her.

“That place is frequently visited by idols, stars, and models! We have many such friends, and if you are interested, we can introduce them to you...”

Glared at by cold eyes that chilled to the bone, the originally glib man was unable to speak another word.

“Get lost.”

“...Yes.”

The men left pitifully. Yet the girl did not even look at them and instead put on an unchanging, cold expression and left as if nothing had happened.

“...Ayano.”

“What’s wrong?”

The girl, Ayano Kannagi, seemed rather displeased, and turned her head with those words.

“You seem to be really harsh to the people who’ve tried to pick us up recently.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Ayano replied, straying from the point.

“But...”

Yukari lifted her head to look at Nanase with pleading eyes.

Nanase nods and says, “Yup, you’re really overdoing it recently. Let’s take last time for example: you actually used the corner of your schoolbag to hit the guy’s temple.”

“Ah, that one was really scary. The whites of his eyes showed, and blood was flowing from his ears and nose–”

“...Does it matter, anyway? We called an ambulance for him.”

Nanase looked hard at the moody Ayano and slowly closed in on the main point.

“Ayano, something happened between you and a guy, didn’t it?”

“Wh–what... What are you talking about?!”

The sudden question left Ayano unable to hide the stir in her heart.

“Hehe~”

Nanase gave off a smile deep with meaning.

“You, a girl with a father-complex, finally seem to be starting to show interest in guys other than your father.”

“I am not a father-lover.”

Ayano swiftly regained her composure, and said strongly, “I’ve just never met a guy better than my father. That’s all.”

“...”

Nanase met Yukari’s eyes, as if to say “What a headache,” and sighed.

“I admit, your father is indeed a mature and relaxed middle-aged man, but you cannot possibly find that kind of feeling in a young guy, right?”

“That’s not true. Father was young once too, so as long as I find someone similar–”

Halfway through, she shut her mouth and frowned, as the conversation had somehow reminded her of that detestable man.

Seemingly difficult to approach, yet uncommonly relaxed – a person undoubtedly qualified to be compared to her father.

He was not like Juugo at all. Indeed, he was the total opposite.

But... he was very powerful. Not just his strength, but his entire existence. In that sense, he was comparable to Juugo, the strongest man that she knew–

“Aya---no~”

Hearing the call rife with laughter, Ayano, who had stopped moving, returned to her senses.

“You are thinking of the guy you like right now, aren’t you?”

“Of... Of course not! That kind of guy!”

“What kind of guy?”

Having been asked such a question, Ayano lost her strength for a moment.

“Nanase... Even you...”

“Be honest! It’s such an interesting topic. I bet even Yukari won’t let it go easily either, right?”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Yukari nodded happily. Ayano stared at her two friends who intended to extract every single detail with antagonistic scrutiny.

Yukari Shinomiya and Nanase Kudo. They were both students of Seiryo Academy, where Ayano studied, and also her best friends – even though there were times when she wondered about the friendship between them.

Yukari’s shoulder-length, beautiful hair moved up and down like waves, her face always showed a gentle smile, and her speech was slightly slow. It was unclear whether she should be considered “mellow” or just “slow.” Regardless, from this description, you can probably imagine that she is a laid-back person.

In contrast, Nanase’s hairstyle was a refreshing, blunt bob. She seemed casually calm, and her swift movements and tone showed no sign that they belonged to a girl, giving people an unsettled feeling, making her the type to receive a lot of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.<ref>In Japan, girls are the ones who give out chocolate on Valentine’s, so the implication here is that Nanase is popular with other girls.</ref>

These two girls were opposites no matter how you look at it, but what was truly remarkable was that when they teased Ayano, they exhibited perfect harmony in their cooperation – although to Ayano, this was something unbearable.

“Come on. Tell us. What kind of person is he?”

“I already said there is no such person! By the way...”

Ayano stared at Yukari with accusing eyes.

“Aren’t we going to eat some cake now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why are we on this road?!”

In the direction which Ayano pointed her finger stood a long row of accommodations designed for a very specific purpose.

Just as with a haunted house in a backcountry area, though there was nothing particularly odd about their appearance, they possessed an atmosphere unlike that of a normal hotel.

That’s right. For, as the three (except for a certain someone) were chatting happily, they had unintentionally come to the entrance of a street of love hotels.

Having realized that they were arguing in a special area, Ayano couldn’t help but blush. But Yukari’s smile did not change at all.

“This is a short-cut.”

“Even so, this kind of place...”

“Don’t worry. No one would think that we are going to play 3P.”

Ayano’s face carried a pained expression as she looked at this innocently smiling friend who had just said something very shocking.

“You... Don’t use that cute face to say something so shocking, okay?”

“Kay~ But this kind of thing is nothing compared to your normal behavior.”

“... What do you mean by that?”

Against Ayano’s squinting eyes, Yukari put on her usual smiling face. Though she may have looked easy-going, she was definitely not on the losing side.

Ayano, who realized that she was at a disadvantage, decided to forcefully end the conversation.

“Anyway, let’s not walk this way. Let’s go another way!”

“Geez, you are so squeaky clean.”

“Squeaky clean? That doesn’t even need to be said! This kind of hotel, whose only use is for people to share a bed – who knows what the people going in are thinking?!”

Ayano sounded violent and scowled angrily at the love hotels as though they had killed her father, when suddenly, her expression froze.

Yukari and Nanase followed Ayano’s line of sight. What lay there was...

“As agitated as always.”

A man and a beautiful lady, sticking closely together, walking out from the hotel street.

His age appeared to be about twenty-something, with an upright face that could be considered handsome, but his expression seemed to be rather sloven. A light smirk appeared on his mouth, forcefully pulling his grade down thirty percent.

“You should at least think about where you are.”

The man made fun of the dumbfounded Ayano and continued to speak.

“You're already a high school student. It’s about time you knew what shame is...”

The man before her eyes was Kazuma Yagami. This was the man who Ayano hated most. As for the woman beside him, she had never seen her before. In addition, this was a love hotel street.

Having caught up to this point, Ayano’s brain, which had finally returned to a normal temperature, suddenly began to heat up. Gripped with an inexplicable fury, Ayano shouted, “You... What are you doing in a place like this?!”

“...Ayano?”

Yukari and Nanase shared a puzzled look, looking at their friend who had suddenly fallen into a rage. Neither pair of eyes showed any indecision, and they seemed to be asking simultaneously, “What is she talking about?”

It wasn’t a question that needed to be asked. Just as Ayano had said, there is only one thing to do in a love hotel – even if there are many different ways and methods of doing it; there is basically only one reason to be there.

On the other hand, Kazuma, who had drawn Ayano’s rage upon him, simply showed a light smile, as usual.

“Asking me what I am doing... Ah, it is so hard to say it out loud~ ♥”

He acted shy, daintily using his hand to cover his mouth as he spoke.

At that momement, the dozens of logic-related neural synapses in Ayano’s brain snapped all at once.

Feeling the furious spiritual energy coming from Ayano, Yukari and Nanase couldn’t help but move back. But even when engulfed in such a strong murderous intent, one that even normal people would notice and fear, Kazuma and the woman beside him did not change the relaxed smiles on their faces.

The woman ignored Ayano’s furious eyes as if they were nothing. She put her lips close to Kazuma’s ear and asked, “This girl, is she your girlfriend?”

“Kirika... That joke isn’t funny at all!”

After such a semi-derogatory question, Kazuma answered with an irritated look. Listening, Kirika glanced at Ayano and laughed lightly.

(...! This darn woman–!)

Seeing the seemingly taunting attitude of this person, Ayano viewed Kirika as an “enemy.” As if seeking a weak spot, she sized up Kirika from head to toe. But...

(Argh...)

Though slim, she had a good figure filled with femininity.

From the angle of a “woman,” Ayano had no way to compete.

Ayano was also a rare beauty, but her state of maturity was far below Kirika’s. Future development or hidden potential had no effect now. Because in a battle in the real world, current capabilities decide everything.

Even so, if her opponent were just someone who devoted all nutrients – even those that should go to the brain – into her breasts and hips, Ayano would not concede defeat.

But Kirika was different. Those thin, long eyes of hers carried the light of wisdom, clearly indicating that she was not just some vulgar woman who only knew how to fawn on guys.

Slightly older than Kazuma, she looked as if she was around twenty-five. From the way she could casually face up to Ayano’s killing intent as if it were not there, she was clearly not an average businesswoman. Maybe they were in the same trade?

Ayano bore the silent torture of inferiority and continued to glare at the two with angry eyes.

“Kazuma?”

Kirika accepted Ayano’s eyes generously and held her body even more closely against Kazuma’s arm. Rather than a demonstration of love, this action seemed more like she was trying to hang on tightly.

“Should I arrest you for lewd acts against an underage female?”

“Don’t be like that.”

Kazuma seemed very displeased.

“She is just a distant relative. I’ve done nothing, nor have any intentions of doing anything.”

“Then why is she angry?”

“She’s always angry. Just ignore her.”

“Oh~”

Kirika looked towards Ayano once more, her face showing a smile with deep meaning. Ayano noticed, her mind tangling in an instant.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 017.jpg|thumb]]

“I think it would be better to explain.”

“There’s no need for that. It’s too troublesome. Let’s go!”

Upon saying this, Kazuma pulled Kirika and walked away. As his eyes meet Ayano’s, he put on a serious expression and warned Ayano, “Go back quickly! This is no place for children.”

Kazuma walked past Ayano with ease, who was so angry her whole body was trembling. As the two sides passed one another, Kirika looked at Ayano before departing in an utterly relaxed manner. Those eyes, filled with sympathy, totally enraged Ayano.

Yukari remained where she was, silently sending off the close pair with her eyes. She looked to the side and coincidentally met Nanase’s eyes.

At that moment, silence was golden. The two exchanged bitter smiles, and as if they had discussed it much earlier, looked towards Ayano who still had not turned back.

“So that’s it.”

Nanase nodded heavily.

“No wonder you were so harsh to those people who tried to pick us up.”

“That’s right. It is really tough to like someone like that.”

“But what a surprise. I never thought Ayano would like flippant guys like that.”

“...You two...”

Ayano turned slowly.

In a gentle, but equally chilling tone, she answered, “What are you two talking about?”

“What else?”

Yukari answered straightforwardly.

“Ayano, you like that guy right? Although it looks one-sided.”

“You... What makes you two think that way?”

“Just think about your reaction just now. No matter how we look at it, it is the reaction of ‘a jealous girl seeing the guy she likes getting snatched away,’ right?”

“There is no such thing! It is definitely not that way!!”

Ayano shouted out, blushing. Her voice was so loud it almost seemed to reach as far as the eye could see.

“Ayano, you’re too loud.”

Ignoring Yukari’s warning, Ayano furiously continued to say, “Why would I like that kind of lowlife?! That is the type of person I hate most in this world! If I could have, I would have sliced him into pieces!!”

“Then why are you angry?”

Yukari rebutted with a calm voice.

“If you really didn’t like him, then it wouldn’t matter who he sleeps with, right? What would there be to be angry about?”

“That... That’s because... That...

...I just cannot bear to see someone like Kazuma sleep with that kind of beauty! They are not at all compatible!”

Ayano gripped her fist tightly and tried her best to explain, as the other two looked at her with cold eyes.

(What do you think?)

(She doesn’t seem to be lying... Could it be that she hasn’t even realized it herself?)

(If that’s the case, then she’s not just slow – there’s something completely wrong with her...)

(But... that is just like Ayano.)

(Yeah, that’s true)

“You two! Don’t whisper among yourselves right in front of me!”

Having gotten shouted at by Ayano, Nanase swiftly straightened her body. Following this, she used a very serious expression, like someone who is faking marriage just to grab a hold of the password to a credit card, in order to say, “Ah. Okay, okay. I get it, you really hate that man.”

“Yup, completely understood.”

Yukari chimed in instantly. They were indeed Ayano’s best friends, their actions matching flawlessly.

Ayano’s expression revealed her continued suspicion.

“...Really?”

“Of course.”

“Fine then.”

Ayano nodded, though her expression still showed displeasure. After everything had come to an end, and the two of them had given a sigh of relief–

“Ah, that is the girl. Mr. Hanagi.”

Those guys had chosen the worst possible time to appear.

“These are the ones?”

The man they called Hanagi pointed his finger towards the three and said...

“You guys were scared off by these three girls?”

“Because the girl in the middle has a really scary stare...”

“That girl is really arrogant. Please teach her some manners, Go-san!”

The men who were saying these things were the punks, numbers one and two (temporarily named), who had been driven off by Ayano earlier. It seemed that because they had been rejected so vehemently by Ayano, resentment had arisen, and so they had found someone to help them take their revenge!

– They don’t come any lower than that.

“We invited you so nicely to have some fun, and yet you told us to ‘get lost.’ That was really rude. Now apologize.”

“...”

Ayano stared at the group of men, her eyes indicating that they were unworthy even of notice. Seeing those ice cold eyes, punks numbers one and two couldn’t help but retreat several steps, though Hanagi showed no sign of fear.

“That trick of yours won’t work! Hanagi-san knows Shaolin fist techniques!”

“Please do it! Go Hanagi-san!”

Numbers one and two cowered behind Hanagi and continued to shout. Ignoring the two who were merely relying on Hanagi’s strength, Ayano stared at Hanagi alone.

As they had mentioned, the man before her eyes seemed to have undergone a certain level of training. As he wore only a thin, sleeveless sweater under his leather coat, his protruding muscles could be clearly seen. It was a body specially made for combat.

“For a woman to be so arrogant, that’s why you are having such an unlucky encounter. Don’t try to go against men from now on.”

Hanagi reached his hand out in a rough manner, intending to grab Ayano’s chin to lift her face.

At the instant his fingertips touched her chin, Ayano moved swiftly.

She angled her body and moved forward, while at the same time dodging Hanagi’s hand. Ayano cleanly swung her bent left arm into Hanagi’s defenseless chest.

Ayano’s elbow struck the lower region of Hanagi’s earlobe, where his jaw was. This was a sudden, full-force attack and a powerful strike that even contained ''ki''. It would not have been surprising if his jaw had fallen off of his face.

Hanagi’s body flew into the air in a spiral. His legs, which had left the ground, tangled together like twisted bread and subsequently splayed outwards with reactive force.

Hanagi’s body kept on spinning, and after a sickening three and a half round rotation, he naturally had a failed landing – his whole body flattened against the outer wall of a hotel.

Splat.

A wet sound propagated along the entire street. This was definitely not a sound made by a human body. If a freshly slaughtered piece of flesh, with blood still dripping, were smashed into a wall, it would probably make this kind of sound.

Several seconds after Hanagi has been hammered into the wall, he fell to the floor like a flattened cockroach.

On the red bricks of the hotel wall, a fluid even more red than the bricks formed an eerie human figure.

“Uh... Uh~”

Seeing Hanagi, blood pouring out of seven holes and his body twitching, Nanase drew a cross towards the sky. Beside her, Yukari placed her hands together and closed her eyes to pray.

“Huh... Huh huh...”

“Hanagi-san...”

The remaining two guys gave voice to pitiful cries in tones that had reached the utmost limit of fear.

Ayano silently walked past the two men, who were unable to move their feet, and could only stand there like idiots.

She fired off two kicks at lightning speed. The tip of her foot hit right in the center between the legs of the two men.

“Argh!”

“Wah!”

The tip of her pointed shoe hit the pelvis, while the most important part was struck heavily. Ayano contemplated the two, now rolling on the ground in pain with a pink foam of blood and spittle coming from their mouths, with disgust.

“How dirty!”

“Ah– Please send an ambulance over. There are three heavily wounded people.”

A cold voice came from behind. Behind her, Nanase was using a public phone to contact 911. She read out the number of the phone booth to inform the other party of the location.

“Please be quick. One of them doesn’t seem likely to make it.”

After that, she hung up, ignoring their inquiries for her name. This action could be said to be very well-trained since the reason she didn’t use her own cellphone was to avoid leaving any trace.

“So, have you vented your anger?” Nanase asked Ayano calmly.

“...I did not do it on purpose.”

Ayano pouted and replied unhappily, but the two did not believe her.

They had known very well since the beginning that she had just been redirecting her anger at Kazuma. If she had not met Kazuma earlier, Ayano would not have been so cruel!

But there is one thing they did not understand. Nanase leaned in close to Yukari’s ear and quietly asked...

(By the way, is that guy really that good?)

(Hmm... I feel that he is above average, but...)

He did not seem like a man that would make Ayano feel jealous. That was their opinion.

For though they had known Ayano for a long time, they still did not know what the Kannagi’s did for a living, nor of the power that was within their bloodline.

They would still have a few days to wait before witnessing for themselves the true power of Kazuma.

=== 2 ===
“Has Kazuma still not arrived?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Ayano replies to the Soushu, Juugo's, question in a sour tone of voice. She appears to have drunk some alcohol, and her gaze seems blank.

Stared at by his daughter, radiating malcontent, Juugo blinks.

“What is it between you and Kazuma?”

”Nothing.”

Ayano slams the wine cup on the table with a bang.

“I hate that guy! I neither want to see his face nor hear his name ever again! That kind of guy can just go have a good time with some old woman!”

“...So that is it.”

Juugo can roughly guess what has happened and decides not to probe any further.

“In celebration of the annihilation of the Fuuga clan!”

“Cheers to Hyoue who is now roasting in hell, suffering for all eternity!”

“Cheers!”

Vulgar toasts like this one abound. Everyone seems exuberant and the air is filled with the sound of cups clinking in toasts.

The cause for celebration is something that happened about a week ago.

The subordinates of the Kannagi, the Fuuga clan, had suddenly revolted. The leader of the Fuuga clan, Hyoue Kazamaki, had allowed his son Ryuuya to be possessed by a powerful youma and many of the Kannagi had been killed.

The ones who had fought them were the practitioners of the Kannagi main family, Ayano and Ren, and Ren’s brother, who had been exiled due to his ineptitude as an En-jutsushi and had eventually become a Fuu-jutsushi, Kazuma Yagami.

After a fierce battle, the three had finally defeated Hyoue and Ryuuya. On the fourth day following, that is, tonight, a banquet for their victory is being held.

The banquet is unlike any before. Just about every member of the Kannagi family able to attend is now in attendance. They have all joyfully joined the banquet, and are now raising their cups in celebration of the annihilation of their hated enemy.

This reaction comes as no surprise. For these people, who claim to be the strongest, Hyoue and Ryuya were existences that could not be permitted.

The fact that they had been able to possess youma beyond their powers alone was unforgivable. Furthermore, they had been of the Fuuga clan, a group of low level jutsushis they had stepped on for a long period of time.

To fear weaklings like the Fuuga to the extent they had had to go into hiding. To them, this is a humiliation that can never be vindicated.

However, since the Fuuga clan is now completely destroyed, that shame, if not erased, is now forgotten. In their joy, it isn't at all odd for them to be going slightly overboard with their celebrations.

“Hmph! For those dogs to forget who had raised and fed them and to go even so far as to bite their masters' hands! Those ungrateful bastards!”

“How dare they resist us? We, who are blessed by the Spirit Lord! What an outrage!”

“Cheers to the Fuuga clan’s demise!”

“Cheers!”

All around the tables, cups meet, and everyone downs their cups in one go.

Just as the banquet approaches its climax, Kazuma appears.

“Kazuma-san has arrived.”

As the servant makes his announcement, all noise in the hall comes to an abrupt halt.

Amidst the silence, a youth walks through the paper door the servant has opened, and steps into the hall with a confident swagger.

Unfriendly eyes gather upon this youth who walks in without a word. Just for the record, among the glares, the ones bearing the greatest hatred are Ayano’s eyes, but let’s leave this matter aside for now.

Actually, it is not without reason that this man is so despised. The Kannagi had over fifty jutsushis before the battle with the Fuuga clan, and yet there are only a little more than thirty present at the banquet. The total dead and wounded amounts to more than twenty.

Seven are dead, the rest injured with varying degrees of severity. Those seven were attacked by Ryuya. The only ones attacked by Ryuuya.

In other words, the majority of casualties are the work of Kazuma. Everyone gathered here has family members who have been sent to the hospital by Kazuma. Under such circumstances it is only natural that they do not wear smiles to welcome him.

Their hateful glares glance off of Kazuma who acts as if they aren't even there. His attitude serves only to increase their hatred for him.

This is the kind of feeling one gets from being looked down upon by someone whom one had looked down upon in the past. Needless to say, Kazuma completely ignores their presence. He seems to regard them as being beneath contempt. No matter how much Juugo tries to defend him, the negative feelings toward Kazuma only strengthen further.

Kazuma nods towards the only one who smiles at him, Ren, and then bows before Juugo.

“Sorry, I am late.”

“I don’t mind at all. I am the one who forced you to join us.”

Juugo smiles, forgiving Kazuma’s tardiness and tells Kazuma to sit beside him. In short order, wine and hors d'oeuvres are placed before his eyes.

“Welcome back, Nii-sama!”

Ren runs over and tightly hugs his brother’s arm like a spoiled puppy. Kazuma does not stop him. On the contrary, he reaches out his hand to caress his brother’s head. But he does not make the customary reply, "I am back."

Because, for a long time now, this place has not been Kazuma's, that is, Kazuma Yagami’s, home.

Ren does not seem to notice Kazuma’s thoughts, and serves him diligently.

“Ah, let me pour the wine for you.”

“...Okay.”

Kazuma takes the cup up with his hands, but puts it back on the table without drinking a single drop.

Ren questions hesitantly, “Nii-sama, why not have a drink?”

“I am not thirsty.”

Ren looks at the untouched food.

"...Won't you eat something?”

“I am not hungry.”

”...”

Ren feels puzzled, and lifts his eyes to look at his brother.

Kazuma continues to look straight ahead, ignoring Ren.

“Erm…… Err……”

Just as Ren panics, thinking he has done something to enrage his brother, a big hand is lightly placed on Ren’s head.

“……Nii-sama?”

The direction of Kazuma's gaze has not changed, nor does he speak. Despite this, the feeling of that warm hand is enough to satisfy Ren. Leaning against his brother’s body, Ren closes his eyes and shows a peaceful smile.

To Kazuma, the Kannagi residence is still enemy territory. Not only will he not eat any food placed before him, no matter how relaxed the others may look, he will not let his guard down even for an instant.

That is why Kazuma notices immediately when a young woman approaches him.

He deliberately doesn't move, observing her as if nothing untoward is happening, waiting for her to take action.

The young woman is around twenty and is wearing a kimono. She seems to be used to wearing one, for her actions are not the least bit awkward.

Her hairstyle, rather than saying it is a blunt blob, it is more like a round and simple [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#hairstyle|hairstyle]] with its sides cut evenly. Together with small, cute cheeks, she is a beautiful Japanese-style woman that would make one think of the outdated appellation “[[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Translator%27s_Notes#yamato_nadeshiko|Yamato Nadeshiko]].”

Seeing the girl kneeling before him bow deeply, Kazuma says with a hazy expression, “If I recall…… You are Ogami……”

“My name is Misao Ogami. I've been ordered to take care of Kazuma-sama. If you have any needs, please just inform me.”

“...Oh?”

Kazuma uses his fingertips to hold Misao’s chin and lift her face up.

Looking at her nervous expression, Kazuma smiles and asks teasingly, "Even at night?”

Faced with such a direct intimation, Miaso blushes and her eyes shift downwards. Even though she's embarrassed, she does not try to escape from Kazuma’s hand. She murmurs in hardly a whisper, “If...that is your wish."

Seeing that Misao is unresisting, Kazuma’s face closes in even more. At this moment, Kazuma, as if repelled, leans back suddenly.

A ray of red lightning pierces the air where Kazuma’s head had previously been. With a loud thunk, something embeds itself into the pillar behind Kazuma.

"You despicable piece of shit! Move your dirty hands away!”

Needless to say, the furious girl with the incomparable rage is Ayano. Kazuma does not even bother to look at her, but instead turns his head back.

A long, thin red stick is now stabbed into the pillar. Ayano’s chopstick.

The chopstick possesses no sharp point and yet it is half-sunk into the pillar. Guessing at the strength with which she must have thrown it, Kazuma laughs.

Ayano stalks towards Kazuma and raises her hand for a karate chop, aiming at Kazuma’s hand, which has been on Misao’s face all the while. Seeing a chop that carries the strength to break thirty tiles, he quickly removes his hand.

Ayano has murder in her eyes as she scowls at Kazuma, who has a smile on his face, and then slowly walks next to Misao.

“Misao, what are you thinking! Why ruin your life for scum like that!?”

“Huh…… Ermm…… Sorry.”

Faced with such an aggressive aura, Misao cannot help but apologize. Seeing such a happy scene, Kazuma puts on a hurt expression on purpose.

“Why are you making me sound so bad?”

“I was just telling the truth, wasn’t I? You already have a girlfriend. How dare you still lay your hands on other girls?! You jerk!”

“Girlfriend? I don’t have any.”

“Liar! That one earlier...“

“If you mean Kirika, we are not in that kind of relationship. She is just-“

“Just your sex friend, right?”

Ayano finishes Kazuma's sentence in an eerily gentle tone. Even though her face shows a smile, upon closer inspection, her temples are pulsing with anger.

Observing her expression, Kazuma smiles at her comprehension, and says, “Yup, you can put it that way too.”

Violent spiritual energy bursts out from Ayano’s entire body, and her body subconsciously enters battle mode.

“Ayano-sama.”

However, she is stopped just before she can erupt. Confronted with Misao’s appeal, Ayano is reluctantly forced to restrain her murderous intent.

“Please, don’t be angry. It was Kazuma-sama who avenged my brothers. To repay this debt, this kind of thing is nothing..."

“You should be grateful to me instead!" Ayano proudly says.

“This guy fought only because it was his job! We have already paid him enough to reward him! There is no need to thank him. You have a problem with that?”

That last line is, of course, directed at Kazuma.

“Nope, that is largely true." Kazuma admits frankly.

“I do not know what this fiery lass did that you should be grateful for, but at the very least, there is no need to thank me. Leaving Masato and Takeshi aside, you can consider half of the blame to be mine that Takeya died.”

Hearing such a shocking statement, a commotion erupted around them.

After making so much noise, it was only natural that they had attracted notice. Their bickering had become the center of attention and to hear such an alarming statement made everyone prick their ears and listen quietly.

“What do you mean?” Ayano asks in a sharp tone.

Kazuma brushes off her intensity like a thick-skinned willow tree does the wind and smiles.

“Even though the one to kill him was Ryuuya, he had already been defeated earlier by me. Ryuuya only cut the unconscious Takeya apart. Well, I guess even if he had still been conscious then, the result would not have been any different.”

Kazuma says this nonchalantly, and shifts his eyes back to Misao. He faces the bowed-down Misao, whose expression cannot be seen, and reassures her gently.

“So, you see? There's no need to be so courteous, how about taking that out from your sleeve?”

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 039.jpg|thumb]]
At the instant Kazuma finishes his sentence, Misao suddenly moves. Her foot forcefully stomping on the tatami, she pulls out the dagger which had been hidden in her sleeve all along.

“Ah……Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Screaming wildly, the dagger gripped tightly in her fists, Misao jumps into Kazuma’s chest.

For a moment, everyone remains completely motionless. Though everyone in the hall has witnessed the scene, it appears they are unable to comprehend its implications in time and are at a loss for what to do.

Misao and Kazuma both just sit there, without flinching; like a pair of intimate lovers, the two in a silent embrace.

“Ka……Kazuma?”

Ayano’s quivering voice calls out the name of the man she hates most.

He does not reply.

“Kazuma!? Ans…… Answer me quickly! Kazuma! Kazuma!!”

“What?”

Kazuma suddenly raises his head and answers as if nothing has happened. Using his fingertips to pincer the dagger that should have been in Misao’s hands, he raises it before his eyes and waves it.

“…………!”

Maybe because of her relief, Ayano falls to the floor, still in shock, and shouts loudly, “If…… If you heard me, at least make a sound! I thought you died!”

“Is there anything troubling to you about my death?”

“That…… That……”

Ayano is momentarily unable to speak. She tries her best to stop all the blood in her body from gathering at her face, while at the same time working hard to come up with a rebuttal.

“I…… I don’t want Misao to become a murderer.”

“That makes sense.”

“That is right!”

(---------?)

Ayano nods to agree, but feels that Kazuma’s reaction seems off somehow. At the same time she cannot say with certainty what it is that is wrong.

Ignoring Ayano who is puzzling over this, Kazuma places his eyes upon Misao, who has fallen on him.

“So are you still angry?”

”--------------!”

Misao forcefully pushes herself off of Kazuma and uses the momentum to jump backwards. She puts a little distance between them and stares with eyes full of hate at Kazuma.

But, Kazuma does not seem to mind those eyes at all. He calmly breaks eye contact with Misao and passes the dagger in his hand to Ayano.

“Take it.”

“Ah, okay.”

She takes it reflexively, and then looks closely at the dagger.

The blade of the dagger is about ten centimeters long. It would serve well for peeling apples, and not much more. There does not appear to be any poison on it either.

(…… Did she really think that a fruit knife could kill Kazuma?)

What a foolish action. Ayano bitterly regrets her earlier display of anxiousness.

At this point in time, the others are finally emerging from their shock. However, none step out to arrest Misao, because all of the people in the branch family feel the same way.

(What about Father?)

Ayano looks towards Juugo.

“What is the matter?”

“What do you mean by “What is the matter”? Don’t just look, do something.”

“Hmm……”

Juugo looks at the scene of the crime with cold eyes.

“Kazuma.”

“Ah?”

“If you do not wish to deal with her, shall I punish Misao for you?”

Even though his tone seems calm, its meaning is clear. “If you want to kill her, just do it.” Juugo is usually kind and well-tempered, but he is not so kind as to forgive someone who had just attempted murder.

Kazuma’s reply is totally unexpected.

“I don't think this goes so far as to require punishment. Nothing happened, just let her go!”

Hearing this reply, Juugo reveals a surprised expression and Ayano’s puzzled look can be clearly seen.

Ayano finally realizes why she has been feeling something is off. Misao is still alive, that alone is something which does not make sense.

On the battlefield, Kazuma would not care about anything else. Even if it was just a little girl, even if she was not moving of her own free will, being threatened or manipulated, Kazuma would not go easy on her.

Given Kazuma’s habits, after he has dodged the attack, no, the instant the dagger was drawn, Misao’s head should have landed on the ground.

(But this…… What is going on?)

Filled with questions, Ayano begins to look at the two.

Misao looks pale and weak. Though her eyes still bear hatred, it seems she does not have the strength to act again.

Her area of expertise is in defending seals and providing support from behind; she is not a jutsushi that fights on the front-line. Though her abilities are not weak, her personality is simply not suitable for battle, not to mention killing.

This may even be the first time she has directed a knife at someone. Her mentality of avoiding causing harm is no different from a normal person's. Just now she had acted on impulse, but after her failure, she does not have the ability to try again.

Kazuma lowers his head and looks at Misao silently. Those eyes carry no warmth, but neither do they show coldness.

(This is too abnormal, too weird! And... this makes me feel very unhappy!)

“What is the meaning of this-?“

“So be it. Since you have said as much, I have no reason to punish her either.”

Juugo interrupts Ayano, who has lost her composure, and comes to a simple conclusion.

“But, we cannot allow you to stay here either. Go back and reflect on this for a while!”

With that, he orders someone by his side to take Misao away. Misao struggles to get rid of the hands that are about to catch her.

“Why!?”

Ignoring the man who seems troubled by her struggling, Misao stares at Kazuma and shouts, “Why did Nii-sama have to die!?”

“Because he was too weak.”

Kazuma replies, very bluntly.

“-------------!!”

The hall is filled with rage in an instant. Misao is not alone in feeling that Kazuma has caused deaths in the family. To these people, Kazuma’s words have gone far beyond their ability to tolerate.

“You asshole------!!”

Ayano stands up, her face flushed red with anger. She places her hands at her hips and glares at Kazuma.

“What the hell is wrong with you! Can’t you differentiate between what can and cannot be said!? What do you mean by “because he was too weak”? Don’t joke around! Is it because you have become strong that you have forgotten what it was like to be weak!?”

Kazuma shows Ayano, who continues to lecture him, no sign of remorse at all. Instead, he looks coldly at her.

“Looks like you still don’t understand.”

He then looks around at the people who are staring at him angrily.

“Why are you all putting on the look of a victim?”

“What…… What do you mean by that?”

Kazuma’s eyes sweep across the room once more. All he sees are puzzled yet angry expressions. Again confirming that no one has understood what he meant, he sighs.

“I don’t think you guys have ever wondered, why did the Fuuga clan revolt?”

”What do you mean by why…… Of course it was to awaken their God!”

“No.”

Kazuma rejects this flat-out.

“That was just a means to an end. Just one of the powers they needed to rise against the Kannagi.”

“Why don’t you tell us the reason then?” Ayano asks without even thinking.

Kazuma gives Ayano a contemptuous look.

“……These people of the Fuuga were definitely not a group of useless waste. Instead, they were even rather skilled Fuu-jutsushi. Their combat abilities might have been very weak, but the inherent characteristics of the wind are not suited to battle in the first place.”

In terms of attack power, among the four main powers of earth, water, fire and wind, the weakest is wind.

This is because it is the lightest.

No matter how fast they might be, light attacks do not possess the strength to kill with one blow.

I believe everyone has had the experience of being cut by a piece of paper before. With enough speed, and if timed well, even a flimsy piece of paper can become a blade. And yet, it can only cut the surface of the skin. A slash without weight is unable to cut off flesh and bone all in one go.

The weight of water and earth are far beyond wind and fire possesses a large amount of energy. If they are to fight against these powers, a Fuu-jutsushi must summon and control numbers of spirits several times greater.

Precisely for this reason, the role Fuu-jutsushis play is to use the wind's mobility to perform searching, tracking and to control surrounding air in providing battle support. The Fuuga clan can actually be said to have been a typical example of wind practitioners.

“The Kannagi that are born with combat ability, and the Fuuga that excel at information gathering and battle support. To provide for the other’s inability, to coexist peacefully and equally - this should have been the way of interaction.”

Kazuma observes Juugo, who is showing a bitter expression, out of the corner of his eye. He is the only one here who understands the truth of Kazuma's words.

“Unfortunately, you, who only know how to use raw power as a standard, looked down on the Fuuga clan, which has no combat abilities. But without the Fuuga, you would not even know where the enemy was!”

“What you are trying to say is... because we have always looked down on the Fuuga, we deserve to be killed by them?” Ayano pouts unhappily.

But Kazuma shakes his head in denial.

“I never said that what you did is wrong. The strong are always right; this is the unequivocal truth.”

”But then……”

“But as you execute your right to crush the weak, you must also bear the burden of being crushed by people even stronger. Even if you are killed, you can have no complaints, as this is the very thing you have done.”

“…………!”

Ayano’s expression changes drastically. She seems to have understood what Kazuma is trying to say.

“Just because the Fuuga clan is "too weak," that is why you all looked down on them. Just because ''you'' are "too weak," that is why you were crushed by Ryuuya. This is a very simple thing to understand.”

This is not a question of who is right and who is wrong. Since both sides believe in the “law of power”, in the end only the strong survive. That is all.

“If you people have acknowledged everything that you have done towards the Fuuga clan, then the Fuuga clan can also only acknowledge what they did to you. To crush the weak, does it not allow you to be crushed by those even stronger? Just who do you think you are?”

This merciless accusation reaches the ears of everyone present like the roar of thunder, but it fails to touch their arrogant hearts.

“This, I am unable to accept.”

A voice of disagreement emerges from a place very close to Juugo’s seat of honor.

“Kazuma-san, your argument seems to have neglected one very important fact.”

The man uses a vicious and unrelenting tone to speak. He is Ogami Masayuki. The head of the Ogami family and Misao’s father. But he does not seem to care at all about his daughter, who has her head lowered and is keeping quiet.

“The price of life is definitely not equal. We are blessed by the spirits - a clan chosen! Yet you put us and the Fuuga, those lowlifes, on the same level. That is very apalling, not to mention it...“

He stares furiously at Kazuma, as if Kazuma is the killer of his son.

“Not to mention it gives those scum the right to kill us!”

Hearing Masayuki’s words, Kazuma answers with a calm smile.

“Who is it that was chosen?”

“... What?”

“Those words, why don’t you wait until you have power like Ayano's before saying them! To hear a weakling boasting about his bloodline, how pathetic! It is as if you have nothing else to boast about except for your bloodline.”

“You…… You asshole……!”

Masayuki instantly became agitated. In comparison, Kazuma’ mocking tone still has not changed.

“By the way, you should be thanking Hyoue instead!”

“?”

“He helped to get rid of Masato, who was a nuisance in your eyes. At the very least go burn some incense and pay your respects!”

“……! You……! What did you just say……!”

Ogami Masayuki’s younger brother, Ogami Masato. When he had been alive, he had been known as the strongest practitioner of the branch family. Everyone knew that had he not left his home to train, because he had hated fighting with his brother over the succession, he would have been the one to be lead the family.

Seeing the shaken Masayuki, Kazuma says as if taunting him.

“It ''is'' a nuisance to have a younger brother more elite than yourself, isn’t it?”

“Damn…… Damn you asshole!!”

Masayuki’s face changes color as he shouts. He stands up from the tatami, and with blood red eyes, stares murder at Kazuma.

This time, there is an almost palpable tension between the two. The killing intents around the room form a whirlpool, and gather towards Kazuma who is still sitting at his original location.

At this moment, Ren, who has been leaning against Kazuma’s shoulder, moves. He wriggles his upper body, his whole body stuck on Kazuma in a tight embrace. He looks as if he is trying to stop Kazuma and lacks the strength to do so.

Seeing this, a question goes through Ayano's mind.

(This kid…… Since when has he become so quiet?)

Even when Misao had attempted to stab Kazuma, she had not heard Ren’s voice. No matter how much faith he has in his brother’s strength, it is unnatural that he did not so much as cry out.

Under everyone’s stare, Ren’s upper body slowly slides down along Kazuma’s body. He places his face on Kazuma’s leg, and after a few seconds like this...

“Hmm…… Nii-sama……”

“So he is asleep!” Ayano can’t help but say.

Before the blissful sleep-talking, the originally tense atmosphere disperses in an instant.

“……………………”

His bloodlust gone, Masayuki sits down once more. His expression is solemn, but he no longer is in the mood to maintain his anger.

Masayuki’s reaction does not matter to Kazuma, as he had not cared from the beginning.

“Soushu.”

”……Yes.”

Juugo understands everything very well, and because of that, his voice sounds abnormally bitter.

“It is impossible to dream of these guys reflecting upon this. But please do not forget, it is the Kannagi’s arrogance that sparked this fight. If there are no changes, the same thing will just repeat itself."

“…… I understand.”

“Good.”

Kazuma lifts Ren’s head, and places him on Ayano’s leg.

“Kazuma?”

“There is nothing left for me here, I am going back.”

With this sentence, Kazuma leaves the residence without looking back.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Volume 1]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-07T06:05:10Z

Kalessin:

Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-07T03:49:36Z

Kalessin: New page: @Zyzzyva165 (in response to the his/her comment on their edit after my last edit) I think that a lot of the text in this page flows oddly and sometimes has a poor choice of words. The mea...

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-06T06:34:02Z

Kalessin: Some improvements to the wording and flow so that they flow more naturally in English.

== Chapter Three - Friendship –Contributions and Mistakes-==

=== 1 ===

Late night....

“Dammit! I'm not sure if I'll make it in time.”

A teenager rushed towards the station in order to catch the last train,

Takahashi Shuuji. A 20 year-old university student.

As a formal participant of the Kendo club, his slender-seeming body was actually very well trained—there was no fat on it at all.

His reflexes were benumbed due to an excessive intake of alcohol. Even so, the steps he took on the brick floor did not seem so disordered.

“...That’s weird.”

Shuuji suddenly had a strange feeling. He stopped in his tracks to look around him.

He found nothing suspicious—just a very normal underground passage that stretched a long way.

But—

“Hey... Why is there no one here?”

Besides him, not a single soul could be seen in the area.

This was the underground passage to the turnstiles. Even with it past midnight—the time when the last train was about to reach the station—it was impossible that there was nobody here at all.

“Rea— Really, anything can happen.”

Shuuji found some excuse to convince himself and tried to suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

“I'm... I'm going to miss the train at this rate...”

Shuuji began to walk quickly with a loud and clear ''ta! ta! ta!'' sound from his footsteps, . After a while it became a jog—and in the end he ran at full speed, as if he was flying.

''Ta! Ta! Ta!''

The sound made by the soles of his leather shoes knocking against the brick floor echoed throughout the entire vacant underground passage. Yet, no matter how long he continued to walk, there was no sign of the turnstiles before him.

“Wha—? What the hell!? It shouldn't be this long at all!”

The underground passage seemed to stretch on endlessly. Surrounded by store windows with the metal shutters pulled down at the sides, Shuuji gradually lost track of where he was.

He turned back to check on the way he came.

“—Eek!”

Shuuji gasped. Before him was a long tunnel that led to who knows where. The stairs that led to the surface could no longer be seen.

“—!”

He changed his direction once more. Back from the way he was heading in earlier, the scene reflected in his eyes made Shuuji stare, his eyes wide open.

The same as the way behind him—there was only one tunnel that stretched until it vanished as far as he can see. Of course, there were no stairs nor crossroads there either.

Shuuji was stranded in the middle of a tunnel that stretched endlessly—alone.

“What...? What's going on...?”

Cold sweat broke out from his face. Within the eyeballs that spun continuously, his pupils slowly dilated.

''“What the hell is this about?!”''

No one replied to his scream. His cry reverberated between the walls and ceiling and got sent back into Shuuji’s ears as a reverberating echo.

The teenager stumbled onto the floor, staring blankly at the brick with half mad, half sane eyes.

“...Ah?”

Suddenly, his eyes focused on one point—something was seeping through the gaps between the bricks on the floor.

“What...?”

It was a semi-transparent substance with a glue-like texture. It was originally the size of a ping-pong ball, then, it grew to the size of a baseball in a moment, and, after not too long, it was the size of a soccer ball.

The glue-like substance shone with a rainbow-coloured glow. If this thing was seen in a photo, maybe it would give a clear, lustrous, and refreshing feeling.

But, the actual substance floating before his eyes could only be described as ugly. It was just like a tumour, vomit, or a filthy gooey piece of the two condensed to the maximum limit.

Instinctively, Shuuji hurriedly jumped backwards, reacting to his disgust. He jumped with force, landing two meters behind where he was, and the sound of his steps spreads across the entire underground passage.

''Squeelch.''

"—!?”

He looked down at his feet in shock. There—! No, as far as he can see, all of the brick was covered with the filthy pieces of goo.

“WA—! WAHHHH!”

The globules that were in contact from under his feet slowly latched onto Shuuji’s body. Even though he attempted to peel the gooey things off, he couldn't; they were tougher than expected, firmly attaching themselves onto his limbs.

“...Huh?”

All of a sudden, his surroundings darkened. His eyeballs almost popped out, when he looked up away from the area near his feet he was staring at.

Before his eyes— At a distance so close he could touch it by stretching out his hand, a wall made from the globules appeared.

The scattered globules on the floor gathered around Shuuji, forming a semi-transparent, round bucket. Looking at the round bucket emitting a lustrous glow, it looked like a distorted pillar, like an avant-garde piece of art.

“...''Argh''... ''Ah''...”

Shuuji shook his head, unwilling to believe what was happening. In his mind, he tried hard to deny the existence of this gooey mass.

However, his wish was not fulfilled.

At that moment, the globules, which were stacked even higher than his body, collapsed on him all at once.

“—!”

Shuuji was too scared to say anything as his whole body was completely wrapped within the blob.

Unable to withstand such a chilling experience, sending shivers down his spine, Shuuji's consciousness was consumed by darkness.

And— He never woke up ever again.

“The way you manipulated them left me speechless, but—“

In the space where there was no one originally, a boy’s clear voice spoke up.

“Don’t you think you wasted too much time?”

A gentle female voice replied, “This is the first time; naturally I had to be more cautious.”

“Hmm, maybe!”

''Ka-ta.'' The sound of one footstep could be heard.

Who could say when they were there? Two shadows suddenly appeared in the abnormal space that trapped Shuuji.

There stood a seventeen or eighteen-year-old female with a boy about ten years old. The girl’s height exceeded that of the boy by about thirty centimeters—but, as for the position of the head, the boy’s head was slightly higher.

The two looked at Shuuji, who was trapped in the globule, chatting calmly.

“But, if you use so much time like this, who knows when it will be completed? To fulfill your wish, more power must be gathered.”

Right before the two of them, Shuuji slowly became emaciated.

He was being consumed.

Was it his blood—? No.

Was it his moisture content—? That was wrong too.

Being surrounded by the blob, Shuuji aged rapidly. All the vital essence of the teenager’s whole body— The radiance of life was being expropriated, his life that should last over half a century was used to its limit within a short period of a few minutes.

“I understand this very clearly! I will do it more cleanly and quickly next time!”

The girl raised her head to look at the boy, and used a determined tone to reply. As if to pacify the displeased girl, the boy gave a light smile.

“That's the way. You can do it.”

The short, neatly-cut golden hair waved lightly to follow his nodding motion.

Judging from the tone the two spoke in, it seemed the young boy was of a higher status.

Maybe his actual age was not as young as his appearance—the emerald-green eyes that looked innocent and naïve at first sight instead seemed deep beyond comprehension.

In a clear melodious voice like a silver bell, the boy said solemnly:

“Because he who is right will receive Heaven’s protection.”

“...You mean this?”

Looking at the vital essence of the innocent teenager being continuously sucked dry by the blob, the girl laughed mockingly.

“You're saying that this monster is the same as you? ''Tenshi''-sama? That sounds awful.”

The boy had no wings. A faint radiance emitted from all over his body as he floated in the air. The beautiful angelic face of his showed a bitter smile.

“Needless to say monsters—even devils—cannot escape the grasp of God. Because the omnipotent God is capable of anything.”

The girl looked at the smiling angel (self-proclaimed) with puzzled eyes. However, she did not reject his extended hand.

“No matter what your reason may be, I'm very thankful that you lent me power. For mutual benefit, let us work together from now on!”

“—One day, you will surely experience the love of God, too.”

Before the teenager gradually withering away, two hands filled with personal desires and hypocrisy were tightly clasped.

=== 2 ===

Next day at the Kannagi residence:

“What’s the matter?”

Kazuma—who was sought out—suddenly decided to forgo the pleasantries to ask Juugo directly.

He didn't even glance at Ayano who was sitting at his side.

Ayano, as usual, was in a silent anger. Kazuma, as usual, ignored her presence and kept his gaze on Juugo only.

“From yesterday night up till this morning at zero hours, Ikebukoro has a total of eight youngsters dying from being weakened by an unknown reason, their age ranging from ten plus to twenty plus years old.”

Juugo matched himself with Kazuma, going to the main point directly.

“And so?”

Kazuma calmly hushed for his continuation. He had an extremely high tolerance towards the suffering and misfortunes of others.

Even though you could just say how he was without blood or tears.

“They seem to have their vigor sucked dry. And so, I would like to ask you to find this person, and, if possible, eliminate him.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Without a more detailed negotiation, Kazuma accepted the request readily. This, too, was his usual style.

“I leave it to you. This is the data related to the incidents...”

With that said, Juugo takes out a thin sheaf of documents. Even though they were said to be data, but the incidents only happened last night, so there were no important clues. Just simple data about the victims and where they were found, and some photos while they were still alive, and some after their death.

“Oh oh.... These are just like residues.”

Kazuma compared the photos, and says the term that would make the relatives of the deceased curse him.

Yet, this was probably the most direct thought of anyone who saw the photos— Even though there were not many who dared say it out loud.

Every victim looked very lively—just looking at their photos allowed one to feel the brilliance of their lives.

Switching back to their photos after death... To be frank, they were mummies. Nothing would seem out of place even if they were placed directly in a museum for exhibition.

Dry and wrinkled skin, faces filled with wrinkles. In those open and vacant eyes, there was no sign of fear, only just a supernatural calmness.

Even if you told everyone how they had been still alive a few hours ago, there wouldn’t be many who would believe you! That was just how bad they looked after death.

“This time there is no time limit—but act fast. You will co-operate with Ayano—“

Kazuma simply cut into Juugo’s sentence. “No need.”

“—What?”

“She'll just be in my way.”

Faced with Juugo’s question, Kazuma replied coldly.

“Wha—? What!?”

Ayano furiously cried out in protest. Juugo stopped her.

“—Kazuma.”

He called out Kazuma’s name like a sigh—but Kazuma showed no intention of backing off.

“The job this time is primarily to search—right? Then ''En-jutsushi'' are completely useless. If the opponent is not something I can handle, I'll contact you guys again. Until then, just remain on stand-by!”

“But, if the enemy escapes because of this, then we'll have to go through this trouble again.”

Juugo didn’t give up, and persistently attempted to let Ayano travel along. Kazuma refused once more.

“I doubt that the number of ''Youma'' that I cannot handle by myself is very high. So why should I bring a heavy burden to prevent such a situation?”

Ayano jumped up in her anger. “Burden—!? Aren’t you being too arrogant—!?”

Juugo restrained Ayano and pulled her back to her seat.

“You won’t bring her along no matter what?”

“Nope.”

“...Is that so?”

Under such a direct rejection, Juugo could only comply.

“I get it. I'll trust you on this, then. And one more thing—“

“What is it?”

“You seem to care a lot about Misao. But, for now, just forget about her! At least until this matter is over.”

“----------------------“

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 109.jpg|thumb]]
Kazuma made no reply. He stood up silently, turned and left the room.

“You idiot—! Even if you come back crying, begging me, ''I will definitely not help you—!''”

Ayano raged at Kazuma's back as he gradually left.

Juugo looked at his daughter bitterly with a deep sigh.

“You should at least...”

“What!? You think I'm in the wrong?”

The ignorant Ayano said in a temper.

''Slice!''

Wind blades sped through to slice a bunch of eerily wriggling blobs into pieces. Staring at the semi-transparent objects turned into crumbs, Kazuma breathed out.

“Gee, another failure.”

Two days had passed since he had taken on Juugo's request.

During this period, he had been assaulted by these ''youma'' as many as nine times.

They didn't seem to consider Kazuma a target. Even though he himself walked into these areas with a strong ''youki'', meeting them was sheer coincidence.

Nine times.

A very abnormal number.

And while he investigated, every day there were another five or six victims....

''Five or six? I doubt there were so few.''

Indeed, such was only the number of corpses which had been found. But after witnessing how a victim was devoured from start to finish, Kazuma realized that Juugo’s assumption was wrong.

This type of "youma" didn't just absorb its victim's vigor. It also ate their flesh as well as anything else it swallowed up—including clothes and accessories. Everything got devoured.

Kazuma looked dejectedly at the victim, whose skin was now dissolving. This was followed by the flesh until in the end even his bones had dissolved. Kazuma's expression was not due to the dissolution process being so gruesome, but because he understood what this meant.

''—The only reason why corpses remained was because it couldn't digest them completely.''

The estimated number of casualties might be off from the actual number by a digit—or even two.

“No way....”

Kazuma sighed weakly.

Just how many more shape-shifting worms that fed on human flesh resided within Tokyo city? Just thinking about it irritated him.

“There's no end to this... I'd better come up with a way —and fast—to get to the core of this and end it once and for all!”

After nine battles, Kazuma almost completely understood the characteristics of these ''youma.''

Their appearance was similar to a single cell organism, with no intelligence at all. They acted purely by instinct, continuously devouring humans filled with vigor.

Their ability was “Absorption”—to completely drain away one’s vigor. Even the bodies were converted to energy and taken in.

Alone, they posed a threat no different from any normal pest. But what was troubling was that their numbers were not few as was normal—and when they joined up they gained new abilities.

When enough of them had gathered, some kind of magical circuit would then form among them. Using this circuit to create a ''kekkai,'' they made it so that the targeted humans were unable to escape.

Kazuma predicted that these globules all together were just one entity. The situation now was like that of split cells conducting activities independently.

The ability of each “cell” was to absorb calories and then exhaust them through activity. When they gathered together to form an “organ,” they gained the ability to control the energy they absorbed.

Perhaps in the final stage, each “organ” would link up to form one entity. But Kazuma didn't care about the true identity of this monster.

If it was just one entity, then there must be an organ like a brain giving out commands... Something like a core. Things would be fine so long as he found this core and destroyed it.

Currently, the enemy was acting separately, and thus its powers were weakened. There was no reason not to strike during this opportunity. He didn't have strange habits such as “hoping to fight with strong enemies.”

As such, Kazuma had been trying to find clues from the “cells” that would lead him to where the core might be, trying to find the real enemy... But so far it was nine consecutive losses.

“These guys are too dispersed. Some bait must be used in order to get them to gather in one place...”

Kazuma suddenly went quiet.

Bait. Someone full of vigor.

“There just so happens to be one available.”

Just as he clapped in exultation at having come up with such a brilliant plan, Kazuma sensed the appearance of the tenth batch of ''youma''. At the same time, he noticed the presence of a certain someone he knew.

Kazuma's smile was arrogant.

“''Hehe''. Not bad. Without my needing to say anything, our bait took up its role already.”

Listening to the wind, he identified the exact location.

“A little far... Should I jump?”

Jumping in the city might be seen by others. Kazuma's eyes subconsciously turned to the road while he pondered. His ears and eyes noticed “it” at the same time.

''Okay. Let’s use that.''

Kazuma made up his mind immediately. He hopped over the protective railing and stood in the road. Following that, with his left leg as the center, he spun round once to pass the side of a motorcycle that sped through the sidewalk...

''“Wha—!?”''

The reverse spin kick swept at the neck of the rider.

While the rider was thrown off the motorcycle and still in mid-air, Kazuma—as if doing a magic trick—straddled the motorcycle.

''Thunk!''

A blunt and heavy sound came from behind. It seemed the driver fell head first onto the ground—but since he was wearing a helmet, he wouldn't die at that kind of speed.

“I will try my best to return it to you.”

Kazuma muttered with his greatest sincerity—and then suavely sped off.

=== 3 ===

“Hey you girls, wanna—”

''Bang!''

The poor guy didn't not know how to look at the situation. Before he even completed his first sentence, he was sent flying into the air by the schoolbag that flew in from the side.

''“Scram!”''

Ayano yelled. His companions, seeing this, abandoned the unconscious man and instantly ran off. This was probably the most loyal and clever judgment made by self-survival instincts!

Yukari and Nanase did not rebut a single word all along; they knew better than anyone it wouldn't be a wise move.

The massive crowds all around the front of Ikebukuro station made it difficult for anyone to move on in a straight line—yet no one blocked Ayano’s way.

Like Moses who split the red sea in two, Ayano walked boldly on the path cleared right in the middle of the crowd.

''What was that!? What was that!? Sorry I'll only be a nuisance! Too bad I'm weaker than you! Gee, I'm so sorry—!''

In her heart, Ayano was used her ''Enraiha'' to stab that flippant detestable face.

Yet, no matter how she mashed or beat up that face, the fury in her showed no signs of abating.

“''Erm''...... Ayano?”

“What is it?”

Ayano looked back at Yukari with scary eyes that would even scare a yakuza. But when she saw Yukari retreat back in fear, she reflected on her own behavior.

“Give me a moment.”

Ayano turned her back on the two and took in a few deep breaths. After she finally managed to give a relaxed expression, she turned back at them, wearing a smile once more.

“What’s wrong?”

“''Ah, erm''...... We took the wrong way.”

“—''Huh?''”

Ayano looked around her, just to realize that this place seemed very unfamiliar to her.

“Where is this?”

“A small path by the main road.”

It seemed that because Ayano was walking without watching her way up till now, they had unknowingly walked into a separate road.

Even though this was a completely new place to them, they could still see the Tokyu Hands sign ahead. Apparently they hadn't strayed too far.

“''Ahaha''— Sorry, sorry. I was thinking about something.”

“Geez, this will not do— You should pay attention when you walk.”

Ayano gave an embarrassed smile. And Yukari smiled back at an appropriate time, lifting her hand to poke her forehead to lighten the mood.

“But, it's just one street away. Why did it become so empty suddenly?”

Ayano who didn't know too much about Ikebukuro said.

As she said, in this alleyway sandwiched between a car park and a love motel, there were just the three of them—no one else.

“Yeah...... There's no one around......”

This place shouldn't be so empty to have no one at all.

It was just like having a gap that suddenly appeared amidst the noisy city; the silence made one feel an unimaginable uneasiness.

“This kind of situation happens once in a while I guess. Today's not a holiday after all.”

As if trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, Nanase said confidently.

“Yeah, that’s right......”

“Alright, let’s go. Ayano too......”

At the instant she looked at Ayano, Nanase's eyes opened wide.

“Nanase......?”

Yukari looked in the direction of Nanase’s line of sight; her face also went stiff. An expression of a pale bloodless face filled with fear.

“Aww, don’t be like that—there's no need to be so afraid. I won’t scare you guys again.”

“Behind you!”

Nanase shouted out in a rare tone of panic. When Ayano heard it she stopped smiling and turned her whole body around.

“—!?”

Her heart almost jumped out from her throat.

Because that kind of thing was less than a meter away from her.

A semi-transparent and continuously wriggling piece of goo. It looked like a slime from an RPG, but Ayano clearly knew it wasn't something cute.

She ignored the eyes of the other two. Under an instinctive feeling of detest and irritation, Ayano released the flames.

''—Kaboom!''

The golden flames burnt the goo till there was no trace of it left.

“That...... That was scary......”

What a dangerous moment that was. If she were killed like this, it would probably be told to generations to come as the biggest humiliation of the Kannagi clan.

No matter how slow and pathetic the senses of a ''En-jutsushi'' may be, no matter how his attention was focused on other things, to be completely unaware of an abnormality that even a normal person would realize like just now was, without question, the biggest disgrace of all.

''I mustn't let others know of this......''

Ayano silently swore to bury this deep in her heart for the rest of her life.

“A—Ayano...... What was that just now......?”

“That's...... That's a good question...... I just saw a weird thing pop out, and then it suddenly caught fire......”

Ayano acted as though she knew nothing.

“Anyway, we better get out of this creepy place!”

She changed the topic immediately.

But Ayano had already sensed things were not that simple.

''This is not good...... This place is not Ikebukuro at all...... Can we get out......?''

All kinds of noise spread from the road just one street away. Yet this several tens of meters of distance was now even further away than the moon.

“A—Ayano, that!”

“''Ah''—Yeah.”

Ayano sensed it without even having to look at the thing Yukari pointed at.

Oozing continuously from all the gaps and cracks emerged a large mass of slime.

Not just from the sewer openings and water drains, the more exaggerating ones would be that they are coming out from the dispensing ports of automated selling machines, and from within the mailboxes.

The total number was countless.

“Those...... Those are—!? What the hell are these things!?”

“Calm down, Yukari.”

Ayano observed Nanase while she comforted Yukari who was out of control.

Nanase's face, normally calm and fearless, looked slightly distorted, but not to a large extent.

“Let me see— We should make a run for it first!”

Her mind was very clear despite how bad their situation was. As the opponent seemed to look very slow and clumsy, they should be able to escape easily.

So Nanase was indeed stunned as the globules all leaped at them. Who would have imagined that slimes could perform an amazing leap of over ten meters on the spot?

''—Oh shit!''

Ayano reflexively stimulated the power in her body. She placed her right hand at her left hip, and then, as she made one big step forward, she slashed horizontally out.

This was the posture of a ''battoujutsu'' without the blade. Yet there was indeed a blade that appeared there.

It was a bright crimson-red, double-edged straight sword. A golden flame possessing a shining and brilliant great power engulfed the blade.

''Enraiha''— The demon-slaying holy blade bestowed by the Lord of the Fire Spirits. The devastating flames that burst out from the blade burned all the "youma" in sight into a crisp.

“Phew—”

Breathing out softly, Ayano began to verify the safety of the two.

The two people before her were still in a state of extreme fear.

“It's okay now—don’t be afraid.”

Ayano wore a smile and took a step towards the two.

Yukari retreated three steps.

“Yukari......?”

Ayano only realized that what the two are afraid of now, was none other than herself.

Even Nanase, who tried her best to stand there, the fear on her face was plain to see.

“Ayano...... Just what are you......?”

“—!”

Ayano hid the ''Enraiha'' behind her immediately—but it was pointless doing so now.

''What...... What should I do......?''

She didn't feel ashamed of her powers, but instead she was very proud of them.

Even so, the fearful eyes that her best friends placed on her made her feel very painful.

It was not strange that the two would be afraid of Ayano. But, it was a kind of fear towards “a scary person”.

By now these two people had classified Ayano as “a scary person”. To them Ayano was the same as those blobs.

“N—No...... I......”

The moment she opened her mouth, the expression of the two flinched. Seeing their expressions, Ayano understood it was pointless no matter how she tried to explain herself. She shut her mouth.

She couldn't face them; she lowered her head, her body trembling lightly. As she lost her will, the flames vanished from the blade of ''Enraiha''.

“—Behind you!”

Nanase’s warning sounded off once more. Yet, Ayano had no strength to respond to her voice.

Behind Ayano who stood there emptily, a big lump of slime wriggled inexorably closer.

The blob that collapsed from above her head swallowed Ayano in the blink of an eye.

“—Is this the place?’

Kazuma muttered after parking the motorcycle he borrowed.

Attracted by Ayano’s vigor, a large group of ''youma'' gathered here at one go. This would allow him to be able to conduct a reverse investigation.

“Good job, Ayano— ''Hmm?''”

After nodding proudly, Kazuma finally realized something was amiss.

Ayano’s scent was very weak, and was surrounded by ''youma''—or should it be said that she was swallowed within.

“Even if you are the bait, there's no need to go to such an extent! What is this girl doing?”

Kazuma knew very clearly how powerful this kind of ''youma'' was. Even if their numbers filled up the entire Tokyo Dome, it would be impossible for Ayano to lose.

However, Ayano was now being swallowed up.

“Gee, what a trouble-maker—”

Kazuma grumbled unhappily. He stepped onto the motorcycle and flew off into the sky. He remained motionless in the air, and began to observe the inside of the ''kekkai''.

Even though it was only as thick as a piece of thin skin, but it was a space completely isolated from the real world. There was no way to get there through physical means.

Of course, it was the same for the wind.

A natural phenomenon like the wind could only operate revolving around the same world; it was unable to affect other worlds. If there was a wall that could be broken, it might still be possible—but there was no way to affect a space of a different dimension.

—That was the case for a “natural phenomenon."

Kazuma raised his right hand towards the sky. A large number of wind spirits responded to Kazuma’s summon, and gathered consistently.

In terms of spirit techniques, it was not just simply controlling a natural phenomenon. Using the phenomenon as a medium, so that his will could manifest in this world was the quintessence of it.

Imagining the edges of the abnormal space, Kazuma input the power into the wind to break that space.

From directly above it he took the thin and sharp “will” he made—

''“Gah!”''

—And fired it!

The raging wind broke the dimensional gap.

=== 4 ===

“I thought that it was the descent of God.”

Yukari said so after the incident.

This is the first time she felt the beauty of a powerful person.

Bringing forth the winds, an embodiment of great power descending suavely. That scene was reflected in Yukari’s eyes.

An invisible force that came from the skies crushed the gigantic "youma" in one blow.

Ayano rolls out from within that "youma" like a puppet. The amazing thing is, she did not suffer any injuries, not just that, there is not a single piece of goo sticking onto her.

This is the power of “purification” that only destroys demons------ The special demon slaying power that the Kannagi is so proud of.

“…… Cough……. Cough cough!”

He uses a cold gaze to stare at the girl who is coughing vigorously to try to breathe, and orders her strictly..

“Stand up.”

(…… What is she doing?)

After he clears off all the wriggling pieces of goo, Kazuma observes Ayano once more.

Her “ki” is unbelievably weak. The amount of vigor that was absorbed by the low level "youma" isn’t that much, yet she seems so expended she is like an average person.

“…… Kazuma?”

The pathetic way she lies on the floor, looking at him dumbly made him feel very displeased. Not a single shred of her usual dominance could be felt from her, her expression looks as nervous and uneasy as an abandoned puppy.

(Just what has she been doing since just now?)

“Stand up.”

He uses a pressurizing tone to command her. Even so, Ayano still showed some form of resistance. She obeys the command, using Enraiha as a crutch, she slowly stands up.

Against that pair of cold eyes that is staring right into her, Ayano does not dare face it. All that can be seen is how she peeks behind Kazuma’s right hand from time to time.

Of course, Kazuma noticed that there are two people there. Judging from how they wear the same uniform as Ayano, they are probably not people who are just passing by so coincidentally.

“Erm...... Err…… This is……”

Ayano’s gaze shifts between Enraiha and the two girls, who are standing there blankly, continuously. Just looking at her now, in his heart, Kazuma guessed pretty much what this is about.

(Gee……)

He stretches one finger out between Ayano’s eyes. The eyes that were originally busy shifting around, was captivated by the finger that appeared suddenly before her.

While Ayano’s conscious is still focused on the finger, Kazuma shouts loudly..

“ “Thou who hast been blessed by the spirits, where does thy power lie?” “
[or more literally: People who receives the blessings of spirits, what is your power used for? In a more olden days context, similar to the ones used by Horo in S&W]

That is a pledge------ and an article during sermons. This is the most basic pledge that spirit standard Jutsushis act upon.

Ever since Ayano was little, Juugo has been repeating this sentence continuously. Even if she is completely out of it, she still remembers clearly the line that follows.

“My…… “My power lies to protect. As a ministrant of the spirits, to slay the demons in this world, to uphold the truth is where my duty lies. Never to be forgotten------“ “

Suddenly, her tense speech stopped.

Ayano, whose eyes are focused at Kazuma’s fingertip, as if shocked by electricity, she lifts her head up to stare at Kazuma. Those eyes glow with a light of understanding.

She shifts her eyes to the side, looking at Yukari and Nanase. And finally downwards------ At the Enraiha that is in her right hand.

Ayano grabs the hilt that was originally hanging at her fingertips tightly.

When she raised her head up once more, the lost looks she had earlier has already vanished without a trace. Ayano uses her words to reinforce that pledge all over again.

“To protect------ The people I love!”

A dazzling flame bursts out from Enraiha. That is no longer an injured girl. Understanding the meaning of power, the duty that she bears, as a powerful En-Jutsushi, she stares right back at Kazuma’s eyes.

Kazuma shows a smile at his lips, and stretches a finger to poke Ayano’s forehead gently. Pak! Ayano’s head tilts backwards.

“Ahhh!? What are you doing, don’t do that------“

Ignoring Ayano who bloats her cheek and complains, Kazuma places his attention on the surroundings.

Unsure whether it is the self-regeneration of the remaining goo or a new batch emerging out, by now, countless goo pieces are surrounding them.

“So then------“

Not asking if she “can do it?” or “are you okay?”, that level of injury, there is no need to show solicitude. To put it more plainly, it is the level of it does not matter at all.

Because, the power they have exists precisely for this.

“I leave those at the back to you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ayano replies without hesitation. The two walk out back-to-back at the same time.

“------ Kazuma.”

He did not answer, but he stopped in his steps.

“Thank you.”

Still, there was no answer. Only sounds of silent footsteps ring by her ears.

Ayano closes her eyes gently, trying her best to remember what she needs to do.

(Yukari, Nanase…… Farewell……)

It would be a lie to say that she doesn’t feel lonely or sad. But even so------

(Even so, I must protect everyone------)

She opens her eyes. There is not a single trace of gloominess or darkness in that pure and clear mind.

An explosion sounds off, golden flames bursts from all over her body. Inputting all of her upsurge of powers---

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Under a sharp scream, Ayano swung her Enraiha.

“Looking quite good------“

His back filled with explosive “ki”, Kazuma can’t help but give a bitter smile.

At this rate, these monsters will not be able to hold out very long. He must achieve his objective soon------

Kazuma blocks the two who are staring at Ayano with their eyes wide open, and says leisurely..

“Stay where you are, if you run around, you might be killed!”

Following that, he releases wind blades once more with ease, slicing the "youma" that is approaching consistently.

Shu! Pach! Pff! Puu!

In a radius of five meters around Kazuma, horrifying killing sounds sounded off over and over again.

The wind that Kazuma manipulates becomes blades at times, hammer at times, cutting the "youma" one by one, smashing them.

The "youma" is crushed in a moment, but in the blink of an eye, they recover instantly. They are originally something similar to a shape-shifting worm, without a standard form, so physical attacks have no effect at all.
Yet Kazuma still continues releasing wind. Even though it cannot cause fatal damage, but the raging winds can make the groups of "youma" unable to close in on them.

And so after a few minutes------

(------Found it.)

Kazuma who is surrounded by "youma" gives a proud smile. Almost at the same time, Ayano who completed her mission broke through the frontlines and appears before them.

“My side is finished------ What are you doing?”

Ayano uses a puzzled expression to stare at Kazuma who is playing with the "youma".

“Just as you can see.”

“No…… It is precisely because I don’t get it that I am asking you.”

“The enemy is a being without form, no matter how I slice it, it will recover once more.”

“Then can’t you just purify them…… Or is that to say, you cannot use the power of purification like this!?”

Kazuma usually seals his strength firmly. Even though when he used the purifying winds in front of Ayano in the past, he had released the seal------

“Nope.”

“Really? You better speak the truth, and fast!”

Ayano did not ease her questioning. Thinking that she might be able to get hold of Kazuma’s weakness, her face becomes filled with expectation.

“Really. Besides, I don’t really want to dampen your mood……”

“What?”

”Even if what you said is true, but if the opponent is human, there is no such problem.”

“Hmm……”

Indeed, even if that is the truth, Ayano’s chances of winning will not increase.

Ayano, who had been so excited about nothing, looks very disappointed. Kazuma knocks her head and leaves the aftermath to her.

“So, I leave the rest up to you. I am going to head straight for their main camp.”

“You found it already!?”

”Yeah, things really are different when you have good bait.”

“Bait------?”

Ayano ponders on what this means. When she realized it, her face flushed red instantly.

“You…… You asshole, you used me again didn’t you!?”

“This is a misunderstanding.”

“Just which part of it is a misunderstanding!?”

“When I thought of having you as bait, you had already ran up and became the bait yourself, so it is not my fault at all.”

Kazuma says so seriously.

“You are really……”

“Sorry, I am in a rush for time. I shall listen to your complains in the future!”

Kazuma throws down this sentence coldly, and turns to leave. Ayano hurriedly shouts out to call out to him..

“Wait… Wait a minute! I am going with you too------“

“I see that you have a lot of things to settle? I will leave markings on the road, so catch up on your own later!”

Obviously, the so called “a lot of things” does not only mean eliminating the "youma".

As Ayano’s eyes are directed towards Yukari and Nanase, Kazuma rides the wind, flying up into the sky.

“Ah, I told you to wait!”

Kazuma ignores the shout, and breaks the boundaries as when he entered, and vanishes.

Logically, Ayano knows that Kazuma’s choice is correct. But, she is unable to accept it like this. “She has been abandoned once more”, “he is obviously looking down on her”, this kind of thinking lingers in her heart, showing no sign of dispersing.

“Wuuuuu<nowiki>~~</nowiki>”

She groans in hatred, but Kazuma is long gone. So she places all her unreleased fury onto the enemy.

Her fierce scary eyes stared directly at the goo pieces. Faced with an abnormally strong murderous atmosphere, even the "youma" that bears no intelligence can’t help but retreat.

“Kazuma……”

She instills all her power into Enraiha. A glaring golden glow that makes one hard to look directly at it emerges from the crimson blade vigorously.

“You idiot-------------------------------!!”

After releasing a massive load of plasma, she burns off most of the "youma" at one go.

“------Phew.”

After burning up all the "youma", Ayano breathes out, satisfied.

The result from converting all her stress into destructive behavior, she became very calm now. Just that some of the surrounding buildings were dragged into this pointless disaster, being destroyed together with the "youma".

If this is not a different dimension, there would probably be over a hundred casualties?

After the "youma" that controls this dimension is destroyed, the area begins to return to its original state slowly.

Everything returned to the way they should be. Ayano and her friends returned to the original world as well.

(Now…… To settle “a lot of things”.)

Ayano looks at Yukari and Nanase. Perhaps because they have finally calmed down, the two generously meet with her gaze.

“……………………..”

Even though there are a lot of things that she must explain to them, Ayano cannot bring herself to say them.

For some time, the three exchanged silent stares.

“I……”

As though she had made up her mind, Ayano tries her best to put up a calm front and smiled at the two of them.

“So, good bye.”

In the end, that is all she can say. Tossing all the necessary explanations out of her mind, Ayano turns her back at the two of them.

She tries to hold back the tears that are swelling in her eyes and walks off------ But she stopped almost immediately.

“Wait, Ayano!”

Yukari grabs the lower area of her uniform, pulling her back forcefully.

“Yukari……?”

Ayano turns around and upon seeing the scene before her, she frowns instantly.

Yukari’s expression------ Looks perfectly normal, yet that is the most abnormal part of it.

There is not a single shred of fear in her face, nor any determination to attempt to overcome fear. All there is on that face is a brimming light filled with curiosity.

Yukari shows an expression of a prankster and says to the puzzled Ayano:

“After witnessing something so interesting, how can you leave without explaining things first?”

“What……”

Her curiosity overwhelms her fear. Even though Ayano is very puzzled by Yukari’s as per normal behavior, if she does not explain clearly first, it seems that Yukari will not let her go. As she does not want to turn and leave directly, Ayano started to make her long story as short as possible.

“Frankly speaking, my family is of a En-jutsushi clan that manipulates fire------“

”No! Not that!”

“……Huh?”

“I mean that man just now------ Kazuma-san! What kind of person is he? How did you get to know each other? What is your relationship with him now? Come on, spill everything, tell us all about how you two met------“

“Hey!”

Nanase knocks lightly on Yukari’s head, who has been rattling on and on.”

“Ouch, that hurts, Nanase~”

“Be quiet. All because of your constant nonsensical rumblings, Ayano has no idea what to do now. Besides, if you expect us to pretend that nothing happened just now, that is wishful thinking on your part!”

“Argh…… So that won’t happen huh?”

Before Ayano, who is at a complete loss, the two stood up. And------

“Sorry.”

Yukari bows down deeply.

“Yeah…… We are really sorry about earlier.”

Nanase at the side, embarrassed, avoids eye contact with Ayano, and apologizes.

“…… What is going on?”

“Actually, I was really afraid at first. Because fire burst out all of a sudden, and a sword came out from nowhere, Ayano seems to have turned into a totally different person. But after seeing how you talk back and forth with Kazuma-san like that, I know that you are still that Ayano I used to know.”

“Talking back and forth with Kazuma...... You……”

To suddenly be taken that they were having a cross talk, Ayano is displeased. Nanase continues to say at this moment:

“That is to say, there is no need to change our attitude towards you just because you can use some spells or supernatural powers.”

“B…… But…… Aren’t you afraid of me? If I want to, I can kill you two without so much as lifting a finger?”

“So?”

Nanase asks back calmly.

“What……”

”You still don’t get it? There is no need for you to use some special powers, you can kill us just with your bare hands!”

“That…… is true.”

“So then why should we start being afraid of you only from now on? Even if you change a gun to a cannon, you still die in a single shot.”

There is a certain limit to the amount of damage a human can withstand. Once he sustains an injury beyond this limit, he is doomed. There can never be a negative value being created in this manner.

To someone who possesses ten points of HP, taking ten points of damage and a thousand points of damage are basically the same. The remaining nine hundred and ninety points of damage are but an excess.

Yet, there are not many people that can understand such a simple logic in reality. Being by the side of a murderer whom you do not know, you will feel uneasy. That is to say------

“That is to say, the main point lies in whether you trust the person. But I have faith in you all along.”

“Ayano has never been someone who would harm another without a reason, so, I am not afraid at all.”

Ayano looks dumbly at the two of them, Yukari asks uneasily:

“So…… Please don’t hate us, can we still be good friends from now on?”

“……Yukari……”

Tears were about to fall from her eyes, but she never enjoyed saddening atmospheres. Ayano gets a hold of herself, and straights her thumb up from her raised fist.

“Of course! Even if you don’t want to, I will not let you go!”

After acknowledging their friendship again, Yukari begins her attack once more.

“Since we have all made up, I say we should let Ayano explain clearly, everything about that man of hers!”

“Who are you calling my man!”

“Kazuma-san.”

Yukari says as if it is only natural.

“I say, you------“

“Ayano, if you think that your love for him is only single sided, I think you are wrong! I am sure Kazuma-san cares a lot about you as well.”

“That’s right. Let’s forget about whether it has reached the level of love, but anyway you have created in him a liking towards you. So there is still a chance!”

Even Nanase joined in the ruckus. This made Ayano feel very troubled.

“I already told you, that guy is…… What?”

Seeing the two of them giving her a supercilious look, Ayano stopped even before she finished her rebut.

“You really are… Just earlier on you appeared to depend on him so much, and now you want to say “I have no feelings at all”?”

“I…… I did not depend on him……”

”Oh? Then when you were so lost and depressed, who was it that got you back up?”

“……You, the cause of it all, still dare to talk about that.”

“That is another matter.”

Nanase does not care about Ayano’s retaliation at all. In this world, there are a lot of things in which people with strong attitudes usually have an advantage over those who don’t.

“And, why do you two want to ask about Kazuma only now? You were obviously not so interested when you met him last time.”

“Because he looked like just some flippant man then.”

“…… Isn’t that the way he is?”

“Huh------ Of course not. Kazuma-san is so suave!”

Yukari says so cheekily. Ayano on the other hand stares at her with ice cold eyes below zero degrees Celsius.

“------ Yukari, your taste in men is rather unique.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t try to steal him away from you.”

Ayano’s eyes become even colder, but Yukari’s face continues to wear that smile of hers:

“So then, leaving Ayano’s feelings at one side, tell us about Kazuma. When and where did you meet? Speaking of which, I don’t think we have his name yet------“

Even though the questions are coming constantly and flooding her, but Ayano sighs out in relief having escaped from her questioning. Her mouth naturally became a little loose.

“The first time I met him, is probably the day I was born, even though I have long since forgotten about it. His current surname seems to be Yagami.”

“Current? You mean it is different last time?”

The two of them did not miss this small little detail. Faced with Nanase who asked that question, Ayano replies calmly:

“His original name is Kazuma Kannagi. He is my second cousin, and Ren’s biological elder brother at the same time.”

After explaining briefly her relationship with Kazuma, Yukari and Nanase both have a strange expression on their face.

“What’s the matter?”

Ayano asks, puzzled. Yukari uses an earnest tone to say to her:

“Kazuma-san is so caring.”

“Ah!?”

Hearing such an unexpected answer, Ayano screamed out loudly. But turning around to look at Nanase, she is nodding strongly as well.

“He…… Just which part of him is caring?”

“

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 3

2009-06-06T05:52:51Z

Kalessin: Some improvements to the flow so that it's more natural in English.

== Chapter Three - Friendship –Contributions and Mistakes-==

=== 1 ===

Late night....

“Dammit! I'm not sure if I'll make it in time.”

A teenager rushed towards the station in order to catch the last train,

Takahashi Shuuji. A 20 year-old university student.

As a formal participant of the Kendo club, his slender-seeming body was actually very well trained—there was no fat on it at all.

His reflexes were benumbed due to an excessive intake of alcohol. Even so, the steps he took on the brick floor did not seem so disordered.

“...That’s weird.”

Shuuji suddenly had a strange feeling. He stopped in his tracks to look around him.

He found nothing suspicious—just a very normal underground passage that stretched a long way.

But—

“Hey... Why is there no one here?”

Besides him, not a single soul could be seen in the area.

This was the underground passage to the turnstiles. Even with it past midnight—the time when the last train was about to reach the station—it was impossible that there was nobody here at all.

“Rea— Really, anything can happen.”

Shuuji found some excuse to convince himself and tried to suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

“I'm... I'm going to miss the train at this rate...”

Shuuji began to walk quickly with a loud and clear ''ta! ta! ta!'' sound from his footsteps, . After a while it became a jog—and in the end he ran at full speed, as if he was flying.

''Ta! Ta! Ta!''

The sound made by the soles of his leather shoes knocking against the brick floor echoed throughout the entire vacant underground passage. Yet, no matter how long he continued to walk, there was no sign of the turnstiles before him.

“Wha—? What the hell!? It shouldn't be this long at all!”

The underground passage seemed to stretch on endlessly. Surrounded by store windows with the metal shutters pulled down at the sides, Shuuji gradually lost track of where he was.

He turned back to check on the way he came.

“—Eek!”

Shuuji gasped. Before him was a long tunnel that led to who knows where. The stairs that led to the surface could no longer be seen.

“—!”

He changed his direction once more. Back from the way he was heading in earlier, the scene reflected in his eyes made Shuuji stare, his eyes wide open.

The same as the way behind him—there was only one tunnel that stretched until it vanished as far as he can see. Of course, there were no stairs nor crossroads there either.

Shuuji was stranded in the middle of a tunnel that stretched endlessly—alone.

“What...? What's going on...?”

Cold sweat broke out from his face. Within the eyeballs that spun continuously, his pupils slowly dilated.

''“What the hell is this about?!”''

No one replied to his scream. His cry reverberated between the walls and ceiling and got sent back into Shuuji’s ears as a reverberating echo.

The teenager stumbled onto the floor, staring blankly at the brick with half mad, half sane eyes.

“...Ah?”

Suddenly, his eyes focused on one point—something was seeping through the gaps between the bricks on the floor.

“What...?”

It was a semi-transparent substance with a glue-like texture. It was originally the size of a ping-pong ball, then, it grew to the size of a baseball in a moment, and, after not too long, it was the size of a soccer ball.

The glue-like substance shone with a rainbow-coloured glow. If this thing was seen in a photo, maybe it would give a clear, lustrous, and refreshing feeling.

But, the actual substance floating before his eyes could only be described as ugly. It was just like a tumour, vomit, or a filthy gooey piece of the two condensed to the maximum limit.

Instinctively, Shuuji hurriedly jumped backwards, reacting to his disgust. He jumped with force, landing two meters behind where he was, and the sound of his steps spreads across the entire underground passage.

''Squeelch.''

"—!?”

He looked down at his feet in shock. There—! No, as far as he can see, all of the brick was covered with the filthy pieces of goo.

“WA—! WAHHHH!”

The globules that were in contact from under his feet slowly latched onto Shuuji’s body. Even though he attempted to peel the gooey things off, he couldn't; they were tougher than expected, firmly attaching themselves onto his limbs.

“...Huh?”

All of a sudden, his surroundings darkened. His eyeballs almost popped out, when he looked up away from the area near his feet he was staring at.

Before his eyes— At a distance so close he could touch it by stretching out his hand, a wall made from the globules appeared.

The scattered globules on the floor gathered around Shuuji, forming a semi-transparent, round bucket. Looking at the round bucket emitting a lustrous glow, it looked like a distorted pillar, like an avant-garde piece of art.

“...''Argh''... ''Ah''...”

Shuuji shook his head, unwilling to believe what was happening. In his mind, he tried hard to deny the existence of this gooey mass.

However, his wish was not fulfilled.

At that moment, the globules, which were stacked even higher than his body, collapsed on him all at once.

“—!”

Shuuji was too scared to say anything as his whole body was completely wrapped within the blob.

Unable to withstand such a chilling experience, sending shivers down his spine, Shuuji's consciousness was consumed by darkness.

And— He never woke up ever again.

“The way you manipulated them left me speechless, but—“

In the space where there was no one originally, a boy’s clear voice spoke up.

“Don’t you think you wasted too much time?”

A gentle female voice replied, “This is the first time; naturally I had to be more cautious.”

“Hmm, maybe!”

''Ka-ta.'' The sound of one footstep could be heard.

Who could say when they were there? Two shadows suddenly appeared in the abnormal space that trapped Shuuji.

There stood a seventeen or eighteen-year-old female with a boy about ten years old. The girl’s height exceeded that of the boy by about thirty centimeters—but, as for the position of the head, the boy’s head was slightly higher.

The two looked at Shuuji, who was trapped in the globule, chatting calmly.

“But, if you use so much time like this, who knows when it will be completed? To fulfill your wish, more power must be gathered.”

Right before the two of them, Shuuji slowly became emaciated.

He was being consumed.

Was it his blood—? No.

Was it his moisture content—? That was wrong too.

Being surrounded by the blob, Shuuji aged rapidly. All the vital essence of the teenager’s whole body— The radiance of life was being expropriated, his life that should last over half a century was used to its limit within a short period of a few minutes.

“I understand this very clearly! I will do it more cleanly and quickly next time!”

The girl raised her head to look at the boy, and used a determined tone to reply. As if to pacify the displeased girl, the boy gave a light smile.

“That's the way. You can do it.”

The short, neatly-cut golden hair waved lightly to follow his nodding motion.

Judging from the tone the two spoke in, it seemed the young boy was of a higher status.

Maybe his actual age was not as young as his appearance—the emerald-green eyes that looked innocent and naïve at first sight instead seemed deep beyond comprehension.

In a clear melodious voice like a silver bell, the boy said solemnly:

“Because he who is right will receive Heaven’s protection.”

“...You mean this?”

Looking at the vital essence of the innocent teenager being continuously sucked dry by the blob, the girl laughed mockingly.

“You're saying that this monster is the same as you? ''Tenshi''-sama? That sounds awful.”

The boy had no wings. A faint radiance emitted from all over his body as he floated in the air. The beautiful angelic face of his showed a bitter smile.

“Needless to say monsters—even devils—cannot escape the grasp of God. Because the omnipotent God is capable of anything.”

The girl looked at the smiling angel (self-proclaimed) with puzzled eyes. However, she did not reject his extended hand.

“No matter what your reason may be, I'm very thankful that you lent me power. For mutual benefit, let us work together from now on!”

“—One day, you will surely experience the love of God, too.”

Before the teenager gradually withering away, two hands filled with personal desires and hypocrisy were tightly clasped.

=== 2 ===

Next day at the Kannagi residence:

“What’s the matter?”

Kazuma—who was sought out—suddenly decided to forgo the pleasantries to ask Juugo directly.

He didn't even glance at Ayano who was sitting at his side.

Ayano, as usual, was in a silent anger. Kazuma, as usual, ignored her presence and kept his gaze on Juugo only.

“From yesterday night up till this morning at zero hours, Ikebukoro has a total of eight youngsters dying from being weakened by an unknown reason, their age ranging from ten plus to twenty plus years old.”

Juugo matched himself with Kazuma, going to the main point directly.

“And so?”

Kazuma calmly hushed for his continuation. He had an extremely high tolerance towards the suffering and misfortunes of others.

Even though you could just say how he was without blood or tears.

“They seem to have their vigor sucked dry. And so, I would like to ask you to find this person, and, if possible, eliminate him.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Without a more detailed negotiation, Kazuma accepted the request readily. This, too, was his usual style.

“I leave it to you. This is the data related to the incidents...”

With that said, Juugo takes out a thin sheaf of documents. Even though they were said to be data, but the incidents only happened last night, so there were no important clues. Just simple data about the victims and where they were found, and some photos while they were still alive, and some after their death.

“Oh oh.... These are just like residues.”

Kazuma compared the photos, and says the term that would make the relatives of the deceased curse him.

Yet, this was probably the most direct thought of anyone who saw the photos— Even though there were not many who dared say it out loud.

Every victim looked very lively—just looking at their photos allowed one to feel the brilliance of their lives.

Switching back to their photos after death... To be frank, they were mummies. Nothing would seem out of place even if they were placed directly in a museum for exhibition.

Dry and wrinkled skin, faces filled with wrinkles. In those open and vacant eyes, there was no sign of fear, only just a supernatural calmness.

Even if you told everyone how they had been still alive a few hours ago, there wouldn’t be many who would believe you! That was just how bad they looked after death.

“This time there is no time limit—but act fast. You will co-operate with Ayano—“

Kazuma simply cut into Juugo’s sentence. “No need.”

“—What?”

“She'll just be in my way.”

Faced with Juugo’s question, Kazuma replied coldly.

“Wha—? What!?”

Ayano furiously cried out in protest. Juugo stopped her.

“—Kazuma.”

He called out Kazuma’s name like a sigh—but Kazuma showed no intention of backing off.

“The job this time is primarily to search—right? Then ''En-jutsushi'' are completely useless. If the opponent is not something I can handle, I'll contact you guys again. Until then, just remain on stand-by!”

“But, if the enemy escapes because of this, then we'll have to go through this trouble again.”

Juugo didn’t give up, and persistently attempted to let Ayano travel along. Kazuma refused once more.

“I doubt that the number of ''Youma'' that I cannot handle by myself is very many. So why should I bring a heavy burden to prevent such a situation?”

Ayano jumped up in her anger. “Burden—!? Aren’t you being too arrogant—!?”

Juugo restrained Ayano and pulled her back to her seat.

“You won’t bring her along no matter what?”

“Nope.”

“...Is that so?”

Under such a direct rejection, Juugo could only comply.

“I get it. I'll trust you on this, then. And one more thing—“

“What is it?”

“You seem to care a lot about Misao. But, for now, just forget about her! At least until this matter is over.”

“----------------------“

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 109.jpg|thumb]]
Kazuma made no reply. He stood up silently, turned and left the room.

“You idiot—! Even if you come back crying, begging me, ''I will definitely not help you—!''”

Ayano raged at Kazuma's back as he gradually left.

Juugo looked at his daughter bitterly with a deep sigh.

“You should at least...”

“What!? You think I'm in the wrong?”

The ignorant Ayano said in a temper.

''Slice!''

Wind blades sped through to slice a bunch of eerily wriggling blobs into pieces. Staring at the semi-transparent objects turned into crumbs, Kazuma breathed out.

“Gee, another failure.”

It was two days since he took on Juugo’s request.

During this period, he was assaulted by these ''youma'' up to nine times.

They didn't seem to consider Kazuma as a target. Even though he himself walked into these areas with a strong ''youki'', meeting them was a sheer coincidence.

Nine times.

A very abnormal number.

And while he investigated, everyday there was another five or six victims....

''Five or six? I doubt there were so few.''

Indeed, such was only the number of corpses found. But, after witnessing how a victim was devoured from start till end, Kazuma realized that Juugo’s assumption was wrong.

Not just their vigor—this type of youma ate flesh too. And anything it swallowed up—including clothes and accessories—everything got devoured.

Kazuma dejectedly looked at the victim, now dissolving through his skin, flesh, until in the end even his bones were dissolved. His expression was not due to the dissolving process being so gruesome, but because he understood what this meant.

''—The reason why corpses remained, was only because it couldn't digest them completely.''

The actual casualty number may be off by one digit—or even two digits.

“No way....”

Kazuma sighed weakly.

Just how many more shape-shifting worms that fed on human flesh resided within Tokyo city? Just thinking about it irritated him.

“There's no end to this... I better come up with a way —and fast—to get to the core of this and end it once and for all!”

After nine battles, Kazuma almost completely understood the characteristics of these ''youma.''

In appearance similar to a single cell organism, with no intelligence at all. They act purely by instinct, continuously devouring humans filled with vigor.

Their ability was “Absorption”. To drain away one’s vigor completely—even their bodies were converted to energy and taken in.

Alone, they posed a threat no different from any normal pest. But what was troubling was that their numbers were not few as was normal—and when they joined up they gained new abilities.

When they gathered to a certain number, some kind of magical circuit would then form among them. Using this circuit to create a ''kekkai,'' they caused the targeted human to be unable to escape.

Kazuma predicted that these globules all together were just one entity. The situation now was like split cells conducting activities independently.

The ability of each “cell” was to absorb calories, and then exhaust it through activity. When they gathered together to form an “organ”, they gained the ability to control the energy they absorbed.

In the final stage, perhaps, each “organ” would link up to form one entity. But Kazuma didn't care about the true identity of this monster.

If it was just one entity, then there must be an organ like a brain giving out commands... Something like a core. Things would be fine so long as he found this core and destroyed it.

Currently, the enemy was acting separately; and, its powers weakened, there was no reason not to strike during this opportunity. He didn't have the weird kind of habit of “hoping to fight with strong enemies.”

As such, Kazuma had been trying to find clues from the “cells” that would lead him to where the core might be, trying to find the real enemy... But so far it was nine consecutive losses.

“These guys are too dispersed. Some bait must be used to get them to gather at one place...”

Kazuma suddenly went quiet.

Bait. Someone full of vigor.

“There just so happens to be one available.”

Just as he clapped to exult in coming up with such a brilliant plan, Kazuma sensed the appearance of the tenth batch of ''youma''. At the same time, he noticed the presence of a certain someone he knew.

Kazuma's smile was arrogant.

“''Hehe'', not bad. Without my needing to say anything, our bait took up its role already.”

Listening to the wind, he identified the exact location.

“A little far... Should I jump?”

Jumping in the city might be seen by others. Kazuma's eyes subconsciously turned to the road while he pondered. His ears and eyes noticed “it” at the same time.

''Okay—let’s use that.''

Kazuma made up his mind immediately. He hopped over the protective railing and stood in the road. Following that, with his left leg as the center, he spun round once to pass the side of a motorcycle that sped through the sidewalk...

''“Wha—!?”''

The reverse spin kick swept at the neck of the rider.

While the rider was thrown off the motorcycle and still in mid-air, Kazuma—as if doing a magic trick—straddled the motorcycle.

''Thong!''

A blunt and heavy sound came from behind. It seemed the driver fell head first onto the ground—but since he was wearing a helmet, he wouldn't die at that kind of speed.

“I will try my best to return it to you.”

Kazuma muttered with his greatest sincerity—and then suavely sped off.

=== 3 ===

“Hey you girls, wanna—”

''Bang!''

The poor guy didn't not know how to look at the situation. Before he even completed his first sentence, he was sent flying into the air by the schoolbag that flew in from the side.

''“Scram!”''

Ayano yelled. His companions, seeing this, abandoned the unconscious man and instantly ran off. This was probably the most loyal and clever judgment made by self-survival instincts!

Yukari and Nanase did not rebut a single word all along; they knew better than anyone it wouldn't be a wise move.

The massive crowds all around the front of Ikebukuro station made it difficult for anyone to move on in a straight line—yet no one blocked Ayano’s way.

Like Moses who split the red sea in two, Ayano walked boldly on the path cleared right in the middle of the crowd.

''What was that!? What was that!? Sorry I'll only be a nuisance! Too bad I'm weaker than you! Gee, I'm so sorry—!''

In her heart, Ayano was used her ''Enraiha'' to stab that flippant detestable face.

Yet, no matter how she mashed or beat up that face, the fury in her showed no signs of abating.

“''Erm''...... Ayano?”

“What is it?”

Ayano looked back at Yukari with scary eyes that would even scare a yakuza. But when she saw Yukari retreat back in fear, she reflected on her own behavior.

“Give me a moment.”

Ayano turned her back on the two and took in a few deep breaths. After she finally managed to give a relaxed expression, she turned back at them, wearing a smile once more.

“What’s wrong?”

“''Ah, erm''...... We took the wrong way.”

“—''Huh?''”

Ayano looked around her, just to realize that this place seemed very unfamiliar to her.

“Where is this?”

“A small path by the main road.”

It seemed that because Ayano was walking without watching her way up till now, they had unknowingly walked into a separate road.

Even though this was a completely new place to them, they could still see the Tokyu Hands sign ahead. Apparently they hadn't strayed too far.

“''Ahaha''— Sorry, sorry. I was thinking about something.”

“Geez, this will not do— You should pay attention when you walk.”

Ayano gave an embarrassed smile. And Yukari smiled back at an appropriate time, lifting her hand to poke her forehead to lighten the mood.

“But, it's just one street away. Why did it become so empty suddenly?”

Ayano who didn't know too much about Ikebukuro said.

As she said, in this alleyway sandwiched between a car park and a love motel, there were just the three of them—no one else.

“Yeah...... There's no one around......”

This place shouldn't be so empty to have no one at all.

It was just like having a gap that suddenly appeared amidst the noisy city; the silence made one feel an unimaginable uneasiness.

“This kind of situation happens once in a while I guess. Today's not a holiday after all.”

As if trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, Nanase said confidently.

“Yeah, that’s right......”

“Alright, let’s go. Ayano too......”

At the instant she looked at Ayano, Nanase's eyes opened wide.

“Nanase......?”

Yukari looked in the direction of Nanase’s line of sight; her face also went stiff. An expression of a pale bloodless face filled with fear.

“Aww, don’t be like that—there's no need to be so afraid. I won’t scare you guys again.”

“Behind you!”

Nanase shouted out in a rare tone of panic. When Ayano heard it she stopped smiling and turned her whole body around.

“—!?”

Her heart almost jumped out from her throat.

Because that kind of thing was less than a meter away from her.

A semi-transparent and continuously wriggling piece of goo. It looked like a slime from an RPG, but Ayano clearly knew it wasn't something cute.

She ignored the eyes of the other two. Under an instinctive feeling of detest and irritation, Ayano released the flames.

''—Kaboom!''

The golden flames burnt the goo till there was no trace of it left.

“That...... That was scary......”

What a dangerous moment that was. If she were killed like this, it would probably be told to generations to come as the biggest humiliation of the Kannagi clan.

No matter how slow and pathetic the senses of a ''En-jutsushi'' may be, no matter how his attention was focused on other things, to be completely unaware of an abnormality that even a normal person would realize like just now was, without question, the biggest disgrace of all.

''I mustn't let others know of this......''

Ayano silently swore to bury this deep in her heart for the rest of her life.

“A—Ayano...... What was that just now......?”

“That's...... That's a good question...... I just saw a weird thing pop out, and then it suddenly caught fire......”

Ayano acted as though she knew nothing.

“Anyway, we better get out of this creepy place!”

She changed the topic immediately.

But Ayano had already sensed things were not that simple.

''This is not good...... This place is not Ikebukuro at all...... Can we get out......?''

All kinds of noise spread from the road just one street away. Yet this several tens of meters of distance was now even further away than the moon.

“A—Ayano, that!”

“''Ah''—Yeah.”

Ayano sensed it without even having to look at the thing Yukari pointed at.

Oozing continuously from all the gaps and cracks emerged a large mass of slime.

Not just from the sewer openings and water drains, the more exaggerating ones would be that they are coming out from the dispensing ports of automated selling machines, and from within the mailboxes.

The total number was countless.

“Those...... Those are—!? What the hell are these things!?”

“Calm down, Yukari.”

Ayano observed Nanase while she comforted Yukari who was out of control.

Nanase's face, normally calm and fearless, looked slightly distorted, but not to a large extent.

“Let me see— We should make a run for it first!”

Her mind was very clear despite how bad their situation was. As the opponent seemed to look very slow and clumsy, they should be able to escape easily.

So Nanase was indeed stunned as the globules all leaped at them. Who would have imagined that slimes could perform an amazing leap of over ten meters on the spot?

''—Oh shit!''

Ayano reflexively stimulated the power in her body. She placed her right hand at her left hip, and then, as she made one big step forward, she slashed horizontally out.

This was the posture of a ''battoujutsu'' without the blade. Yet there was indeed a blade that appeared there.

It was a bright crimson-red, double-edged straight sword. A golden flame possessing a shining and brilliant great power engulfed the blade.

''Enraiha''— The demon-slaying holy blade bestowed by the Lord of the Fire Spirits. The devastating flames that burst out from the blade burned all the youma in sight into a crisp.

“Phew—”

Breathing out softly, Ayano began to verify the safety of the two.

The two people before her were still in a state of extreme fear.

“It's okay now—don’t be afraid.”

Ayano wore a smile and took a step towards the two.

Yukari retreated three steps.

“Yukari......?”

Ayano only realized that what the two are afraid of now, was none other than herself.

Even Nanase, who tried her best to stand there, the fear on her face was plain to see.

“Ayano...... Just what are you......?”

“—!”

Ayano hid the ''Enraiha'' behind her immediately—but it was pointless doing so now.

''What...... What should I do......?''

She didn't feel ashamed of her powers, but instead she was very proud of them.

Even so, the fearful eyes that her best friends placed on her made her feel very painful.

It was not strange that the two would be afraid of Ayano. But, it was a kind of fear towards “a scary person”.

By now these two people had classified Ayano as “a scary person”. To them Ayano was the same as those blobs.

“N—No...... I......”

The moment she opened her mouth, the expression of the two flinched. Seeing their expressions, Ayano understood it was pointless no matter how she tried to explain herself. She shut her mouth.

She couldn't face them; she lowered her head, her body trembling lightly. As she lost her will, the flames vanished from the blade of ''Enraiha''.

“—Behind you!”

Nanase’s warning sounded off once more. Yet, Ayano had no strength to respond to her voice.

Behind Ayano who stood there emptily, a big lump of slime wriggled inexorably closer.

The blob that collapsed from above her head swallowed Ayano in the blink of an eye.

“—Is this the place?’

Kazuma muttered after parking the motorcycle he borrowed.

Attracted by Ayano’s vigor, a large group of ''youma'' gathered here at one go. This would allow him to be able to conduct a reverse investigation.

“Good job, Ayano— ''Hmm?''”

After nodding proudly, Kazuma finally realized something was amiss.

Ayano’s scent was very weak, and was surrounded by ''youma''—or should it be said that she was swallowed within.

“Even if you are the bait, there's no need to go to such an extent! What is this girl doing?”

Kazuma knew very clearly how powerful this kind of ''youma'' was. Even if their numbers filled up the entire Tokyo Dome, it would be impossible for Ayano to lose.

However, Ayano was now being swallowed up.

“Gee, what a trouble-maker—”

Kazuma grumbled unhappily. He stepped onto the motorcycle and flew off into the sky. He remained motionless in the air, and began to observe the inside of the ''kekkai''.

Even though it was only as thick as a piece of thin skin, but it was a space completely isolated from the real world. There was no way to get there through physical means.

Of course, it was the same for the wind.

A natural phenomenon like the wind could only operate revolving around the same world; it was unable to affect other worlds. If there was a wall that could be broken, it might still be possible—but there was no way to affect a space of a different dimension.

—That was the case for a “natural phenomenon."

Kazuma raised his right hand towards the sky. A large number of wind spirits responded to Kazuma’s summon, and gathered consistently.

In terms of spirit techniques, it was not just simply controlling a natural phenomenon. Using the phenomenon as a medium, so that his will could manifest in this world was the quintessence of it.

Imagining the edges of the abnormal space, Kazuma input the power into the wind to break that space.

From directly above it he took the thin and sharp “will” he made—

''“Gah!”''

—And fired it!

The raging wind broke the dimensional gap.

=== 4 ===

“I thought that it was the descent of God.”

Yukari said so after the incident.

This is the first time she felt the beauty of a powerful person.

Bringing forth the winds, an embodiment of great power descending suavely. That scene was reflected in Yukari’s eyes.

An invisible force that came from the skies crushed the gigantic youma in one blow.

Ayano rolls out from within that youma like a puppet. The amazing thing is, she did not suffer any injuries, not just that, there is not a single piece of goo sticking onto her.

This is the power of “purification” that only destroys demons------ The special demon slaying power that the Kannagi is so proud of.

“…… Cough……. Cough cough!”

He uses a cold gaze to stare at the girl who is coughing vigorously to try to breathe, and orders her strictly..

“Stand up.”

(…… What is she doing?)

After he clears off all the wriggling pieces of goo, Kazuma observes Ayano once more.

Her “ki” is unbelievably weak. The amount of vigor that was absorbed by the low level youma isn’t that much, yet she seems so expended she is like an average person.

“…… Kazuma?”

The pathetic way she lies on the floor, looking at him dumbly made him feel very displeased. Not a single shred of her usual dominance could be felt from her, her expression looks as nervous and uneasy as an abandoned puppy.

(Just what has she been doing since just now?)

“Stand up.”

He uses a pressurizing tone to command her. Even so, Ayano still showed some form of resistance. She obeys the command, using Enraiha as a crutch, she slowly stands up.

Against that pair of cold eyes that is staring right into her, Ayano does not dare face it. All that can be seen is how she peeks behind Kazuma’s right hand from time to time.

Of course, Kazuma noticed that there are two people there. Judging from how they wear the same uniform as Ayano, they are probably not people who are just passing by so coincidentally.

“Erm...... Err…… This is……”

Ayano’s gaze shifts between Enraiha and the two girls, who are standing there blankly, continuously. Just looking at her now, in his heart, Kazuma guessed pretty much what this is about.

(Gee……)

He stretches one finger out between Ayano’s eyes. The eyes that were originally busy shifting around, was captivated by the finger that appeared suddenly before her.

While Ayano’s conscious is still focused on the finger, Kazuma shouts loudly..

“ “Thou who hast been blessed by the spirits, where does thy power lie?” “
[or more literally: People who receives the blessings of spirits, what is your power used for? In a more olden days context, similar to the ones used by Horo in S&W]

That is a pledge------ and an article during sermons. This is the most basic pledge that spirit standard Jutsushis act upon.

Ever since Ayano was little, Juugo has been repeating this sentence continuously. Even if she is completely out of it, she still remembers clearly the line that follows.

“My…… “My power lies to protect. As a ministrant of the spirits, to slay the demons in this world, to uphold the truth is where my duty lies. Never to be forgotten------“ “

Suddenly, her tense speech stopped.

Ayano, whose eyes are focused at Kazuma’s fingertip, as if shocked by electricity, she lifts her head up to stare at Kazuma. Those eyes glow with a light of understanding.

She shifts her eyes to the side, looking at Yukari and Nanase. And finally downwards------ At the Enraiha that is in her right hand.

Ayano grabs the hilt that was originally hanging at her fingertips tightly.

When she raised her head up once more, the lost looks she had earlier has already vanished without a trace. Ayano uses her words to reinforce that pledge all over again.

“To protect------ The people I love!”

A dazzling flame bursts out from Enraiha. That is no longer an injured girl. Understanding the meaning of power, the duty that she bears, as a powerful En-Jutsushi, she stares right back at Kazuma’s eyes.

Kazuma shows a smile at his lips, and stretches a finger to poke Ayano’s forehead gently. Pak! Ayano’s head tilts backwards.

“Ahhh!? What are you doing, don’t do that------“

Ignoring Ayano who bloats her cheek and complains, Kazuma places his attention on the surroundings.

Unsure whether it is the self-regeneration of the remaining goo or a new batch emerging out, by now, countless goo pieces are surrounding them.

“So then------“

Not asking if she “can do it?” or “are you okay?”, that level of injury, there is no need to show solicitude. To put it more plainly, it is the level of it does not matter at all.

Because, the power they have exists precisely for this.

“I leave those at the back to you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ayano replies without hesitation. The two walk out back-to-back at the same time.

“------ Kazuma.”

He did not answer, but he stopped in his steps.

“Thank you.”

Still, there was no answer. Only sounds of silent footsteps ring by her ears.

Ayano closes her eyes gently, trying her best to remember what she needs to do.

(Yukari, Nanase…… Farewell……)

It would be a lie to say that she doesn’t feel lonely or sad. But even so------

(Even so, I must protect everyone------)

She opens her eyes. There is not a single trace of gloominess or darkness in that pure and clear mind.

An explosion sounds off, golden flames bursts from all over her body. Inputting all of her upsurge of powers---

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Under a sharp scream, Ayano swung her Enraiha.

“Looking quite good------“

His back filled with explosive “ki”, Kazuma can’t help but give a bitter smile.

At this rate, these monsters will not be able to hold out very long. He must achieve his objective soon------

Kazuma blocks the two who are staring at Ayano with their eyes wide open, and says leisurely..

“Stay where you are, if you run around, you might be killed!”

Following that, he releases wind blades once more with ease, slicing the youma that is approaching consistently.

Shu! Pach! Pff! Puu!

In a radius of five meters around Kazuma, horrifying killing sounds sounded off over and over again.

The wind that Kazuma manipulates becomes blades at times, hammer at times, cutting the youma one by one, smashing them.

The youma is crushed in a moment, but in the blink of an eye, they recover instantly. They are originally something similar to a shape-shifting worm, without a standard form, so physical attacks have no effect at all.
Yet Kazuma still continues releasing wind. Even though it cannot cause fatal damage, but the raging winds can make the groups of youma unable to close in on them.

And so after a few minutes------

(------Found it.)

Kazuma who is surrounded by youma gives a proud smile. Almost at the same time, Ayano who completed her mission broke through the frontlines and appears before them.

“My side is finished------ What are you doing?”

Ayano uses a puzzled expression to stare at Kazuma who is playing with the youma.

“Just as you can see.”

“No…… It is precisely because I don’t get it that I am asking you.”

“The enemy is a being without form, no matter how I slice it, it will recover once more.”

“Then can’t you just purify them…… Or is that to say, you cannot use the power of purification like this!?”

Kazuma usually seals his strength firmly. Even though when he used the purifying winds in front of Ayano in the past, he had released the seal------

“Nope.”

“Really? You better speak the truth, and fast!”

Ayano did not ease her questioning. Thinking that she might be able to get hold of Kazuma’s weakness, her face becomes filled with expectation.

“Really. Besides, I don’t really want to dampen your mood……”

“What?”

”Even if what you said is true, but if the opponent is human, there is no such problem.”

“Hmm……”

Indeed, even if that is the truth, Ayano’s chances of winning will not increase.

Ayano, who had been so excited about nothing, looks very disappointed. Kazuma knocks her head and leaves the aftermath to her.

“So, I leave the rest up to you. I am going to head straight for their main camp.”

“You found it already!?”

”Yeah, things really are different when you have good bait.”

“Bait------?”

Ayano ponders on what this means. When she realized it, her face flushed red instantly.

“You…… You asshole, you used me again didn’t you!?”

“This is a misunderstanding.”

“Just which part of it is a misunderstanding!?”

“When I thought of having you as bait, you had already ran up and became the bait yourself, so it is not my fault at all.”

Kazuma says so seriously.

“You are really……”

“Sorry, I am in a rush for time. I shall listen to your complains in the future!”

Kazuma throws down this sentence coldly, and turns to leave. Ayano hurriedly shouts out to call out to him..

“Wait… Wait a minute! I am going with you too------“

“I see that you have a lot of things to settle? I will leave markings on the road, so catch up on your own later!”

Obviously, the so called “a lot of things” does not only mean eliminating the youma.

As Ayano’s eyes are directed towards Yukari and Nanase, Kazuma rides the wind, flying up into the sky.

“Ah, I told you to wait!”

Kazuma ignores the shout, and breaks the boundaries as when he entered, and vanishes.

Logically, Ayano knows that Kazuma’s choice is correct. But, she is unable to accept it like this. “She has been abandoned once more”, “he is obviously looking down on her”, this kind of thinking lingers in her heart, showing no sign of dispersing.

“Wuuuuu<nowiki>~~</nowiki>”

She groans in hatred, but Kazuma is long gone. So she places all her unreleased fury onto the enemy.

Her fierce scary eyes stared directly at the goo pieces. Faced with an abnormally strong murderous atmosphere, even the youma that bears no intelligence can’t help but retreat.

“Kazuma……”

She instills all her power into Enraiha. A glaring golden glow that makes one hard to look directly at it emerges from the crimson blade vigorously.

“You idiot-------------------------------!!”

After releasing a massive load of plasma, she burns off most of the youma at one go.

“------Phew.”

After burning up all the youma, Ayano breathes out, satisfied.

The result from converting all her stress into destructive behavior, she became very calm now. Just that some of the surrounding buildings were dragged into this pointless disaster, being destroyed together with the youma.

If this is not a different dimension, there would probably be over a hundred casualties?

After the youma that controls this dimension is destroyed, the area begins to return to its original state slowly.

Everything returned to the way they should be. Ayano and her friends returned to the original world as well.

(Now…… To settle “a lot of things”.)

Ayano looks at Yukari and Nanase. Perhaps because they have finally calmed down, the two generously meet with her gaze.

“……………………..”

Even though there are a lot of things that she must explain to them, Ayano cannot bring herself to say them.

For some time, the three exchanged silent stares.

“I……”

As though she had made up her mind, Ayano tries her best to put up a calm front and smiled at the two of them.

“So, good bye.”

In the end, that is all she can say. Tossing all the necessary explanations out of her mind, Ayano turns her back at the two of them.

She tries to hold back the tears that are swelling in her eyes and walks off------ But she stopped almost immediately.

“Wait, Ayano!”

Yukari grabs the lower area of her uniform, pulling her back forcefully.

“Yukari……?”

Ayano turns around and upon seeing the scene before her, she frowns instantly.

Yukari’s expression------ Looks perfectly normal, yet that is the most abnormal part of it.

There is not a single shred of fear in her face, nor any determination to attempt to overcome fear. All there is on that face is a brimming light filled with curiosity.

Yukari shows an expression of a prankster and says to the puzzled Ayano:

“After witnessing something so interesting, how can you leave without explaining things first?”

“What……”

Her curiosity overwhelms her fear. Even though Ayano is very puzzled by Yukari’s as per normal behavior, if she does not explain clearly first, it seems that Yukari will not let her go. As she does not want to turn and leave directly, Ayano started to make her long story as short as possible.

“Frankly speaking, my family is of a En-jutsushi clan that manipulates fire------“

”No! Not that!”

“……Huh?”

“I mean that man just now------ Kazuma-san! What kind of person is he? How did you get to know each other? What is your relationship with him now? Come on, spill everything, tell us all about how you two met------“

“Hey!”

Nanase knocks lightly on Yukari’s head, who has been rattling on and on.”

“Ouch, that hurts, Nanase~”

“Be quiet. All because of your constant nonsensical rumblings, Ayano has no idea what to do now. Besides, if you expect us to pretend that nothing happened just now, that is wishful thinking on your part!”

“Argh…… So that won’t happen huh?”

Before Ayano, who is at a complete loss, the two stood up. And------

“Sorry.”

Yukari bows down deeply.

“Yeah…… We are really sorry about earlier.”

Nanase at the side, embarrassed, avoids eye contact with Ayano, and apologizes.

“…… What is going on?”

“Actually, I was really afraid at first. Because fire burst out all of a sudden, and a sword came out from nowhere, Ayano seems to have turned into a totally different person. But after seeing how you talk back and forth with Kazuma-san like that, I know that you are still that Ayano I used to know.”

“Talking back and forth with Kazuma...... You……”

To suddenly be taken that they were having a cross talk, Ayano is displeased. Nanase continues to say at this moment:

“That is to say, there is no need to change our attitude towards you just because you can use some spells or supernatural powers.”

“B…… But…… Aren’t you afraid of me? If I want to, I can kill you two without so much as lifting a finger?”

“So?”

Nanase asks back calmly.

“What……”

”You still don’t get it? There is no need for you to use some special powers, you can kill us just with your bare hands!”

“That…… is true.”

“So then why should we start being afraid of you only from now on? Even if you change a gun to a cannon, you still die in a single shot.”

There is a certain limit to the amount of damage a human can withstand. Once he sustains an injury beyond this limit, he is doomed. There can never be a negative value being created in this manner.

To someone who possesses ten points of HP, taking ten points of damage and a thousand points of damage are basically the same. The remaining nine hundred and ninety points of damage are but an excess.

Yet, there are not many people that can understand such a simple logic in reality. Being by the side of a murderer whom you do not know, you will feel uneasy. That is to say------

“That is to say, the main point lies in whether you trust the person. But I have faith in you all along.”

“Ayano has never been someone who would harm another without a reason, so, I am not afraid at all.”

Ayano looks dumbly at the two of them, Yukari asks uneasily:

“So…… Please don’t hate us, can we still be good friends from now on?”

“……Yukari……”

Tears were about to fall from her eyes, but she never enjoyed saddening atmospheres. Ayano gets a hold of herself, and straights her thumb up from her raised fist.

“Of course! Even if you don’t want to, I will not let you go!”

After acknowledging their friendship again, Yukari begins her attack once more.

“Since we have all made up, I say we should let Ayano explain clearly, everything about that man of hers!”

“Who are you calling my man!”

“Kazuma-san.”

Yukari says as if it is only natural.

“I say, you------“

“Ayano, if you think that your love for him is only single sided, I think you are wrong! I am sure Kazuma-san cares a lot about you as well.”

“That’s right. Let’s forget about whether it has reached the level of love, but anyway you have created in him a liking towards you. So there is still a chance!”

Even Nanase joined in the ruckus. This made Ayano feel very troubled.

“I already told you, that guy is…… What?”

Seeing the two of them giving her a supercilious look, Ayano stopped even before she finished her rebut.

“You really are… Just earlier on you appeared to depend on him so much, and now you want to say “I have no feelings at all”?”

“I…… I did not depend on him……”

”Oh? Then when you were so lost and depressed, who was it that got you back up?”

“……You, the cause of it all, still dare to talk about that.”

“That is another matter.”

Nanase does not care about Ayano’s retaliation at all. In this world, there are a lot of things in which people with strong attitudes usually have an advantage over those who don’t.

“And, why do you two want to ask about Kazuma only now? You were obviously not so interested when you met him last time.”

“Because he looked like just some flippant man then.”

“…… Isn’t that the way he is?”

“Huh------ Of course not. Kazuma-san is so suave!”

Yukari says so cheekily. Ayano on the other hand stares at her with ice cold eyes below zero degrees Celsius.

“------ Yukari, your taste in men is rather unique.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t try to steal him away from you.”

Ayano’s eyes become even colder, but Yukari’s face continues to wear that smile of hers:

“So then, leaving Ayano’s feelings at one side, tell us about Kazuma. When and where did you meet? Speaking of which, I don’t think we have his name yet------“

Even though the questions are coming constantly and flooding her, but Ayano sighs out in relief having escaped from her questioning. Her mouth naturally became a little loose.

“The first time I met him, is probably the day I was born, even though I have long since forgotten about it. His current surname seems to be Yagami.”

“Current? You mean it is different last time?”

The two of them did not miss this small little detail. Faced with Nanase who asked that question, Ayano replies calmly:

“His original name is Kazuma Kannagi. He is my second cousin, and Ren’s biological elder brother at the same time.”

After explaining briefly her relationship with Kazuma, Yukari and Nanase both have a strange expression on their face.

“What’s the matter?”

Ayano asks, puzzled. Yukari uses an earnest tone to say to her:

“Kazuma-san is so caring.”

“Ah!?”

Hearing such an unexpected answer, Ayano screamed out loudly. But turning around to look at Nanase, she is nodding strongly as well.

“He…… Just which part of him is caring?”

“Don’t you know?”

Yukari asks Ayano back in a very surprised tone. Not just being surprised at how slow Ayano is, her eyes carry a certain obvious blaming glare.

“Kazuma-san has been constantly bullied in the past isn’t he? Not only that, he was even chased out of the family because he did not possess “power”. “

“After receiving such treatment, normally speaking he will not want to have any interactions with you people. But if it is for revenge, that would be a different case.”

Nanase follows on to say:

“But, Yagami Kazuma protected you instead. And not just protect you from all harm, and even encourage you to stand up once more with your own strength.”

“How thoughtful, Kazuma-san is just like Ayano’s knight.”

“……Ah?”

After Yukari said this sentence from the bottom of her heart, Ayano was at a loss for words.

“What…… What are you talking about! Who would want a knight with a flawed personality like him! As long as I am around him, I have an urge to kill him every five minutes.”

Ayano who finally got back to her senses tries hard to defend herself, but the other two kept on sighing with a “What can we do with her” kind of attitude instead.

Hearing that, Ayano became more furious.

“Just because you two have no idea how bad he is, that is why you are mistaking him for a good guy. He even used me as bait, and I almost died because of it!”

“But aren’t you still alive now?”

Nanase rebuts calmly:

“When you were really in danger, didn’t he come over to save you?”

“Argh……”

Spot on. But if she is to say such a thing, she will only receive even more vigorous rebuts. There is no way she can reply honestly.

“A……Anyway, that guy is one big badass! The reason he came to save me purposely this time must be for his own joy.”

“Look at her, Ayano is really not honest with herself.”

“It is that Yukari is too naïve! Don’t drag everything into boy-girl relationships!”

After shouting out in reflex, Ayano finally remembered that now is not the time to chat casually. She looks in the direction Kazuma disappeared in, her eyebrows shows a sign of anxiety.

“So, I shall make a move first. I don’t think anything will happen anymore, but still, be careful!”

With that, Ayano runs off leaving the two behind.

Yukari bears a very displeased expression, looking at the back of that person who ran off without turning her head back to look at them.

“Gee, that Ayano. It is so obvious that you have a love rival, if you continues to be so stubborn, what are you going to do then?”

Nanase at the side seems more calm on the other hand.

“Don’t just look at the negative side, be more positive!”

“More positive?”

“For example……”

After keeping Yukari in suspense for a while, she says with a serious look on her face:

“We can have some fun with this topic for quite a while.”

“………………”

Yukari’s eyes blink continuously. She looks dumbly at Nanase, her entire body frozen for a few seconds.

And then------

“Good idea, Nanase.”

She puts up a boxing pose, placing tiny fists at her chest.

“Let us observe their development quietly from now on!”

With a pure and holy smile similar to a loving mother------ Yet the contents of their speech is filled with bad intents.

That is to say, to not help the two develop their relationship to the next level, but to observe Ayano’s reactions for fun.

“That is exactly what we should do.”

Of course, Nanase has no objections either.

“If some other party take part in this, maybe things will become even more complicated.”

“Yeah, and there seems to be a lot of hidden complicated facts mixed within as well.”

The two smiles to each other, holding each other’s hands strongly.

“Hoho, we are really thoughtful towards our friends.”

Yukari thinks so from the bottom of her heart------ As to what Ayano thinks about this decision, that is another problem.

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| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume2_Chapter_4|Chapter 4]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter4 - MTL

2009-02-08T10:06:04Z

Kalessin: Undo revision 42112 by Kalessin (Talk)

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume9 Chapter4 - MTL

2009-02-08T10:04:52Z

Kalessin:

Made quite a few minor edits, mainly adding or in a couple of cases removing '''the'''. For a full list, use compare.

Sometimes the tense wasn't clear, so I made changes to make it so.

At times the wording used was too informal (How about it?) so I changed these to something more approprate (What do you say.)

As usual, if you don't agree, then change them.

JBV^_^

I would suggest that "knighted" would make more sense that "consecrated." Of course, I don't know what the original Japanese says, but consecrated is a thoroughly religious word and it needs context for it to make sense - and such context is lacking here. If what Henrietta means by this is that Saito will become a knight (or Chevalier, which is French for knight anyway), then "knighting" him makes more sense than "consecrating" him. Now, if she's talking about something else, then I don't know what is meant be "consecrated," but it looks to me like she's talking about knighting him, at which point that's the term which should be used.

- [[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 10:02 UTC, 2009-02-08

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume8 Chapter2 - MTL

2009-02-08T06:56:14Z

Kalessin: Louise's hair is pink not peach. Peach is more of a yellowish-orange.

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===Chapter Two: Saito's Morning===

RING RING RING RING RING RING!...The alarm clock rang, and Saito opened his sleepy eyes.

He slowly climbed out of his bed.

This is Earth’s Japan, Tokyo and his own family’s two story six bedroom home. In his own bedroom. In an instant, he had a strange feeling, one that was difficult to explain.

It was his bedroom! But why was there an sense of unease?

Still half asleep, Saito looked at the cat-like alarm clock: 8:30AM. The sense of unease vanished, and he screamed, “CRAP!” and flipped out of the bed.

Wasn't he nearly late?

Saito leaped down the stairs and reached the first floor, then screamed at his mother who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

“Mother! Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Don’t I always tell you, you have to get up on your own in the morning?”

In that instant, an overwhelming sense of homesickness nearly ran him over.

Looking at his mother’s back, Saito felt he was seeing a loved one lost long ago. He saw his mother’s shadow everyday, so why was there such an overwhelming sense?

But now was not the time to worry about it; he was almost late for school. Saito flew into the living room, put on the school uniform he left there, and then ran back to the kitchen with his mother: “I'm already late, gotta go mom!” grabbing a piece of toast from the kitchen table, then stuffing it into his mouth like a mouse, swallowing as he dashed out the door.

Out of the house and straight into the residential streets.

Saito suddenly froze on the spot.

Mother often complained about the house across the streets and its terrible red walls.
Saito took the time to “borrow” a couple fruits from the neighbor’s date tree. And on the ground near a nearby tree lamp was a vending machine for fruit juice.

The usual and normal scene. Although it is an scene he was used to, there was an overwhelming sense of longing, that made everything feel dearer.

This was the third time today he felt this strange.

Saito stood there dumbfounded, unable to come up with a reason for this.

In that moment, someone called out to him from behind.

“Saito-san!”

Saito turned around, only to find a black haired girl in his school's uniform standing there.

“Siesta!”

There was no mistake, it was really Siesta.

Though she used to be a maid in the Tristain Magical Academy, she now stood there wearing a school uniform.

Siesta wore the western clothes Saito saw before, giving her a fresh sense of cuteness. Along with the mini-skirt worn by other students, blue western blouse with a white shirt, and knee length socks.

What would be Siesta doing in Tokyo?

Why is she wearing hi school’s uniform?

Although he still had some difficult questions to explain, let’s take care of the first question that comes to mind. “Why are you dressed like this?”

Siesta answered Saito's question with a confused look.

“Because Saito-san and I go to the same school, isn’t it normal I wear the same uniform?”

Oh, it is so. Saito nodded in understanding. The way she said it seemed to be correct, but right now Saito’s head was a little fuzzy, so he couldn’t really pinpoint what was wrong.

Siesta ran by, grabbing on to Saito’s arm.

“Wait wait wait wait…”

Siesta’s face turned red, unable to finish her sentence.

“I have been waiting for you for a while… I want to go to school together… so…”

“Oh, is that so? Ok, let’s go together.”

Forget it, she is so cute, going together shouldn’t be a problem. Saito dismissed the question that came floating into his head.

“Great!” Siesta said smiling and took a step forward. The spring wind flew against her body.

“Oh!” The strong wind lifted her short skirt.

The skirt revealed snow-white flesh, causing Saito to pinch his nose in reflex.

“Why, Siesta, why are you not wearing any underwear?”

Siesta using her hands to hold down her skirt, shamefully replied,

“Because, because I am not one of those noble born girls, who own those flowery panties…”

“Japan doesn’t have any of those nobilities!”

“That is true…”

That is a really strange answer, Saito thought, feeling the incompatibility.

It seems everything makes sense, yet it feels nothing does…

Just as the two stood there dumbfounded…

Saito was sent flying by a force slamming behind him, and instantly collapsed on the ground in front of him.

The person who knocked him down was a pink haired girl. She also had a piece of bread in her mouth and complained at the same time,

“Late, late, I am late!”

The young girl continues her complaints then turned around, stomping Saito several more times with her foot.

“You! You!”

Saito desperately tried to get up.

“Ah, late, really late!!”

The young girl swang her foot again, this time aiming for Saito’s face; Saito collapsed again with a yelp.

“Miss La Valliere!”

Siesta yelled.

“Ah… late, I said we are late!”

The girl named La Valliere continued to scream "late", yet at the same time danced on Saito’s fallen body.

Saito lying on the ground, shouted loudly, “If you know you are late, then stop dancing on my body!”

With that shout, the tiny pink haired girl stopped. With her arms around her chest, she stared at Saito and asked,

“Where were you staring? Your face is red!” There was a sense of unease in her voice as she asked.

This young lady wore the same style of uniform as Siesta’s - Saito’s school uniform. But the way she wore it was different. She kept her tux’s buttons left open, and kept the tie loose, which made her appear to be very loose herself. But that pink hair and those tea-colored eyes were indeed Louise.

“Why are you wearing your clothes like that?”

But Louise didn’t even seem to notice Saito’s question.

“Where were you looking? Speak!”

“It has nothing to do with you!” Just as Saito finished, he was rewarded with Louise’s foot in his face.

“Of course it has to do with me! You are my familiar, so no matter what happens you are only allowed to look at me! If you look at other people, I will teach you a lesson!”

Louise angrily stared at Siesta.

“So, so, so when you go stare at the big breasted maid, it means serious punishment! Do you understand?”

“What are you joking about?” Saito yelled. He jumped up and grabbed Louise’s shoulder.

“Eh…” Louise yelped sharply as she collapsed on the ground, and Saito landed on top of her, his eyes transfixed on her face.

“You, what are you doing? …You, you plan to attack your master?”

“Correct.”

“Don’t you dare doing anything! I am a noble, you are a commoner!”

“Noble princesses wouldn’t dress like this!”

Yelled Saito pointing at Louise’s loose socks.

“What, what’s the matter? What I wear is my own business! You are only a familiar, mind your own business!”

“What familiar? What nobility? What Master? It is not same here! Because we are in Japan!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Louise yelled raging. Saito restrained the raging Louise and looked into her burning eyes.

“You… wanted this to happen, right?”

Though words came from his mouth, they did not seem to be his. Even though he talked… it felt as if he was watching a movie about other characters.

“…Eh?”

“You wanted to be pushed down by me, didn’t you? That’s why you wore that black cat costume. For me to push you down. Right? Speak up. Heeey, speak up!”

These words have been said some time ago, Saito thought strangely calmly, while shouting.

Then the girl's cheeks turned pink, like the color of her hair. She turned her head and looked the other way.

“D-don’t be s-silly. Who wanted to be pushed down? S-stop joking, let me go in this instant or I’ll kick you.”

“Then kick.”

Hearing such strong words, Louise bit her lip.

“D-don’t anger me….” She said in a feeble voice.

“Well then, itadakimasu.” He nodded seriously and started unfasten the shirt at her knolls. I did this before, he thought. Then his head was hit with the frying-pan by Siesta who stood behind.

“Auch!”

“This is the middle of the road. It’s embarrassing, please stop.”

“Frying-pan, where…”

“I carry it to cook.”

“Butt out!” Louise screamed rudely at Siesta. Siesta turned to Louise.

“Why are you so mad, even though I helped you? Then all these words about ‘anger’ must be a lie. It’s not your real intention. You wanted to be pushed down after all.“

“L-lies! Maids should be silent and do the laundry!”

“I would do the laundry if you would lend me the washboard.”

“Haah? I don’t have a washboard!”

“Not true. You have a splendid one over there.”

She pointed at Louise’s chest. Louise let out a penetrating scream.

“Keeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Wash with plain chest♪ With bubbles wash♪ Scrub scrub scrub♪”

Louise jumped at singing Siesta.

“Whaaat! Big breasts are all that you have, maid! Flirting with men is all that you think about! Not even wearing underwear!”

“Aren’t you the same! You always think about how to get laid! Wearing next to nothing! Ridiculous noble! Always eagerly awaiting with shiny eyes to be pushed down by Saito-san! Don’t you have any shame?!”

"What! Undeveloped! Stupid maid!" The quarrel turned into a cat fight between the two. Skirts fluttering, claws spread, gripping each others hair, they were rolling on the ground like two raging chickens.

“S-stop…” though Saito muttered, the pair were not listening at all.

Then...The black limousine drove up.

The door at the drivers side opened and Mazarini, dressed up in white gloves and black suit, stepped out. When Mazarini opened the door at the back seat, he bowed reverently.

Henrietta appeared, in a white dress. She wore a brimless hat decorated with flowers. Her dress was befitting more of a young lass than princess. She held an elegant handbag at her side.

Henrietta ran up to Saito and offered her hand.

“You stopped an army of 70,000.”

“Yes.” Saito replied boldly.

“You were truly unstoppable. Aaah, you are a savior of Tristain. Though this useless queen cannot do anything, I can’t leave such loyalty unrewarded. Well, kiss this hand.”

Saito took the hand and pressed his lips, next, Henrietta wrapped her arms around Saito’s neck.

“P-Princess?”

“Call me Ann. Next, on the lips, for compassion.”

Flustered Henrietta embraced Saito's head closely and puckered up her lips.

Not good, Saito thought and in an instant heard growls.

“What are you doing to Princess-sama?!”

“Always nobles! You always prefer them! It’s impossible for a village girl to be noticed!”

Saito, knowing very well what it meant to become Louise’s and Siesta’s target, quickly shook off Henrietta’s arms and ran off.

“Wait! Let’s continue the evening in a cheap hotel!”

Henrietta shouted.

“What continuation in a cheap hotel?! What!”

“What did you do in there! Surely you wore weird clothes again!”

Siesta and Louise ran after him shouting.

While he was trying to escape, an American Bike appeared out of the corner. Scarron and Jessica were sitting on it, all dressed up in tight leather clothes.

Saito leaped over the pair’s motorcycle and fell.

Jessica jumped out of the bikes hull and looked down at sprawled Saito.

“Stop being useless. Quickly, help me to sell this oil."

“Y-you…”

“Ara? Not energetic? Then how about this to motivate you?”

She threw him a mischievous glance and through the crevice of her leather jacket led Saito’s hand into the valley of her well-developed bosom.

Now he was in a trouble.

“W-wait a second!”

“Wait for what?” Jessica said in an amorous voice that tickles man’s heart, and watched him through sparkling eyes.

“You are a girl right? So don’t act this…”

But Jessica’s eyes made Saito hold his breath…

“That Brunette again!”

“My cousin! What the?!”

Saito left Jessica and began to run again. He escaped to Main Street, and while elbowing his way through the crowd, he knocked against someone.

“S-sorry.”

He knocked against a woman with long pink hair. She wore a thin purple cardigan and was holding a leash to which many dogs were connected.

Bark. Bark bark. Bark bark bark.

The dogs drew closer to Saito.

“Dog! Many dogs! Good doggies! Uwaa! Waawaa!”

“Ara ara, they seem to like you a lot.”

He knew that woman by sight. She was part of Louise’s family.

The gentle aura around this woman with long pink hair.

She pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to suppress a giggle. This woman was Cattleya, Louise’s elder sister. Cattleya’s dogs nuzzled against Saito.

“Ah! Hey! Stop! Stop it!”

Sniff sniff, bark bark, sniff sniff, bark bark.

“Whaaa! Now between dogs! Don’t you match well! Adorable! What! What are you doing to big sister!”

Louise ran up shouting.

“Even with dogs! I can’t allow it!”

Siesta shouted.

Both had a terrible look on their faces. If he was caught by those two, his life would be in danger. But because of the leaning dogs he could not do anything.

“You perverted dog!”

The moment when Louise shouted jumping at him… Saito was lifted in the air.

“F-flying?”

Saito looked up, and found himself caught by a Wind Dragon. Sitting on the Drake was a blue haired girl. They turned out to be Tabitha and her familiar, which was carrying Saito on its back.

For some reason, Tabitha was wearing an airplane stewardess outfit. A young girl like Tabitha wearing a stewardess dress, appears very, very strange. Like a gag in a story.

Even though Tabitha was dressed like this she still remained focused on her book.

“What, what the… Oh, it is you… never mind, thank you for saving me.”

Saito expressed his gratitude, feeling massive relief.

But Tabitha remained the same as a ever, without making a sound.

Saito remained silent for a moment too, but everything became even more awkward, so he decided to find a topic to chat about, and finally saw Tabitha’s book.

“You know I always wondered… what kind of books are you always reading?”

Tabitha refused to answer.

Without any other method, Saito decided to go behind her and peek at the book. When he saw the title, he could not stop laughing: “Ah? Romance Technique - How to make boys like you… you… it is this kind of book?? Ahahahaha! You interested in this kind of stuff?"

Tabitha, without replying, continued to leaf through the book. Her eyes did not reveal a sliver of emotion, so it was impossible to tell if she was mad or embarrassed.

“That kind of thing, no matter how many books you read, is useless. First you have to learn how to talk to a boy. Because the purpose of your heart is important.” Saito appeared to be very knowledgeable about the matter and added: “No matter what, a person like you who never talks, is an impossible situation.”

Saito lightly patted Tabitha’s head, and Tabitha just nodded her head toward his hand.

“Right, use me as an model, let’s practice talking.”

The blue haired girl silently stared at Saito’s face. No matter how hard he tried, nothing was coming out of Tabitha’s mouth.

“Hey, what are you planning? If it is like this you will never find a boyfriend! Come, Come on! You should know more words than spells, come on! Say something!”

He remained half joking, shaking the little girl’s head left and right. In that moment, Tabitha stood up.

“I know it.”

“Oh?”

Tabitha remained expressionless, but like a machine-gun she spat out a string of words:

“Can’t find a boyfriend? Mind your business! Stuck between the maid and the boob-less mage, you have no right to talk about me. Someone like you, all you need to see is the princess, the village girl or elder sister with big breasts and you instantly have that “look”, really a mess. Then you will say ‘no no, I can’t do this kind of thing, because I am from another world, so I cannot support your feelings.’ But while you talk, your body doesn’t react the same way.”

“You, You,” Saito’s head became red as a tomato.

“A person like you would seriously annoy them both, you make them want to come after you with violence.”

Saito looked at Tabitha’s height and replied, “You, you little chibi, don’t talk so spirited like that.”

The girl’s was a head shorter than Louise, but Tabitha’s expression remained unchanged, and added, “Who is a chibi? You are the real chibi! A brainless person like you who tries to step into two ships with one foot, you are ten years too early!”

"Gya!"

Saito suddenly curled into a ball aboard the Wind Dragon. He had apparently been kicked in the groin by Tabitha. Then Tabitha followed it with a straight kick to Saito’s face.

“I should keep you as a pet.”

“Stop joking!”

“What are you talking about? Aren't you very happy? You like it, don't you? When a loli dominates you. It is written all over your face!”

“You, you!”

Saito sprang to his feet, grabbing Tabitha’s shoulder. Then the two’s gaze met. In this moment, Tabitha’s cheeks turned red and she turned her face away. Her change made Saito’s heart leap.

“How did you manage to show emotion like that?”

But Tabitha’s next attack knocked Saito beyond belief:

“Please…”

“Please?”

“Please be gentle with me.”

Please, please be gentle?! You, you, Saito looked like an air-less goldfish with his mouth opening and closing.

[[Image:ZnT08-055.jpg|thumb]]

The next offensive completely ripped his command center open.

“Ki, Ki…”

“Ki?"

“How to kiss, teach me.”

What is she talking about? Saito was completely unable to understand.

But, it was really cute.

Because she is always expressionless, such attack surprised Saito. Yet it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise. It was a so-called pleasant surprise. The surprise, joy, and the excitement somehow almost made Saito faint. No, it wasn’t ‘somehow’.

On a closer look, Tabitha had beautiful snow-white skin. Her blue eyes were like sapphires. Those blue lakes, still young, were very charming and made Saito’s heart throb. Like Louise, she had those noble, elegant features… Though he did not notice before because he thought her to be too young, she was definitely beautiful…

What a heck I am thinking about - she’s still a child, he thought shaking his head.

“F-foolishness, your father will be angry at me if he would catch me kissing you!

Not flinching, Tabitha pushed her lips out.

“Onii-chan…”

Foul play! On a wind dragon, writhing in big conflict, Saito heard roaring from behind. When he turned around, he saw Zero Fighter flying.

“Wha-!”

Within the cockpit he could see Louise’s and Siesta’s faces.

“How do you know how to fly it?!” He yelled.

“I learned it from my grandfather!” Siesta shouted.

He wondered how he could hear her voice through loudly roaring engine, and soon, undoubtedly, he heard Louise’s angry voice.

“Now you are going after a child who is even smaller than me! You love anyone - big or small! Either way will do! Saittei!”

Don! Don! DoDo! Zero Fighters wings trembled.

How can they shoot twenty-millimeter bullets when they are supposed to be out of ammo?

He thought, when a jar of wine flew at him.

“Have a drink!” came Siesta’s drunken voice.

She is drunk while piloting the airplane. Saito was terrified.

“No, fly the plane.”

He muttered, before getting hit by a jar. It hurt!

Saito shouted impatiently.

“Tabitha, evade! Speed the wind dragon up to run away from the zero fighter!”.

“Tabitha? I am Kirche, Darling.”

Somehow Tabitha turned into Kirche. Moreover, only a few seashells were covering her most important body parts.

“Aah! Quickly, get away from me! We will get killed! Flying too fast!

“It can’t fly.”

“Isn’t it a wind dragon?!”

“Nope, my salamander, Flame-chan.”

Unnoticed by Saito, it was indeed Kirche’s salamander Flame.

“Whaat?!!”

Salamander went down like a rock. Saito tried to grab Derflinger. Using my Gandalfr's power, I’ll jump onto the zero fighter and save myself! He thought…

“Awa! Why doesn't my body feel lighter?!”

Looking at his left hand, he saw the runes disappear.

“Wa! Uwa! Waah!”

He steadily approached the ground.

“Falling! Falling! N? What’s this?!”

He saw something.

Light.

“…it shines. Gold?”

On the moment of the crash, dazzled, Saito was wrapped up by the golden light.

<center>* * *</center>

“Falling!”

Screamed Saito and woke up.

He was breathing heavily for a while, before muttering to himself.

“Dream…”

Fuzzy-headed, he reviewed the clattery drama.

He was chased by Siesta and Louise, and was urged by Henrietta, Jessica, dogs and Tabitha – what an absurd hubbub and mess.

If it’s not a dream then why was Louise and Siesta in school uniforms from Saito’s Japan or Tabitha dressed up as stewardess? But why would I be having such dream…

“Such strong desire, I…” he writhed in embarrassment for a moment. He grew worried – what if anyone saw him now? He looked around in fear.

“Uh.”

Indeed, there was an audience.

In front of Saito’s eyes, there were faces of children watching him.

There were various faces - big and small, boys and girls. Golden hair, red hair, brunette…, there were various hair colors too. Some were hesitant, embarrassed, relieved or worried watching Saito’s suspicious behavior. Though the children clothes were a little dirty, their eyes sparkled.

A single boy with blond hair, leaned towards Saito and quietly looked into his face.

“Well… did you see me just now?” Saito asked, for some reason the boy jumped back in fear.

“Weird person! Suspicious person!” he ran away shouting.

“H-hey… misunderstanding, misunderstanding!”

“Freak! Somone people should avoid!"

Others joined in.

“Wa-wait a minute! I am not a strange person!”

However, Saito’s words of excuse didn't reach them, and all of the children flung out of the room like lightning.

“Whawhat… they. A while ago, I was having this embarrassing dream… Anyway, where am I?”

Saito looked around the room where he was in.

It was a cozy room. A window on one side of the bed, and a door on the other side. A small round table was placed in center of the room, two wooden chairs near it.

Though the bed that Saito slept in was coarse, it was clean, with white sheets and a soft blanket pulled over.

“Must be some kind of inn… But, why am I here… I mean. I was heavily injured…”

Saito in a hurry looked down at his body. The body was all covered with bandages. At that time, in a fierce battle, he was definitely driven to the point of death.

So.

I… let Louise and others leave and went against 70,000 alone. He shuddered remembering the fierce battle.

After he clashed with the 70,000 army, following Derflinger’s advice he aimed at the commanders.

He attacked a fair amount of mages, but due to spell hits, he started loosing his consciousness. Starting to stagger, he saw a general surrounded by mages and knights, and leaped at him.

After that, he couldn't remember anything…

“…Anyway, seems like I survived.”

Feeling relieved, Saito whispered in a discouraged voice.

At the same time with a relief, various doubts crept in.

Spell arrows and fireballs hit him, or was it, but there were no deep wounds. Then an explosion hit at close range, and he remembered his left-hand becoming like a charcoal. It wasn't nothing. He felt blood running out in streams from his body. There was a gaping wound in his belly. His bones were broken like sticks and his inner organs torn. In other words, he was close to death.

Yet, when you look at my body now…

The vicious burns on his left arm had disappeared, the pink skin showing through the crackss between the bandages. The body wounds did not hurt for the time being either.

Saito looked doubtful.

What on earth happened with my body?

“Well, it’s a wizard world after all, so some miracles do happen…” showing his inborn optimism, Saito said to himself.

For now, the only thing known was that he ‘survived’, and other things did not matter all that much. Once feeling relieved, he was reminded of other things.

That’s right, there are more important concerns than my body.

My clash with the army of 70,000…

Were the enemy forces confused enough?

Did it buy enough time for allies to withdraw?

Did Louise and everyone else escape safely?

“Uuuh… what’s true? Now I’ll worry. Aaah, I’ll ask Derf.”

Saito looked around, searching for Derflinger.

However, the wise sword was nowhere to be found in the room. I’ll look for him, I cannot learn anything this way, Saito thought and tried to stand up…

“Auch!”

A frog like voice leaked from his throat.

The acute cramping pain pierced through his sides, feet, arms, ankles and neck. The pain covered his whole body and did not stop making Saito see black and white. Though his life was saved, he still might be badly injured.

That fierce battle that felt like a dream since he woke up was now rapidly gaining real outlines. Saito shook and started to tremble. Even though he tried to suppress it, it didn’t stop.

One wrong step and he would have been dead. He had definitely escaped death by a hair.

Until the trembling settled, he decided to lie back in bed.

“But… I may be still asleep.”

He needed to confirm it.

I want to know precisely how I was brought back to life.

Therefore, he tried to get up many times.

Tch! Autch! He shouted, whenever he tried to stand up he was instantly taken over by pain…

“You should not move.”

From the door where children ran to… a smooth smell flowed and a cool, sweet voice spoke.

Ah, when he turned towards open door, he saw a girl, with fair, river-like flowing hair, standing.

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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume8_Chapter1_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 1]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume8_Chapter3_%7EPreview%7E|Forward to Chapter 3]]
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Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter10

2009-02-08T06:22:04Z

Kalessin: I think that it's pretty clear that the building turned into "rubble," not rubbish. It's a funny choice of words though.

===Chapter Ten: The Place of Courage===

On a little hill drawn on a map…The dawn brought forth light to the darkness.

The view slowly expands, and the grassland below grew larger and larger.

It is recorded on the map, a rural area approximately 150 leagues south-west outside the city of South Gotha.

After a whole night of riding, Saito finally arrived here. A light excitement covered him. Although he had been riding all night, Saito's fighting spirit and fatigue were restored by the morning light.

In the morning fog, slowly, slowly and accompanied with the shaking of earth, a great army appeared.

Saito stood up, and slammed his hand against the horse he had been riding. The beast that had been chewing grass idly was suddenly shocked, and fled in the direction where they come from.

“You are not going to use the horse?"

Derflinger asked over the shoulder.

“That guy has a life too; it is not just some tool.”

“You have such a good heart, partner.”

Saito asked Delfinger,

“Didn’t you say before, the Gandalfr was able to defend a thousand foes alone? 70,000 shouldn’t be a problem right?”

“That is what they say, but it is only a legend, so people tend to exaggerate. Don’t get too hopeful, in reality, it was probably less than a thousand.”

“…why are you like this? Lying to me like that. If you lied to me, don’t tell me the truth. We are already dead, at least lie to the very end.”

On the horizon of the grassland, we can see the advancing army. Although it is an army of 70,000, due the fact they are not marching abreast, it does not appear to be as large. But in reality, all 70,000 are there.

Soldiers wielding weapons, Mages armed with spells, cannons, demi-humans like orcs and trolls, Dragon Knights…Knights riding phantom beasts.

None were missing, all 70,000 were here.

Saito asked with a fear shaken voice.

“Ah, why must I risk my life to charge into that mob?”

“Why are you asking the obvious? Because our ships have to retreat, so we have to buy time.”

“No…I am not talking about this…But, forget it.” Saito let out his breath.

“Last time I was saved by Guiche’s mole, but this time there is no escape.”

“No we cannot. No matter what, just charge in, in a situation like this no matter which direction charging is the same. Aim for the commanding officer, strike down the head, and the body will fall into chaos. You can probably buy them a day or so.”

Saito nodded, holding Delfinger tightly. The runes on his left hand began to glow.

“Let me tell you something, Delfinger.”

“What is it?”

”Can I tell you a story from my childhood?”

“Sure.”

“I, once, saw an old lady being harassed by some punk near a train station, something about the old lady bumping into them. But that time I was just a little chibi, if I wanted to stop them I couldn’t, so I only stood by and watched. That time I thought, if only I was a little stronger, but at the same time, I also sighed. Because even if I was stronger, it does not guarantee I would have won.”

“True”

“No mistake, I am stronger now, there cannot be any excuses. That time because I had no strength, so I had the excuse to not to do anything. The excuse was that I was not strong enough, so I didn’t help. But now, I've lost that excuse. Because I am now very, very strong. No matter what, I am Gandalfr, right?”

Deflinger murmured lowly, “Um hum.”

“But…all that strength is only external, in reality I am not really any stronger inside. But there is nothing I can do about it, although I am Gandalfr the legendary familiar, my body is shaking, I really don’t have any mental preparation. This type of situation is really not for me. Protecting everyone’s honor, I really don’t like it! I'm shaking with fear. I do not want to die.”

“Partner, you are really someone truly brave!”

“This kind of personality will only lead to trouble, fast.” Saito thought about it.

Courage, isn’t this what it is all about?

“Hey, Partner.”

“What?”

“Am I going to die?”

“Probably.”

The boy became silent. Delfinger decided to raise his spirits, “If it is going to be like this, then go out like a hero!”

“Why?”

“Because otherwise it will be a waste.”

Four hundred meters in front of them, they can see Albion’s forward assault force.

[[Image:ZnT07-239.jpg|thumb]]

Suddenly his body begins to move by itself; they would never know if this was the power of Gandalfr, or Saito’s own bravery, or something else…

Saito charged toward the army of 70,000.

The first group of Albion soldiers who found the charging hero was not Frontal Cavalry, but the owl familiar belonging to the artillery/firearm commander. Because he didn’t believe the Infantries, so he decided to personally investigative the matter.

After he verified the situation through his owl, He immediately ordered the firearm squadrons to prepare to fire, because normally during the course of a march, firearm troops do not keep their weapons loaded.

“What? Only one person?”

He was surprised when he found out there is only one person, but he became shocked once he saw the boy’s speed.

It is not a speed that can be achieved by a human on foot.

The frontal cavalry also made the same mistake as well.

Because in the mistake with the estimation of speed, just as they stopped the opposition charged right past them. Before the cavalry can even draw their weapons, they were knocked off their steeds.

The only thing the fallen cavalry men can do is hear the sound of the enemy’s footsteps, the speed is so fast, they could not even see their foe’s image.

Before the soldiers finish loading their weapons, the enemy is already in front of their leader.
It is a person armed with a large sword.

The commander, in reflex, tried to pull out his wand, but was sent flying by the sword. Something hit him hard on the side of his head, the commander instantly lost conscious.

The next moment, Mage Knights approached from the sky. They used magic and familiars to track Saito’s movement, then released a barrage of spells.

Wind blades, ice spears, and fireballs flew in waves toward Saito, but were instantly absorbed by the sword. Though the Knights were taken by surprise, they did not stop their magical assaults.

The knight commander ordered his men to scatter; in the instant he made that order, a wind blew next to him, where the wind struck, his wand was snapped in half, and a foot slammed into his stomach. Ribs shattered, the pain was so strong the officer could not cry and soon fainted.

Deflinger asked running Saito,

“Why didn’t you kill them?”

Saito threw back a short reply,

“I am not a soldier.”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter allies or enemies; I will not treat them as tools.”

Delfinger sighed.

Saito danced, dodged, and struck left and right, which caused massive chaos within the enemy formation.

Fighting alone turned out to be extremely advantageous.

To prevent friendly fire, the enemy did not dare to use firearms or projectiles, also, with the speed of Gandalfr, nothing in this world can catch up.

But…the Mage opponents were still very difficult to deal with.

The endless barrage of magic, although Delfinger could absorb them, but the amount of magic delivered is certainly above normal, and slowly the sword begin to lose the ability to handle them. “Ugh!”

“Left hand?”

“Hum, damn…I can’t move it anymore.”

Saito could only wield Delfinger with his right hand, his left shoulder took a deep wound, and a part of his body is now charred by flame, which came from the fireball that exploded near him.

Although the situation is grave, Saito still charged forward, bravely stood tall surrounded on all sides.

Due to the attacks by Magic and weapons alike…Saito’s injury became graver every second.

<center>* * *</center>

Ridding on his phantom manticore was the unit’s commanding officer, kicked his beast, and prepared to charge. But a sword knocked him off his mount, he saw his manticore struck down. In that instant, his own legs were shattered, collapsed on the ground.

The commander for the firearm division ordered his men to prepare for a maneuver, thinking to surround this wind like enemy in an instant, but the enemy leaped over the formation, and struck the commander’s head with his sword, sending the man instantly into oblivion.

The young commander in charge of the Archers hastily ordered his men to fire, but the arrows could not reach their foe, but instead struck down his allies instead. In the chaos he manages to hit his foot.

The chaos with the forward guards became progressively worse. General Hawkins received reports that completely boggled him. The communications he received were completely a mess.

Some say, the enemy is a single rider.

Some say, the enemy is a Magician.

Some say, is a part of the enemy army.

Some say, is elvish Magic Knights.

Some say, is a elvish division…etc

But, the general, a veteran who survived a hundred battles felt it is a single foe.

An enemy with the speed of the wind,

An enemy with the strength like fire,

An enemy unshakable like the stones of earth,

An enemy elusive like the wave of the sea.

“I don't like it,” General Hawkins muttered.

<center>* * *</center>

Just as Saito broke the wand of an officer of middle rank, the boy spotted a group of mages. Since so many mages were protecting a single individual that mean…

“That guy must have a pretty high rank...” Delfinger added. But even through Saito heard him he could not do much, his body begin to be paralyzed by the pain. Very soon he wouldn’t be moving at all.

Saito must save the energy from his breathe.

Just to take down one more Officer…

Just to cause more havoc.

Just like this to extend the time, just even one minute, one second, must be taken.

This was Louise’s task.

A task my own beautiful master volunteered.

Saito leashed towards the enemy general surrounded by hoards of mages.

General Hawkins stared at the wind blasting toward him.

Truly amazing speed.

He pulled out his Wand, chanted his Magic, in one breathe he summoned a wind blade. But… the enemy’s agility dodges it. He could only see the enemy’s blade, flying toward his head.

General Hawkins can only see the shadow in front of him, as if trying to brand it under his vision.

His Riders struck the enemy full of Magic bolts, each attaching itself on to that swordman’s body.

Although so many bolts should had been fatal, but the wind like warrior never slowed.

Fencer's sword shot up, slamming into Hawkin's body.

The blade’s tip reached within 5 cm of his face.

Hawkins, not averting his gaze, stared straight at the top.

But it did not struck Hawkins’ face.

As if time suddenly stopped, the Swordman’s movement stopped.

Hawkins used his wand to knock the sword away, and the unknown Blademaster hit the ground with a thud.

“Your eminence! Are you ok?”

“General Hawkins!” One of the Knights rode by.

“No bones broken.” He answered.

“Combat is over, give me the report”

Reports came in quick succession.

It is absolutely unimaginable a single warrior was able to cause such damage. Lower command, Upper command echelon had 14 wounded, the enlisted infantry estimated injured were around two hundred fifty. The loss apparently, from the entire army’s angle, is within the limit of acceptable. But it's effects were significant. The strong Forward guards are now in complete chaos, in the fog of war, many were injured by their own friendly fire, and the story that 'Everything was caused by a single swordsman' had spread among soldiers like wildfire, greatly damaging the morale of the troops.

The forward commander reported with a bitter face: “I am afraid it will take a while to reform the forward command, at least for several hours.”

Also, stories continue to spread among the frightened troops, which greatly decreased the army marching speed. The enlisted soldiers were afraid the enemy may hide another swordsman like the one before.

The adjutant slowly murmured to General Hawkins:

“I am afraid we cannot continue today’s marching objectives. If the situation continues, we will have to waste half a day…no, entire day of time.”

Hawkins lowered his head.

He got off his horse, walked near the fallen swordsman, and took in stock of his looks.

“He is just a boy.”

The body on the ground is a black haired, very unusual looking boy.

Looking at him breathing still weakly, but his body clearly took enormous amount of magical damage, it is only a matter of time.

Hawkins wanted to summon a water mage, but after so much injury, it is only extending his suffering. Not even magic is infinite.

Hawkins looked down on the boy, whispered

"I am really jealous."

"Huh?"

"A single warrior stopped an entire army....in the words of history long gone, he is a 'Hero'; I wish I was not merely a general, but a hero."

Hawkin's voice trailed off.

His sub-commander nodded as well.

"What you say is right, but situations like this is results of war, a pity he was an enemy of ours."

"Although an enemy...not even a noble...but I believe he should receive the highest honor and respect."

"I understand your point."

General Hawkins and the Sub-commander both saluted the boy.

"Let's bury him with honor."

He gave his order to his troops.

In that second, Saito's body leaped.

"What the hell?"

Saito's body reached his old speed, and vanished into the forest.

<center>* * *</center>

Once inside the forest… Saito’s body fell down again.

Voice echoed in the dark forest.

Not Saito’s voice, but Derflinger’s.

“Haaah…it was one thousand years since the last time I used ‘Master’ was it? Though the reason I was able to move… was because of absorbed magic energy. Anyway, I'm beaten already... but partner, you look tattered...“

Saito’s body didn’t move in the slightest.

“Hey partner. Do you hear me? Hold on in there, I will tell you a nice thing. At that time, that girl wore those black cat’s clothes just for you. She wanted you to push her down again.”

Derflinger waited for a while.

However, no matter how long he waited, there was no answer.

Once Derflinger’s power wore off, Saito’s hand lessened its grip. Free from Saito’s lifeless finger’s, Derflinger muttered with regret.

“…cheh, you can’t hear me anymore.”

<center>* * *</center>

Louise awoke and found herself on the deck of the Redoubtable.

Because of the wind brushing her face, as well as the sound of the fluttering sail, she finally woke up.

Malicorne and Guiche were staring back at her face.

“Wow, Louise is awake!”

”Good! Good!!”

Seeing friends nodding their heads unstopped, Louise asked in a surprised voice:

“I… why…?”

“We don’t know. When the ship departed I found you sleeping here.”

“…Here, this is a ship?”

As she watch the moving scenery for a few minutes, Louise suddenly remembered a very important thing, suddenly sprang to her feet.

“I, I must go stop the enemy army. I have to prevent the Albion army from catching up!”

Malicorne and Guiche both stared at her with surprise.

“Stop the enemy?”

“Yes! I have to delay the enemy to buy us time to retreat.”

“We already retreated.”

“This is the last ship from the Port of Rosais.”

“…Oh?”

Louise looked confused as she stared from the forecastle, as the continent of Albion became smaller and smaller.

“How is it like this? What happen to the Albion army that was chasing us?”

“They said only a little longer, they didn’t catch up with us.”

“Good, Good, this means we can get home safely.”

“But when we get back, there will still be a lot of trouble.”

Malicorne and Guiche stared at each other, then the two start laughing.

What really happened?

Why did the Albion Army slow their march?

In that moment…she suddenly remembered something more important.

She cannot see Saito anywhere.

Louise ran around the ship in a circle, and met Siesta and her family on the forecastle.

“Miss Louise… you woke up?”

“Don’t talk about it! Where is Saito?”

Siesta’s face turned white upon hearing this.

“I was waiting for Miss Valliere to wake up, to ask it, shouldn’t Saito-san to be with you?”

Louise shook her head, looking at her worried face, Siesta became paler every second.

“Miss Valliere, where is Saito-san? Where, please tell me!”

In that moment, they heard two soldiers talking behind them.

“I heard from a buddy from the Navarre's ship, they said they saw a single person rode off to stop the Albion Army.”

“Haha, stop joking, it is just one person, what can he do?”

Louise walked near one of the soldiers and said

“Hey, what you just said, is it true?”

The soldier was surprised he was questioned by nobility, and showed a face full of shock and stammered,

“Yes, yes. But I don’t know if it is true or not, someone else told me this story, that part is true.”

Louise’s face lost all colors, instantly the color of blood withdrew from every inch of her body. It must been Saito. It is impossible to be wrong. I don’t know what he did to made me fall asleep, then drop me off on this ship… then went off against the Albion army.

Louise ran up to the hedge and screamed

“Saito!!!”

“Miss Valliere, what happened? Please tell me, tell me!”

Worried Siesta pressed Louise.

“Saito!!!”

Louise screamed, jumped over the railing, and then tried to jump toward the ground.

“HEY! HEY! You want to die??”

Guiche and Malicorne saw the situation, and grabbed her before she could leaped.

“Let me go!!! I am begging you let me go!!!”

“NO! There aren’t any of our men on the ground anymore.”

“Let me go!!!”

Louise’s wails and howls echoed across the White Country's sky.

<center>* * *</center>

The Albion army that arrived at Rosais, looked up into the sky and grounded teeth.

They were just a hair away, but now they could not do anything but watch Allied army escape.

They would have continued the chase, but there were no ships left.

After occupying Rosais, Cromwell entered the red-brick base… then, bites his fingernail in anger.

He already had general Hawkins, who failed to accomplish the mission, confined and sent back to Londonium.

“Why Galia didn’t send their soldiers? If they were attacked from both sides by both countries, Allied Forces would have not been able to leave South Gotha…”

He asked Miss Sheffield… who was nowhere to be seen.

Cromwell was nervous after losing a fight. He was afraid to carry this war any further. He was at the breaking point. He was at the point where he was shaking uncontrollably…

Shouts of joy sounded from the other side of the window.

When he stepped up to it…

He saw a large fleet piercing the sky.

On fluttering flags one could see two wands crossed… Galia’s fleet.

Cromwell went ecstatic.

“Ooh! Finally you came! As expected from large country Galia! How many ships are there? But… why did it come now… after the enemy ran away?”

And once he bit his fingernail again, it hit him.

“That’s right! They are going to chase the enemy fleet! That's good! Messanger here, immediately!”

When he was about to call messenger… the messenger jumped into the room himself.

“Galia’s fleet! It arrived!”

“I know! I saw it myself! Now! Tell Galia’s fleet commander that- …”

The messenger interrupted Cromwell’s orders.

"There’s a message from Galia’s fleet, Your Excellency!”

“Message? Oh! I see!”

“They wanted to know you whereabouts in order to greet you!”

“Greeting? Is that so, ha ha ha! They are really very cordial! They have a cordial king and secretary, so fleet commander must be too! Now, rise up an assembly flag in front of the door.”

“Understood.” The messenger left.

After a few moments, in the courtyard, the Holy Assembly flag of the Republic of Albion was raised. After that, dozens of ships lined up around the building one next to another. It was a spectacular naval scene.

What kind of greeting that will be? He waited excitedly…

Then, before his eyes, the building’s door opened and people ran out in panic. Why are they running away from here? Just like rats from sinking ship.

He looked up at the fleet again. Hundreds of cannons from the gangway shone at the same time.

Cromwell hadn’t seen anything more beautiful during all 30 years of his life.

Thousands of cannonballs, after an order to fire, hit the red brick building where Cromwell was.

And in an instant, the official base turned into a pile of rubble.

<noinclude>
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| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Chapter9_%7EPreview%7E|Back to Chapter 9]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume7_Epilogue|Forward to Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume7 Chapter9 - MTL

2009-02-08T05:38:08Z

Kalessin:

'''Blown off'''. This should be changed to Blown up. Blown off means ''To be ignored when approaching someone.'' Also occurs in some of the earlier chapters.

'''Morn''' should be morn' as it's a contraction of morning (you know, Morning, Evening and Night.) Still in use in the UK, though not very common.

JBV^_^

Actually, morn is fine without the apostrophe. Without the apostrophe, it's a more archaic/formal way of saying morning ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morn ). I would only expect the contracted form in dialog where someone is being informal. Now, why it's translated as morn instead of morning, I don't know, since I would only expect morn in very formal English, but it's technically fine as is.

- [[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 05:33 UTC, 2009-02-08

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume4 Chapter1

2009-02-05T03:32:22Z

Kalessin:

"A maid like you would be sentenced to death in Japan...." Is that what it really says in Japanese? That seems like a really weird thing to say. A maid that really likes her master and is really nice to him is going to be sentenced to death? Either the translation is off, or I'm misunderstanding something here.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]]

:Checked the raws. Nothing wrong with this sentence.

--[[User:Zyzzyva165|Zyzzyva165]] 17:20, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, maybe it's a Japanese thing or something. I don't get it. But if it's correct, then it's my problem, not the translation's.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 03:30, February 4, 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume4 Chapter9 - MTL

2009-02-05T03:30:05Z

Kalessin:

"It lit the highway 100 miles ahead...." 100?! That sounds totally implausible. That would have to be a ''really'' high fireball - several miles up I would think. You certainly couldn't see anywhere near that far. I can believe 10 miles, but 100? This seems like it has to be a mistranslation.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 08:37, February 4, 2009 (UTC)

Checked. No problem. By the way, have you heard of this word called "[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/exaggeration exaggeration]"? If you have not, I'd suggest you looking up the word. A link has been provided for your convenience. Because this element apepars quite often in novels, and awareness of it would save you from future troubles of asking such questions.

--[[User:Zyzzyva165|Zyzzyva165]] 08:52, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

There's no need to be rude about it. Exaggeration is used frequently enough and I'm well aware of it. However, this isn't the type of situation that I would have expected it in (it's far more likely when a person is speaking or thinking than when the author is giving a description) and the fact that this is a translation means that it's quite possible for it to be a translation issue rather than exaggeration. But if the original text does indeed say 100, then it says 100. It just seemed off to me and I thought that it should be checked.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 04:28, February 5, 2009 (UTC)

Zero no Tsukaima:Volume4 Chapter9 - MTL

2009-02-04T08:49:44Z

Kalessin: I changed "Disappear Magic" to "Dispel Magic." It makes a lot more sense and that's what I've seen in fansubs for the anime.

{{Template:PREVIEW}}

===Chapter Nine: Confrontation of Sadness===

Riding Tabitha‘s wind dragon, Saito, Louise, Kirche and Tabitha herself, flew towards the royal palace, having left the Academy of Magic two hours ago. It was one hour after midnight.

The courtyard was in an uproar. Louise and Saito felt that their bad premonitions had come true. When the wind-dragon landed in the courtyard, it was instantly surrounded by the magic guardian troops.

The commander of Montei Kora corps, loudly ordered.

“Hey you! The royal palace is off-limits now! Leave!”

However, he already recognized the group from sight. They were the same that came here right before the war against Albion started. The commander puckered up his brows.

“You again! You only come at troublesome times!”

Louise jumped down from a wind dragon. She had no time to play games of questions and answers with the guardians captain. She asked in a breathless haste.

“Princess-sama! No, her majesty, is she alright?!”

The courtyard was humming like a beehive. The nobles were carrying the shining magical wands, while solders – torches, looking for something. It was clear that something happened in the royal palace.

“I don’t have to tell you anything, damned one. Leave at once.”

Her face red with anger, Louise pulled out something from her pocket. It was the permit paper that Henrietta gave to Louise before.

“I am a court lady who is under immediate control of Her Majesty! In my hand I hold the permit papers signed by the Queen! I have the right to exercise Her Majesty's jurisdiction! I request an immediate explanation of the circumstances!“

The commander grabbed the permit papers from Louise's hands with blank surprise all over his face. They were indeed authentic permit papers signed by Henrietta that read - ‘Louise Françoise Le Blanc De La Vallière is presented with the right of being a royal representative. Her demands must be granted.” With the royal signature attached.

The commander stared with astonishment at Louise. Such a young girl… had such a document from Her Majesty.

He was a serviceman though. No matter how one looked, a superior officer was still a superior officer. Standing upright at once, he reported the situation concerning Her Majesty.

“Two hours ago, someone enticed Her Majesty away. One of the guards was knocked down as they escaped with horses. The griffon squad is chasing after them. We were searching around here to find some evidence.”

Louise's complexion changed.

“Which way did they leave?”

“They went south over the highway. Apparently they escaped towards the district of La Rochelle. Without a doubt, Albion has a hand to this. Though the instruction to block the port was sent at once… Dragon Knight corps were almost annihilated in the last war. So the only way we can catch up with them are either by griffons or horses…”

Wind dragons are much lighter than griffons thus they normally take the pursuit… but the way things are now - it is questionable whether it was possible to catch up. Louise jumped onto the wind dragon again.

“Hurry! The thief who kidnapped the princess–sama escaped towards La Rochelle! We will be in serious trouble if we aren't able to catch up by the time the morning dawns!”

Everyone, hearing the circumstances, nodded, looking tense. Tabitha gave the orders to the wind dragon.

Sylphid flew up in the darkness of the night again. Louise shouted.

“Fly low! The enemy is riding a horse!”

The wind dragon kept on flying following the highway with a surprising swiftness.

It was a thick dark night, but even though one could not see even few steps ahead, the wind dragon kept on flying using its sharp nose, avoiding trees and buildings.

<center>* * *</center>

The griffon unit had split into two, one flew by griffon along the highway, the other rode on horses. It was to be expected as Griffon squad was the lightest of the three squads. Moreover they see better at night. Therefore, it was chosen as the chasing unit. A lot of people in this squad were burning with anger. The enemy attacked the court under the cover of darkness. Even in the wildest dreams one could not imagine that someone would dare to attack the palace of the capital. Moreover, it was young queen Henrietta that was abducted, a successor of the throne. For magic knights that have been guardians of royal family there could not be a greater disgrace than this.

Griffons taking use of their wings and feet rushed forwards. Though the departure was delayed due to all the confusion, the enemies are still using horses. There is no reason they should not be able to catch up. The commander scolded the unit harshly.

“Run! Catch up with Her Majesty as soon as possible!”

One group of the Griffon unit dashed forward.

There was a big hustle between the Griffon units going ahead.

They might have found something. Under the commander’s signal, a fire user went forward and launched a flame spell. It lit the highway 100 miles ahead, and one could see distant figures of the riders.

There were ten times greater number of them.

The commander put on a brutal smile.

“First of all aim for the horses! Do not hurt Her Majesty!”

Griffon corps dashed forwards, launching one spell after another.

After the wall of spells rounded upon the enemies, the knights launched an attack in an instant.

The flame ball, the blade of wind, the spear of ice, all aimed to the horses that enemies rode on. Doh! Earth trembled, making horses fall one after another. The commander confirmed that Queen Henrietta, dressed in her white gown, was riding behind the first horse. In an emergency situation like this, he hesitated – it was necessary to retrieve her majesty without injuries. If she were to be injured, he would get some major scolding later.

After muttering an apology, the commander cast the wind spell, cutting the leg of the first horse off and throwing down to the ground the princess and the rider.

Without mercy, the griffon squad surrounded the fallen enemy knights. The necks of the abductors were cut with wind blades and ice spears went through their hearts. The knight who was leading the run had his head cut of by the commander’s wind blade, a deadly wound.

The match was decided in a moment.

When the commander nodded approvingly, the unit stopped.

Then he jumped down from his griffon, and the moment he approached the queen who fell into the grass…

Knights, who should have been dead, stood up one after another.

Griffon knights, who had relaxed their guard thinking that enemy was annihilated were now caught by surprise by enemy magic.

“Ah!” groaned the commander trying to pull out his wand when his body was wrapped up by tornado.

Limbs were cut off by the tornado, finishing them off in a moment, as the knight who should have been finished by the commander stood up, with a clearly visible torn up wound in his neck, and smiled.

<center>* * *</center>

When Wales finally placed the wand to his side he approached the grass where Henrietta had fallen down.　

Henrietta only now started to recover from the shock of being thrown to the grass. She watched Wales approach with disbelieving eyes.

"Wales-sama, you…what on earth?”

“Surprised?”

Henrietta pulled out her crystal wand that she always carried with herself and aimed it at Wales.

“Who are you?”

“I am Wales.”

“Lies! You killed the magical knight corps…”

“You want to kill me? It is all right. Scoop me out with your magic. Pierce this heart of mine with it if you want.”

Wales pointed at his chest. The hand gripping Henrietta’s wand started to tremble.

The magic spell did not came of her mouth. What came instead a choked sob.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Trust me, Henrietta.”

“But…but, this…”

“I will tell the reasons later. Many different circumstances are the cause of this. For now, come with me without asking.”

“I-I do not understand. Why did you do these kind of things ……What are you trying to do?”

Wales answered softly.

“You do not need to understand. You do not need to like oath, you just need to follow it. Do you remember? The words of the oath you said at the Ragdorian’s lake. Words you said before the water spirit.”

“By no means could I forget. I will remember until the day I die.”

“Please say it, Henrietta.”

Henrietta said the oath word for word.

“…I, Henrietta, the princess of kingdom of Tristain, swear to the water spirit, that I will love Wales-sama forever.”

“Only one thing changed now from the oath in the past. You are a queen now. However, does everything else remain unchanged? And will not change?”

Henrietta nodded. I always dreamt only about the day when Wales would hold me in his arms.

“Even though the way things are, the oath sworn before the water spirit cannot be broken. You only have to believe only in your own words. Please leave everything to me.”

Each gentle word of Wales turned Henrietta more and more into a girl that did not know a thing. Henrietta kept nodding many times, just like a child. She was completely persuaded.

After that, Wales stood up and approached his knights. One could see open mortal wounds on their throats or chests.

However… ignoring them, they moved just like any living creature.

They went to check the fallen horses, yet, they all were dead.

Then they hid themselves in the tall grass, one after another disappearing from sight.

The line of the ambush.

Without words they and Wales formed a line of ambush, and stopped moving. Just like one living creature.

<center>* * *</center>

Saito and the others flew on the wind dragon following the highway until they saw a tragic sight of corpses scattered around. The wind dragon stopped, and they jumped down. Not getting off, Tabitha looked around attentively. 　

“Princess.”

Saito muttered. Burning corpses with their hands and feet cut off were laying around. Griffons and horses were lying in pools of their own blood. This must have been the griffon unit.

“There’s someone alive!”

Saito and Louise ran towards Kirche’s voice.

Despite a deep wound in his arm, someone survived.

“Are you all right?”

Louise now regretted not taking Montmorency with them. In cases of wounds, her water magic would be irreplaceable.

“I’m alright… And you are?”

“We, just like you, ran after the gang that kidnapped Her Majesty. What on earth happened to you?”

The knight answered in a shaky voice.

“They, their wounds were really fatal…”

“What?”

However, the knight could not tell anything else. Feeling secure now that help had come, he fainted.

At that moment, a magical attack was unleashed from all directions. Tabitha reacted in an instant. Expecting an attack beforehand, she created a wall of air above and let it fly down with her magic.

Out of the grass, shadows stood up, swaying in slow motion.

They were once dead Albion nobles now revived by Andvari’s ring.

Kirche and Tabitha took a stance. However, for some reason, the enemy didn’t launch an attack any more. Tension started.

Then, Saito was astonished to find a well known shadow there.

“Crown Prince Wales!”

Still, he…

Wales, who was dead and was given a fake life from Cromwell using the Andvari’s ring, stolen from the water spirit, had abducted Henrietta.

Thinking so, Saito was getting angry at such unfair doing.

He gripped Derflinger on his shoulder. The rune on his left hand started to shine.

[[Image:ZnT04-236.jpg|thumb]]

“Return the princess.”

However, Wales didn't drop the smile.

“You are saying strong things. I cannot return her as she follows me on her own free-will.”

“What?”

Behind Wales back, Henrietta, dressed in the gown, appeared.

“Princess!”

Louise shouted.

“Please do not go there! That prince Wales is not the Wales! It is a revenant of the prince, revived by Cromwell’s hands with Andvari’s ring!”

However, Henrietta didn't step forward. She just bit and tightened her shivering lips.

“…Princess?”

“See? Now then, how about a deal?”

“Deal?”

“That’s right. Though we would like to quarrel here with you, we lost our horses. And traveling without horses through the night can be dangerous, so I would like to save as much magic as possible.”

Tabitha chanted the spell.

‘Uindei Icicle’ – attack spell by skillful Tabitha.

Right in the middle of his words the arrow of ice went through Wales’ body.

However…surprisingly, Wales did not fall down and the wound healed itself in another moment.

“It is useless. I cannot be damaged by your attacks.”

Yet, even after seeing this, Henrietta's expression did not change.

“Look! It is not the prince! It is something else! Princess!”

However, Henrietta did not want to believe, and shook her head from right to left. Then said to Louise in a constrained voice.

“Please, Louise, put away the wand. Please do it for me. Please let us go.”

“Princess? What are you saying?! Princess! That thing is not Crown Prince Wales! Princess, you have been tricked!”

Henrietta gave a smile. A ghastly smile.

“I know that. In my room, when our lips met, I knew that 100 times over. However, still, I do not care. Louise, you haven’t loved a person so strongly yet. When you really are in love you are willing to throw away everything. You want to follow him anywhere. Even if it is a lie. You cannot do anything else but believe. I swore, Louise. I made an oath before the water spirit saying ‘I swear eternal love to Wales’. Even if the whole world says it is a lie, my feelings alone are not a lie. Therefore, let us go, Louise.”

“Princess!”

“It’s an order, Louise Francoise. My last one, from me to you. Please, step out of our way.”

Louise’s hand that was aiming the wand dropped down to her side. Understanding Henrietta’s firm decision, she helplessly gave in. Why should she stop such said strong love…

The line of deceased people tried to pass through the dumbfounded Louise.

But, before them…

Saito, holding Derflinger, blocked the way.

He was terribly sad. He understood Henrietta's feelings. But Saito’s mind could not permit it. His mind screamed not letting it happen. Saito said in a voice that contained sadness and anger.

“Princess, if I am allowed to say, talking in one's sleep is not good.”

His shoulders and body trembled.

“Passion, love, being together with a woman, not caring about anything else. Is such love true? It is just a mere blindness. Blood goes up to the head and one cannot think straight.”

“Leave! It’s an order!”

Henrietta shrieked with all her remaining dignity.

"Unfortunately, I am not your subordinate. Your orders mean nothing to me. Even if you keep on ordering me…I won’t listen. I will cut through that spell of yours.”

It was Wales who moved first. Though he tried to utter a spell, Saito jumped at him.

However, the wall of water blew Saito off.

Petrified Henrietta, gripping the wand, trembled.

“I won’t allow you to lay even a single finger on Wales.”

The crushing wall of water moved to Saito again. However, the space in front of Henrietta exploded in the next moment. Henrietta was blown away.

Louise had cast an explosion spell.

“Even though you are a princess, I won’t allow you to lay a single finger on my familiar, either.”

With her hair ruffled, Louise muttered in a shaking voice.

Due to this explosion, Tabitha and Kirche, who had been watching the scene in blank surprise, started chanting spells as well.

The fight started.

Saito kept on blocking the magic spells with his sword, in front of Louise. Though the magic flitted around, no one was wounded seriously. 　Though Tabitha’s and Kirche’s unleashed magic was knocking down the enemies, enemies themselves preserved their willpower, hoping to weaken them up little by little with dot spells.

However, the enemy's cooperation was skillful. Little by little, Saito and the others were cornered.

Before they realized it, Louise, Saito and the others were enclosed in a tight circle.

They were cornered in a defending position. The number of enemies was too great, thus there was no chance to attack.

Kirche released another fire ball, burning down a single mage.

“The flame is effective! It only has to burn!”

Kirche launched another flame attack. Tabitha switched the attack to cover Kirche at once. Saito also turned to support. The spells that flew at Kirche were inhaled by Derflinger.

The enemies recovered and tried to cut him with wind swords.

Yet, Kirche’s flame burned down another three of them…

The enemy dashed away from the range of her magic and then regrouped.

“The way it is, if you burn them by the flame little by little… we may have a chance to win.”

Kirche muttered.

However, heaven turned away from them.

Gradually, Tabitha noticed something wet hitting her cheek.

With a worried expression she looked up into the sky.

A huge cloud of rain segregated above them.

Rain that started as a light sprinkle, changed into a heavy pour soon.

Henrietta shouted.

“Throw your wands away! I do not want to kill you!”

“Just wake up, princess! Please!”

Louise shouted, but it was drawn out by the sounds of the increasingly heavier raindrops

“Look! Rain! Rain! ‘Water’ spells will always win in the rain! Thanks to this rain, our victory was decided!”

“Is that so?”

Saito shouted anxiously. Kirche, who was about to say that, nodded in relief.

“Really, princess can cast a wall of water on us with this. My flame is good-for-nothing now. Tabitha’s wind and even your sword cannot damage them…Well, it is over. Defeat!”

Louise muttered in a constrained voice.

“Though I do not want this, but let’s run away. We cannot die here.”

“But how can we run away? We are surrounded, aren’t we?”

Everyone became silent.

Then Derflinger thoughtfully voiced out.

“Aah.”

“What?”

“I recalled. They use a very nostalgic magic…”

“Yes?”

“When I saw the water spirit, it tickled something in the back of my mind… No, partner, sorry – I forgot. I recalled it!”

"What?!”

“Their and our source is the same type of magic. Anyway, it is different from the base of your four great element system - magic of 'Life’”

“What?! Legendary sword! Say something only if you have something useful to say! Good-for-nothing!”

“The good-for-nothing is you. Though being a ‘Void’ user, firing ‘Explosion’ in rapid succession is foolish, I saw and remembered. Though that person might be very strong, the amount of willpower consumed is immense. Like today, launching huge ones like that may require a year to shoot again. We need different fireworks today.”

“Well?!”

“Turn the page of the prayer book. Dear Brimir, great guy. He sure has some perfect counter.”

Louise looked through pages, like she was told.

However, besides the ‘Explosion’ it was blank as usual.

“There isn’t even written anything! White-on-white!”

“Turn further. If in need, you will be able read.”

Louise saw the page on which the letters were written.

It was written down in runes of an ancient language.

“…Dispel Magic?”

“That’s right. ‘Release’. The potion that you took a while ago, is the reason why you can read it.”

Henrietta sadly shook her head. Though she told Louise to run away, because of the rain, she didn’t run away. More so, Louise stepped closer into the center of the tight circle.

Looking up, Henrietta began to utter an incantation. I do not want to kill if possible. However, if you keep on blocking my way…

With Henrietta’s cantrip aria, the raindrops began to harden.

One by one ally mages had an armor of water hanging on them.

Enemy's 'Flame' was sealed off with this.

In addition, Henrietta uttered another incantation.

Wale’s spell joined with her spell. Wales watched Henrietta, smiling coldly. Though she noticed the lack of warmth, Henrietta’s heart still felt moistly hot.

They both were surrounded by the tornado of water.

'Water', 'Water', 'Water', and, 'Wind.', 'Wind', 'Wind'

The sixth power – water and wind

Triangle mages usually cannot make such strong spells as this. To say almost never, would not be an exaggeration. However, the chosen blood of the royal family enables it.

Only the royal family were able to do a hexagon spell.

Their combined spell increased to an impossible size.

Two triangles intertwined, creating a huge tornado of six.

The tornado was like a tsunami. If hit, it could even blow away the castle.

The sound of Louise’s chanting mixed with the sound of rainfall.　

Behind Saito's back, Louise's spell could be cast comfortably.

To Louise nothing was impossible today. She kept on concentrating her willpower while uttering sounds of ancient runes one after another with her mouth.

“What’s wrong with this girl?”

Kirche asked with a smile.

“Aah, she's just acting like a legend for now.” Saito grasped the sword and answered in a joking voice. Hearing Louise casting a ‘Void’ spell, gave him courage. Courage that allowed him to smile. Courage that can turn death into a joke.

“So. It is good and all. Yet if that ‘Legend’ doesn’t leak something at least, we won’t be able to win against that tornado.”

The huge tornado of water whirling around Wales and Henrietta's grew rapidly.

Louise's silent chant continued still. As expected from ‘Void’. It was as lengthy as one could be.

“Yabbeenaa. The other side is faster after all.”

Derflinger muttered.

“What to do?”

“You should know what to do. It is your work to stop that tornado, Gandálfr.”

“My wha-?”

Saito’s face twitched. Yet, he was not scared. The hard-handed courage shook his whole body.

“No, I wonder.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you scared of such a huge tornado?”

“It may be so. You misunderstood, Gandálfr. Your work is not to attack the enemy but to defend your master while the cantrip is chanted. This is your only work.”

“But it’s not easy.”

“You gain the courage while hearing your master’s spell. Your face reddens, you want to laugh out loudly, your pulse quickens. This all has a reason.”

“I leave it to you,” Kirche muttered.

Tabitha watched Saito's face.

“Easy victory.”

Saito muttered, “I am familiar of void.”

Wales and Henrietta’s spell was completed. The huge tornado of undulating water flew towards Saito and the others. Though it was huge, it was also surprisingly fast.　

It was like a castle of water. A castle of water, that was swirling around viciously and trying to swallow them.

Grasping Derflinger, Saito dashed towards the tornado using dancer’s steps and pushed Derflinger into the core of the rotating tornado of water.

Though he was almost swallowed, he stood firmly on his feet.

Pain assaulted his body. He could not breathe. The water viciously hit him, tearing his skin off.

However, Saito endured.

His fingernails ripped off.

His eardrums tore.

His eyelids were cut, raging pain ran through his eyeballs.

He could not breathe.

The right arm released the sword as joints break.

Derflinger was swallowed by the water.

The moment when everything seemed to tumble down, Louise finished her spell.

Even though he could not hear a sound or see anything, Saito could feel it.

“At last, idiot.” Saito muttered and lost consciousness.

<center>* * *</center>

Before Louise’s eyes, who completed her spell, a huge tornado raged. However, it didn’t get there. Saito stood in the middle of the tornado, and she could see him desperately enduring the pain.

Eventually Saito lost to the raging force of nature and crumbled to the ground before the massive waterfall leaving a small gap in it.

Louise bit her lip. Through the gap she aimed her ‘Dispel magic’ at the enemy.

Henrietta’s surroundings turned into dazzling shining light.　

With a thump the body of Wales, who stood next to her, crumbled to the ground. Though Henrietta tried to run up to him, she lost consciousness as completion of the spell took all of her willpower and she toppled to the ground.
　
All at once, she was wrapped in silence.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume4_Chapter8|Back to Chapter 8]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima|Return to Main Page]]
| [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume4_Epilogue|Forward to Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume4 Chapter9 - MTL

2009-02-04T08:40:30Z

Kalessin: New page: "It lit the highway 100 miles ahead...." 100?! That sounds totally implausible. That would have to be a ''really'' high fireball - several miles up I would think. You certainly couldn't s...

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter5

2009-02-04T07:41:10Z

Kalessin:

'''Chapter 8'''

Hi. This is my first time translating on such a scale, so please bear with my style and "bad english".
As I'm translating using a chinese script, some things may be lost in translation. But I'll try to keep true to the orginal translation as close as possible.
Thanks! :D

'''(1)''' As the gender of Fouquet is still unknown at this point of time, I decided to assume him as a male.

'''(2)''' Cheavlier is french for knight. In ZnT, it's the lowest honor bestowed by the fictional Imperial Family.

'''(3)''' Its most probably alchemy that caused it to turn into steel.

'''(4)''' Most Missiles and launchers have an arming distance, which means the projectile must travel for a certain distance before its armed to prevent injury to the firer. If the arming distance is not reached, the projectile will not explode.

'''(5)''' More about the M72 Launcher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M72_LAW here]:

-------

What on earth does haiz mean? The sentence "'Haiz…' Saito sighed." means nothing to me. I can't even think of any words that start with haiz. Is this a typo? The translation is decent overall, but it looks to mean like we need a better translation for that sentence.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]]

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume2 Chapter6

2009-02-04T07:39:51Z

Kalessin:

== Translator's Notes ==
;<span id=grebe>[[Zero_no_Tsukaima:Volume2_Chapter6#back_to_grebe|↑]]</span>A grebe is a species of freshwater diving bird. They dive their beaks into the water to snatch fish as prey.
==Swiss Cheese==
Wardes mentiones 'swiss cheese' in this chapter. Where from can Tristainian from Halkeginia know of Switzerland on Earth in parallel world? I think this 'swiss cheese' definitely needs a synonym, unless it's literal translation of Japanese original. Any ideas?

---

Well, it's a common idiom in English to talk about something being like Swiss cheese to indicate that it has lots of holes in it. Ignoring the fact that this is a reference to a country that doesn't exist in Halkeginia, the phrase fits perfectly here. If there were another idiom which meant the same thing but didn't reference anything that didn't exist in Halkeginia, then it might be better to use that, but I'm not aware of one. We can just treat it like an anachronism (only here it's something misplaced in space rather than time). Personally, I don't think that it's worth worrying about, though I can see why you would want to used a different phrase.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 07:38 February 4, 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume3 Chapter4

2009-02-04T07:32:53Z

Kalessin:

We really should be more consistent with names and terms. We should probably come a decision on things such as what the various mage's nicknames are so that we don't keep translating it differently. One example on this page is Guiche's familiar. Here (s)he's Belldandy, but I believe that in all of the places prior to this chapter that the mole's name has been given, it's been Verdandi. Personally, I'm tempted to go look up what the various names are in Geneon's dub for the first season of the anime and just use those names since that's an official translation. In either case, we need greater consistency than we have with regards to names.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]]

The naming convention: http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Zero_no_Tsukaima:Guideline#Naming_Conventions

[[User:Vaelis|Vaelis]] 22:33, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

A slightly more up-to-date one would still be this [[Zero_no_Tsukaima:guidelines|guidelines]], since I have seen Akirasav updating/adding more terms into this page after Const2K added the terms inside into the main guidelines page. An assimilation and removal of the unnecessary page would be a good idea, I think.

--[[User:Zyzzyva165|Zyzzyva165]] 23:45, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

I've solved this problem by using the "include" function.

[[User:Vaelis|Vaelis]] 09:34, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Well that's good to know. The appropriate terms still need to be used, however. Of course, a large number of the chapters for Zero no Tsukaima are labeled as being previews, so a fair amount of editing is likely needed anyway.

--[[User:Kalessin|Kalessin]] 07:30, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume4 Chapter1

2009-02-01T16:31:30Z

Kalessin: New page: "A maid like you would be sentenced to death in Japan...." Is that what it really says in Japanese? That seems like a really weird thing to say. A maid that really likes her master and i...

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume3 Chapter4

2009-01-31T21:58:26Z

Kalessin:

==Translators Notes==

===Note===

===Note===

===Note===

---------------------------------

We really should be more consistent with names and terms. We should probably come a decision on things such as what the various mage's nicknames are so that we don't keep translating it differently. One example on this page is Guiche's familiar. Here (s)he's Belldandy, but I believe that in all of the places prior to this chapter that the mole's name has been given, it's been Verdandi. Personally, I'm tempted to go look up what the various names are in Geneon's dub for the first season of the anime and just use those names since that's an official translation. In either case, we need greater consistency than we have with regards to names. - Kalessin

Talk:Zero no Tsukaima:Volume1 Story2 Chapter5

2009-01-29T09:31:39Z

Kalessin:

Talk:Spice & Wolf:Volume4 Chapter 01

2009-01-08T20:46:47Z

Kalessin: New page: I would point out that if you are looking for a word to encompass "all types of wheat-like crops," "grains" would probably be the word that you're looking for.

I would point out that if you are looking for a word to encompass "all types of wheat-like crops," "grains" would probably be the word that you're looking for.