Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume3 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

"Kazumaaaaa, it's boring ~ "

From inside the improvised wind cage, Tiana's boredom leaked out.

"Hey, Kazumaaaa - fugyuuu!?"

Eliminating reply time, Kazuma shrunk the wing cage, putting screws on Tiana. When her complexion became bluish-purple and the restrains became loose he shortly informed her. 

"Shut up."

"Auuuuu...."

Disregarding the fairy's groans, Kazuma shifted his focus outside of the window. The streaming landscape. Because the sun already set, the place of destination supposed to be beyond that point couldn't be seen. Even if that is supposed to be the highest place in Japan.

"A train? Why a train? If it were me, I would fly."

"Then fly. By yourself."

That exchange of words already happened two hours ago.

Even forcibly, about no choosing a different course of action, Kazuma was regretting it vehemently. The fact that the pixies are mischievous creatures it's a universally known legend. But, for most people it seems that they regard that mischief counterbalancing the lovely outward appearance as something charming. They are absolutely wrong.

The pixies pranks are plenty disagreeable. Breaking items that would have lasted a lifetime or changing outcomes to force people into unpleasant situations - they will do them without hesitation. Tiana was no exception.

Opening the running train's door all of a sudden, erasing the window glass where children bent forward to see outside, causing poltergeist phenomena into the driver's seat.

And lastly - it's unknown how she did it, but when she managed a train barrel roll, Kazuma's patience cord was severed. Keeping her in a wind cage, he sealed her entire movement. 

Tiana may be complaining but considering this is Kazuma, it's possible to say this is a remarkably generous step.
Without speech and attitude, it's possible she has nothing but some residual part of race awareness.

"Kazumaaa, let me out....."

''Otsuki ~ Otsuki''

Covering Tiana's voice, obstinately begging, the announcer informed about the arrival at the place of destination. Watching Kazuma get up in silence, Tiana's eyes sparkled.

''With this, he'll let me out!''

But, far from releasing her, he let the wind cage itself behind, got off the train and started walking.

"...........Eh? W-wait!?"

Without response to the frantic voice, calling to halt, the train slowly started to move. From the window Tiana looked at the station platform. In the middle of the scene that started to flow little by little, just once, Kazuma waved his hand.

"........Ah.......Ah......"

It's body shaking with anger, the fairy shouted as far as possible.


"Kazuma, you idiot!"

That scream that couldn't shake the atmosphere reached no one's ears. 





Approximately 10 minutes afterwards. 

"Kazumaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

From behind a motorcycle sprinting on the dark street, a screaming light ball was approaching. The light ball suddenly stopped right beside Kazuma's face. Maybe because the relative velocity was equal, the figure of the girl growing wings inside the light and even her angry expression could be perceived in detail. 

Shifting his attention to her only for a second, he muttered, bored-looking.

"That was unexpectedly quick."

"Why did you do that? Leaving someone behind, how terrible!"

"Well, I hesitated."

It wasn't about whether or not to take someone along. 

"Not that sort of indulgent method but whether or not I ought to deal with you before, to eliminate future trouble."

"..............tch!"

Involuntarily, the imagining of "eliminate future trouble" drew Tiana's attention. Thinking about his behavior so far, there is no room for doubt. This man is serious.

"Auuuuuuu~ I won't pull pranks anymore so don't kill me!"

To the lamenting fairy, Kazuma showed a cynical smile.

"Ho - Can you take responsibility for those words? Next time I'll deal with you in a conclusive manner."

''a conclusive manner'' - an abstract expression and yet that meaning was excessively tangible. 

Trembling in fear, Tiana nodded soundlessly.   

"..........humph"

Faintly slanting his lips, Kazuma twisted the acceleration. Tiana chased in a panic that speeding up bike.
Both of them aimed at the destination straight ahead. The vast forest stretching out at the bottom of Japan's highest peak rising in front of them, Mt. Fuji, the Aokigahara Forest.








"Hey, hey."

Even after promising to be a good child, Tiana can't be silent more than one minute. Even humans can be like this at times. Those who can't endure psychological silence.

"Where did you get that vehicle?"

It was a natural question. A more accurate one would be not "where" but "by what means". At any rate it would have been impossible to make preparations for riding on a plot of land he had no plans of visiting. 

Kazuma replied simply.

"I borrowed it."

"Borrowed? Really? Maybe there are kind people after all."

Holding no sarcasm, those were sincere, praising words. The superficial comprehension towards human society in addition to humans themselves allowed such misunderstanding.

"Indeed. The society has not yet degraded so."

A brazen declaration. By the way Tiana didn't notice that Kazuma's garments too, subtly changed. As one would expect, he thought the down jacket to be ugly and changed it to a dark gray jacket. Perhaps this is also a borrowed item.

In any case, after nothing but traveling for a dozen of minutes, in the middle of the national highway going through the sea of the trees, Kazuma located a private road, quiet and secluded.

"This way, huh?"

"Yeah."

Abandoning the bike Kazuma jumped over an iron fence pretending to be broken. And then, after several jumps riding the wind, both of them arrived at a slightly elevated hill overlooking a magnificent residence built in the mysterious sea of trees.

"These guys?"

A murmur shaking in delight. The rising urge lifted his lips and a small laughter leaked out.

"I see. So they were these guys..."

".......Errr, I'm afraid to ask but are they your acquaintances?", Tiana timidly asked while flinching at the dangerous, carnivore-like smile.

"No, they're not personal acquaintances."

Kazuma clearly shook his head, while that ferocious smile still clinging to his face. 

"But.....since while back I couldn't help but want to crush these guys."

"Wh-What kind of people are they?"

"These guys are..."

"............well, if it were me instead of him, I'd kill you instantly."

"Auuuuuu ~ I don't want to die."

While weeping, Tiana clung to Kazuma.

"Hey! If it's Kazuma, can you search where it went!? Can you!? Please, I'll pay an extra charge."

"Well - calm down."

"I can't calm down!!"

"Listen up! Look this way."

Kazuma turned around Tiana's head with all his might. Somehow he had a feeling its neck-bones made a somewhat thick sound but there is no meaning in paying attention to the head of such random living things like fairies.

"Auuuuuuuu~"

Kazuma quietly but with a sharp voice murmured close to the I-don't-know-why-but-fainting-in-agony fairy's ears.

"Look properly inside the mansion. Do you see?"

The residence was approximately 100 meters away. Furthermore it was night. The things that could be seen with a physical eye were only the outlines of the mansion. But -

"Huh? Isn't it kind of noisy?"

As far as Fuujutsushi and Pixies are concerned, both of them are companions of the wind spirits and reading the information the wind is carrying is easy.

Just as Tiana said, the residence's atmospheric was uproarious. Disturbance and impatience and the mayhem caused by them were transmitted as far as below the two.

"I wonder what happened."

"Well, it doesn't seem they are merely busy. Perhaps the disappearance of the treasure was an unexpected accident for that lot."

"You mean, that it was again stolen by a different someone. Doesn't that mean it will be more difficult to search!?"

Kazuma lightly shrug his shoulders.

"It's not like you'll be troubled if I don't find it personally."

"I'll be troubled!!"

Cruelly brushing away Tiana's half-cries he aimed a daring gaze at the mansion.

"Leaving jokes aside let's take a closer look."

Kazuma lightly kicked the ground. Enveloped by the whirling wind that body smoothly shook off the gravity's restraint. Shortening the distance by 10 meters with each jump, he stopped 20 meters from the mansion and stood still in the air above it. Tiana, running after him asked:

"Won't we be exposed? If we are so close?"

"It's safe", Kazuma assured her.

At any rate, the opponent is the Tsuwabuki Family - a family of Chijutsushis. They don't have techniques for detecting things that aren't connected to the ground.

"Well then - "

Concentrating his consciousness, he searched for useful information. As long as the other party is in a place with air, there is nothing an Enjutsushi can't spy on. Whether it's a distance of 20 meters, obstacles such as roofs and walls, for them it's equal with zero. Setting apart useless information as noise and picking up only the necessary one.

The tuning was immediately over. A little grazed alto was reached Kazuma's ears. 

'' - you haven't captured it yet?''

''Yes - but we have perfectly caught hold of its presence and now it's only a matter of time.........''

''Not particularly. However splendid that is, The Grand Festival is tomorrow, do you understand?''

"A - Already...."

At the impossible to decipher conversation, Tiana looked slightly doubtful at Kazuma.

"What is The Grand Festival?"

Without answering, Kazuma closed his eyes partly. Feeling the temperature falling below freezing at once, Tiana backed off shivering.

"I see - " with an icy smile etched to his face, Kazuma murmured slightly. 

"It was this year, that thing?"

"Th - that thing?" too reckless Tiana asked a second time. But this time there was an answer. 

"I said it earlier, didn't I? About that evil sacrificing ceremony. It seems they do it at intervals of approximately 30 years, on the first full moon night of the new year. In short, tomorrow night."

"You're well informed, huh?"

"Because it's a famous ritual."

Kazuma spit out unpleasantly.

"These fellows, far from hiding the use of sacrificing, they take pride in it, instead."

"Hmm - So, there is some connection between that ceremony and the treasure they stole from the pixie village?"

"There must be. As far as the Tsuwabuki are concerned, the ceremony is more important than anything. Because the rite is so close, there's no way they have enough composure to be concerned with unrelated stuff - but I have no idea what they'll use it for."

"That cannot be allowed - "

Silencing Tiana, who started screaming, Kazuma restarted the reconnaissance, this time projecting visual information.

''Do hurry. I don' care about means. As the head's representative, you have permission to act freely.''

In one of the mansion's rooms, a woman ordered the group of men. Kazuma focused on that woman.

'''dark''' - more than anything, that was the impression she made. The hair was oddly long. Darker than darkness itself, that straight glossy hair was falling like a waterfall as far as her knees. A black suit. It seemed a long straight skirt was coiling around her legs, but a deep slit on its left revealed almost all her thigh. 

She was approximately in the later half of her twenties. Although amazingly beautiful, she was so bewitching she didn't seem human. From a distance she was a sight for sore eyes, and yet the type you didn't want to get to know. She seemed to be younger than the men surrounding her but there wasn't a single person appearing to look down on her. 

All their foreheads were sweating, imploring the woman in a good mood.

''If it seems we won't make it in time, we have no choice but to call Mayumi back.''

''......!!''

At those matter of course words, the men were vehemently disturbed. 

''Kureha-sama, that would be against the Head's intention - ''

''Silence!''

That woman everyone called Kureha raised her head triumphantly. 

''Now that my father is sick, I am the one ruling over Tsuwabuki. Do you complain?''    

''N - no.........we wouldn't......''

Aiming a cynical smile at the overpowered, drained in cold sweat men, Kazuma whistles frivolously. 

"Scary woman."

But that face suddenly became stiff. Kureha suddenly looked at the ceiling. 

"........Ah? Oi, you don't say......"

That severe glance pierced the ceiling, directly grasping him. Although understanding it, that impossible fact halted his thought process. A lethal space was born.

''who?''

Simultaneously shouting for Kazuma's identity, his body was rapidly drawn to the surface. 

"W - wait a second! What the heck is this?"

There's no way his wind was stopped. With a force by far surpassing the dynamic lift the wind produced, something dragged Kazuma to the ground. 

''What on earth is this!? But first, how did she noticed? Did she changed the dust in the atmosphere in a radar or something?''

While Kazuma was confused, Kureha briskly gave direction to those men. 

"There's a trespasser in the sky. I'll drop him off here so counter attack! "

"......Y-yes!", the men nodded obediently. 

Although not understanding, it seems they put all their trust in Kureha's power. The eyes looking up at the ceiling held not a speck of doubt, storing power, preparing the one finishing blow for the intruder who will fall. 

''This is pretty bad, huh?'', Kazuma whispered at his wit's end while falling. 

This was not far from a crisis. Since he doesn't know by what kind of ability he is dragged down, it's impossible to resist. He tried to ease up the speed of the fall with wind, but it had almost no effect.

As if his body's weight was increased ten, no more then a hundred times.

''.....that's it!''

Kazuma swung downward a wind blade. Just because of that one stroke the field of that invisible power was cut cross-section-ally while the back-lash eased up the speed of the fall. But it was already too late - 

'''Gonn! Gogann!''' 

Smashing down the roof and the ceiling, Kazuma fell into the Tsuwabuki residence. Of course, the wind was doing the smashing, it's not like his life was in danger, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Don't underestimate us!"

Barely managing to land, he used wind to counterbalance the Chijutsushi's attack coming from every direction. If they were to include one more blow, he would have obliterated everyone here. 

"Fugyaaaa!"

But, Tiana's existence, falling on his head at that precise time turned away the chance to attack. 

".............."

Without saying anything, Kazuma gripped the fairy from the top of his head and threw it onto the ground.

"Auuuuuuuu~"

"Good grief - "

After looking down on the groaning fairy very annoyed, he turned his eyes to the surroundings.

Because that attack supposed to deliver a certain kill was brushed off, the Chijutsushi peeled their eyes in fright. But, that wasn't all.

"F - fairy......?"

The man's eyes looked intensely at Tiana. Not the questioning look asking why the fairy is here. 

Disturbance and surprise - a face that knows more than enough. Seeing that, Kazuma raised his lips. Kicking up a scattered-on-the-floor Tiana and sizing it, he shouted clearly:

"You people, who devastated the fairy village! Know that the sins of blockheads like you will never be forgiven! We won't let you use our treasure for your wicked ceremony. Know that tomorrow evening is the time this family will be ruined!"

Together with that bombastic pronouncement they escaped through the hole opened in the ceiling. Before the dumbfounded, completely played Chijutsushi calmed down, Kazuma's figure disappeared beyond the sea of trees.


   
"What was that at the end?"

Putting a 10 minutes distance from Tsuwabuki, properly sitting down on tree branches, Tiana asked with a stunned expression. Kazuma answered with a smile:

"A confirmation tentative and the last one, well, I just went with the flow. There's no meaning behind it."

The fairy's existence and Kazuma's words clearly disturbed them. But more then that, the positive proof that the Tsuwabuki family stole the fairy's treasure was obtained. 

"Hmmm - So, what will you do next?"

"I'll wait", Kazuma replied simply.

"Only that?"

"From the conversation earlier, it seemed they grasped the treasure's whereabouts. They said they would search for it. There's no need for me to work, right?"

"............."

Without taking action, stealing the opponent's result - even if Tiana thought that was an absolute makeshift method, she kept her silence and her wisdom. One way or another, it seemed she had at least a little learning ability. 

"Ku ku ku"

Thinking of something, Kazuma revealed an exceedingly enjoyable chuckle. 

"If I keep hidden the fact that the secret treasure has been returned I'd be able to do what I wanted. Taking the moral high ground so to speak. I'll ask nicely so don't return it without a fight, alright?"

"Ku ku ku ku - "

Exactly as stated a while ago, he appears to plan the complete destruction of the Tsuwabuki. That the drifting smell of blood will be filling that dangerous, limitless laughter, Tiana was scared from the marrow of her bones.

''Why? Why!?''     

While frantically plugging her ears, for the first time in her life, she complained to the King of the Wind Spirits. 

''Why did You make this kind of man Your Contractor!? That was absolutely, absolutely a mistake!''

Whether the fairy's bitter soul scream reached the King of the Wind Spirits or not, only the spirit king knew.
 
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