Shakugan no Shana: Life of the Sakai family!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana

Warning: I am still studying so please forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake

Warning: Since something had happened, the software I am now using don't have grammar checker so please forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake

Chapter 5

What are Flame Haze and Crimson Denizen?

'Rebecca Reed, a troublemaker in the end. Death by Ribbons'

I put down the flowers onto the grave stone with my friend, Yuris, beside me. Even though he was trying to put up a tough face, it was plain obvious that his eyes were red. I gave one more minute before he finally broke down.

"Amen. I hope you can rest in peace, dear Master."

"Amen. It has be-been two years. I pray that you m-may find happiness in heaven."

Both of us clamped our hands together and prayed. That was right. Two years has passed since the death of my master, Rebecca. Even though she was a troublemaker, I respected her as my greatest master ever. I remembered the oath I made two years ago during her funeral. It was a goal that I will definitely achieve in honour of my master. That's right, I-

"I am going to become the trouble master!"

I repeated the vow before my master's grave. A cooling wind blew and caressed me. No doubt about it, my master was telling me to move on from her death and concentrated on becoming a trouble master. I turned away from the grave. It was enough. Two years have passed. It was time for me to move on.

And then I came face to face with Rebecca Reed.

Because of height difference, master has squatted to our level. Her hands came down like hammers onto our heads', holding it firmly without the intention of letting us go. She bid us a saint-like smile that chilled our hearts.

"Justus. Yuris."

"Yes, Rebecca Baa-san?" "Yes, Master?"

If having the mouth shaped like a 'V' meant smiling, we gave our biggest smiles at my master.

My master smiled back. The warmth of her hands on our hands made us felt as if we were at heaven.

Or rather, we were going to heaven.

"I TOLD YOU TWO TO GET RID OF THAT GRAVE!"

""NO! DON'T-""

Bang!

My last consciousness was the intense pain at the side of our forehead smashing towards each other's. I could only hear the halted sound of Yuris' breathing and the sound of the destroyed grave stone before I faded from consciousness.

"Seriously. Just because mom and dad aren't around does not mean that you can fool around. I don't have that much time to spare to nurse both of you."

"Oh come on…relax a little…Saya…"

"Call me Nee-san!"

"It hurts!"

I woke up to Yuris' moan from getting his wound slapped by her twin. Judging from the ceiling above me, I would conclude that I was in Yuris and Saya's room after being knocked out by my master. I have already became familiar with this ceiling after being sent here for the…let's see….256th times? I couldn't really remember the exact amount of times but it should be about there.

"Have you finally woken up, Justus."

"…Call me Onii-chan like you used to."

" .CHAN~!"

Punch!

"IT HURTS!"

After tricking me with her cuteness, her fist came in when my guard was down and punched my wound. I clutched my head in pain while Saya turned away to look at Yuris and sighed.

"Mom and dad were already out for two days and both of you were already making troubles…At least study or train a bit, won't you? All these fooling around won't get you anywhere."

"Don't be such a nerd, Saya. You should learn to have more fun."

"I don't want to hear that from a prankster who only knows how to have fun. And one more thing-"

"Huh? Wow!"

I quickly jumped out of the bed before Saya's hand chop reached me. I landed perfectly on the ground and laughed.

"Ha! A move by a nerd is predict-"

Bang!

"…-table... ... ... Remorse….*dies*"

"Justus died! You are not human!"

Yuris shouted at the sight of Saya launching a kick that blew me towards the cupboard. If I did not stop and boasted, I was sure that I could have avoided that kick…

Saya stared at both of us and sighed.

"Yuris, I don't know what reference was it from but stop it. Justus, never call me a nerd, understand?"

"Yes, madam…"

I said my last words and fell down. Saya sighed before heading towards the door.

And I stood up again.

"You sure recover fast don't you, Justus."

Yuris complimented me as he also started to get out of his bed. Saya turned around and looked at us. Without a doubt, she was annoyed that we were in perfect- well the wound still hurts but we were in perfect condition.

"I am going to have my training with samurai Jii-san. I would be really troubled if you two started to make another ruckus again."

Saya said, her tone clearly annoyed at our behaviour. Even though Yuris might be afraid of his sister, as the eldest of all, I could not give in to such stupid thing called training!

"In the first place, you can't even hold a shinai with those small arms of yours. How do you train with Samurai Jii-san without a shinai."

I challenged Saya. However Saya unexpected smirked and said.

"How about you two see how I train?"

"…Saya is quite amazing, isn't she?"

Yuris commented in admiration of his twin who was skilfully dodging the blows by Samurai Jii-san. Even though those were simple and blows, how Saya elegantly slipped past those blows was what captivated both of us.

"…Even I can dodge those simple slashes…"

No, in contrast of what I said, I utterly do not believe that I could have dodged every single one of those blows continuously for half an hour. Those two have been going at it for half an hour and Saya was barely patting.

At this rate, Saya might really surpass me without me knowing…

No! I am the eldest! This is not acceptable!

"Saya! Time out!"

I called out from the side. Upon hearing my voice, Samurai Jii-san and Saya paused. I approached them with Yuris after me and asked.

"Saya, why are you training so hard? Why are you so obsessed with getting stronger?"

I asked this question that has been lingering in my mind when I was watching Saya training with Samurai Jii-san. Saya looked at me, then at Samurai Jii-san and answered.

"I want to become a Flame Haze like my mother."

"You want to become a Flame Haze…?"

I muttered and tried to reflect on Saya's answers.

Flame Hazes, from what I know they are emotionally unstable human who made a contract with a Crimson Lord to fulfil their madness. Some prefect examples are my master who always cause troubles to everyone and abuses her destructive powers to destroy everything and the other is Wilhelmina who always locks me up in my room to 'reflect'. Aside from those two, the others like the male Flame Hazes who ran away because of trauma of food and other female Flame Hazes that supported Rebecca's campaign of dangerous cooking do not prove to be sane too. The only one Flame Haze that I knew to be sane would be Aunt Shana who was sane enough to stop being a Flame Haze.

*chop*

"Ouch! What did you do that for!?"

"I bet you are thinking about stupid stuff. Listen, Flame Haze is someone who protects the balance of the world. Basically they are like protectors of the world!"

Saya explained with her chest held high. I snickered and asked.

"Does that mean a person like Master Rebecca is a protector of the world?"

"… …"

Ha! I got her! That awkward face of hers is priceless!

"Are Flame Hazes really protectors of the world?"

A question caught Saya and I off-guard. Even the silent Samurai Jii-san seemed to taken a reaction towards Yuris' question. The three of us turned towards Yuris with questioning eyes.

"People like Rebecca Baa-san or even Aunt Wilhelmina do not seem to care about the world. With the exception of dad, who is not a Flame Haze, nobody around us seemed to care about the world at all."

"""… …"""

…Yuris, he may be a quiet boy that looks like he has nothing special about him, he can be surprisingly smart and mature to question about such stuff. Although I hate to admit it, the smartest person will not be the one who studies like Saya, it will also not be the eldest one like me.

The smartest among us would undoubtedly be Yuris. He may not seem special in the eyes of other people but I know that for certain, Yuris is not an average kid.

"… …God…"

"""!?"""

This time it was the three of us to be surprised. Samurai Jii-san actually spoke. With his deep voice with his fearful but cool mask on his face, he said.

"…God of Atonement…He will tell you what is Flame Haze…"

Samurai Jii-san then started to walk towards Caina where Alastor Jii-san was. The three of us glanced at each other before we followed after him.

"We have come, God of Atonement, Alastor."

"Tenmoku Ikko? This is rare. What brings you to find me?"

We arrived into the chamber in tow with Samurai Jii-san. There in the centre was a flame that never ceased to fade. He is God of Atonement, Alastor, the Crimson God who was Aunt Shana's contractor until she became smart enough to null her contract with him.

Samurai Jii-san then began to sit down in a dignified manner in Japanese style before Alastor Jii-san. Samurai Jii-san's posture looked noble and dignified that the three of us unconsciously imitated him and sat beside him. After we settled down, Samurai Jii-san continued.

"The children want to know what is Flame Haze."

We looked up in anticipation at Alastor. A moment of silent passed before Alastor finally replied.

"The one who asked this question is Saya?"

"Saya-kun knows that they are protectors of the balance of the world. However Yuris-kun questioned it. God of Atonement, Alastor, I believe it is proper that you answer these children what Flame Haze truly is."

"… …"

Alastor fell silent as if making a decision to answer Samurai Jii-san. Then I could feel the gaze of the fire on me before it moved to Yuris and Saya. A moment of hesitation later, Alastor gave in and answered.

"Flame Hazes are the ones who protect the balance of the world. This part Saya is not wrong, this is also one of the reason why about a thousand of Flame Hazes have travelled to Xanadu to ensure that balance of this world." Alastor said. Saya has a triumph look before it was interrupted by Alastor again. "However Yuris is not wrong to question about Flame Haze being protectors of the balance of the world. Saya, Yuris, Justus, do you know what is required to become a Flame Haze?"

"Isn't it training and preparation? Mom said that the reason that you made a contract with her was because she has trained enough to be a Flame Haze."

Saya answered. Alastor waited, confirmed that Yuris and I do not have an answer of our own and replied.

"Your mother was an exception. She was a child that Manipulator of Objects , Rainbow Wings and I adopted to become a Flame Haze in the future. She was the only human that trained with the goal of becoming a Flame Haze that protects the balance of the world when she was young. Other Flame Hazes, however, have different cases than your mother."

"Different cases? You mean there are other ways to become a Flame Haze?"

I asked when my idea of Flame Haze started to collapse. To me, Flame Hazes are just like what Saya believed, protectors of the world's balance. I believed that even a troublemaker like my master would be a protector for the balance of the world.

Alastor hesitated, Yuris was the one that answered in his place.

"It's not that there are other ways to become a Flame Haze but other humans have other reasons to become Flame Hazes, isn't it, Alastor Jii-san?"

"Well answered, Yuris-kun. How did you arrive to this answer?"

Sitting beside Yuris, Samurai Jii-san patted Yuris' head and complimented him. Yuris smiled like a child but replied a mature answer.

"It's simple. I am pretty sure that most people do not wish to become something as absurd as protectors of the world-"

"Hey!"

"-Not for adults anyway." Yuris shrugged Saya away. "In fact, I do not believe that any of the Flame Haze in this world wishes for world's balance at all. Rebecca Baa-san seems like someone who likes the world in chaos and Aunt Wilhelmina seems to prefer not to have anything to do with the world at all."

Yuris smirked at his twin who was fuming at his answer. Oh boy, there is going to be a pillow fight tonight. I do not know about them but I need my decent sleep and a loud pillow fight next door is not helping.

"Yuris is correct. The truth is that other humans have never heard of us crimson denizens until we make contact with them and offer a contract to become Flame Haze for power. These contractors are commonly people who have lost something precious and wish for power for vengeance. Crimson Denizens then granted them that power in exchange that they hunt down Crimson Denizens that are disturbing the balance of the world."

"Crimson Denizens…they are hunted down by Flame Hazes?"

I asked while shifting uncomfortably in my seat. I wondered why I felt so unease when I heard the phase 'hunt down Crimson Denizens'…

"In the original human world where everyone here came from, Crimson Denizens were required to consume humans to survive. To prevent too much human from being consumed and cause a disturbance in the balance of the power in the world, Crimson Lords from the Crimson Realm made contract with humans to hunt down Crimson Denizen that went out of control. To summarise, basically Flame Hazes are hunters employed by Crimson Lords to hunt down Crimson Denizens. But now in Xanadu, the world that you live in, the world is at peace because the Crimson Denizens no longer need to consume humans to remain in this world. They are also unable to consume humans due to a rule that is applied to this world during its making. Now Sakai Yuji, your father, is doing his best to get the Crimson Denizens to stop hiding and open up to the human society."

Alastor Jii-san ended his explanation like a grandfather closing the storybook that he was telling to his grandchildren. Even though Alastor Jii-san has felt silent, the rest of us did not make an attempt to move, we were too preoccupied in taking in knowledge that was probably too much for our age.

"Samurai Jii-san?"

Saya called after Samurai Jii-san when he rose from his seat and was preparing to leave the chamber. At first I thought he was just going to walk back to his personal resting place in the middle of the field, however he paused in his steps. Without turning around, his deep voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"Flame Haired Burning Eyed Hunter was strong when she received Nietono no Shana. However she was stronger when she has decided to put Nietono no Shana down."

With those words, Samurai Jii-san left the chamber. I was still trying to comprehend his words when Saya suddenly stood up and ran after him.

"Oi Saya! Wai-"

Someone grabbed me from behind, holding me asking what happened to Saya suddenly. Yuris stood beside me and said.

"Let her go, Justus. She has found her answer."

"Answer? What do you mean by that? You understand what Samurai Jii-san meant?"

Yuris released me and followed after me as we walked out of the chamber. Yuris shrugged and replied.

"Who knows, I can only understand what it says on the tin. Only Saya can understand the real meaning. Samurai Jii-san said it only for her to understand after all." Yuris said. "After hearing about the Flame Haze, I do not think that I am interested in being one. How about you, have you decided anything from listening to Alastor just now?"

"…Who knows?" I pushed away the hesitations in my mind and answered. "I am not like Saya who is so passionate about something. For now let's forget about her and lay some traps for Wilhelmina before she came back from groceries. This time I am going to aim for a four trap combo that can make Wilhelmina speechless!"

I declared with a big mischievous smile. Yuris saw that my liveliness was back and smiled. For now, stuffs like Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens can wait until I grow up. Now, it is time for me to train and become the trouble master!

"Unfortunately, what is going to happen is that you will be locked in your room until you finish your homework from school, Justus."

I do not even need to turn over to know whose voice was it. My caretaker's shadow towered over me, I felt as if I could be consumed by this darkness any moment.

"… …"

"Ha…ha…ha…Have fun, Justus! I am going to watch Saya train!"

"Yuris, you traitor!" I tried to run after Yuris but Wilhelmina caught me back the collar of my shirt. With inhuman strength, she picked me up by the collar and walked me back to my 'prison'.

"You are not going anywhere until you finish that homework, Justus."

"And two hours of revision of Friday's lesson."

"No! This is not supposed to end like this! I am supposed to be the trouble master!"

"Another of that trouble master crap and I will make it three hours of revision for you!"

"You are not human!"

"I am a Flame Haze -de arimasu."

With that, my cries went ignored as I was imprisoned back in my room again. I sighed looking at the pile of homework that I have from the school I am attending from the human city nearby. Wilhelmina gave me a strict warning before she left to prepare dinner. Of course, she increased the defence as she locked the doors and windows with different locks from before and put different kinds of restricted spells to lock the door before she left.

I looked at the homework and sighed again.

But then I looked at the door, the locks and the signs of restricted spells looked so interesting…

One hour later… …

"JJJJJJUUUUUUSSSSSSTTTTTTTTUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

A/N: Yo! It's me again! Miss me!? It has been almost a year since I update this story. This chapter may not be as funny as the others but it helped me to build some characters for the three children. I won't promise when is the next time I will update this story but rest assured this story is in my 'active' list. (Though there's no specific date when to update it)

Please read and review~!