Disclaimer: Shakugan no Shana does not belong to me. I'm just a big fan of the franchise and some of its characters.

Notes: Trial work - this is the first time I've ever written anything SnS, and I've been out of touch with SnS until recently, so pardon if the flavor's not up to taste.

A melon pan-like story about one of my most favorite couples ever – crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. A rekindled passion for the series and the desire to write something a tad different from what I usually do conceived this. Spoilers from all three seasons plus S ahead. Wanted to make a post-Final fic, but the amount of characters I needed to come up with to replace the usual ones was too much for a one-shot, so instead, I went for the more workable concept, in short a Second fic. Based on the group study episode. Rated T because kids have no business reading adult mags.

Dedicated as a holiday present for a really good friend of mine who's a big part of why I decided to evolve from my roots and be on this writing venture in the first place, even though she doesn't really celebrate the occasion. If you're reading this, you know who you are and Happy Holidays. Wishing you the best, always.

For the Mystes who had taken the place of the "real" Yuji Sakai, the Flame Haze commonly known as Shana has always been a paragon of reason. Unless she's pissed off and he ends up on the wrong end of her fists and kicks, that is. Like the fire she could bend with her will, her mood can easily turn into a blind monster that, at times, can only be tamed once it loses steam. What's worse is, he couldn't really tell what's bugging her most of the time, and if he dares asking, the least she'd do would be to scowl at him, and they'd end up arguing until one of them gives up, usually him. He knew she had some issues with Kazumi Yoshida, whatever that issue is, but if that wasn't bad enough, then comes Fumina Konoe, the clumsy transferee who suspiciously resembles the Master Throne, Hecate (they would later find out why) who seemingly drove the wedge between them. After the bombshell of a surprise exam that was dropped on their class, Shana finally accepted Yuji's apology for whatever it is that may have angered her to the point of ignoring him almost completely, but still, Yuji was left worrying about what he'd do if it happened again. His best friend, Hayato Ike, once told him that he should be mindful of the things around him, but no matter how hard he looked at Shana, he just couldn't pinpoint where her buttons are. If only women were as easy to read as a book or something.

Ironically enough, the first Friday after the exams, Keisaku Satou asked Yuji to help clean up his house. Naturally, he accepted. But it wasn't until they arrived at his unlikely friend's cozy home when he realized, when it's already too late to back out, that his arm got twisted into finding all of Keisaku's adult magazines and hiding it for him. "Margery-san doesn't like seeing them lying around everywhere. You know, just one of those times when she wakes up with a heck of a hangover and suddenly, she doesn't like things," Keisaku explained, enthralling him with the tragic fate of one issue that fell into the bespectacled Flame Haze's hands the previous night and appealing to his conscience altogether. Automatically, Yuji asked why he's asking him instead of Tanaka, but he just said his buddy's walking Ogata home from her afternoon practice, so they should just leave them be.

At about six in the evening that day, Yuji found himself in possession of Satou's collection, a cardboard box containing no less than thirty issues of various publications, both local and foreign, mostly the former. Margery was out drinking that time, so they easily got them secured inside the unmarked carton. Yuji didn't bother asking how he amassed that much. However, he did enlighten his classmate about the worst case scenario, but the only response he received was "its not like "she's" checking your room out everyday, now is she... Come on, its only until things cool down here, maybe about a week". If only Margery's agent knew...

Yuji's insistent reluctance brought to light another issue. "You've never read one have you," Keisaku quizzed while seeing him off their front gate.

"N-no..."

"No kidding? Oh well... I guess that's not weird, coming from you or maybe Ike. You two are probably the only ones who don't own at least one copy."

Yuji simply looked down the box, ashamed of his own ignorance with the sort.

"...Fine, I get it. You can read them as much as you like 'til things cool down here."

"EEEEHH?! B-b-but-"

"Trust me when I say those are the best books ever written. I learned everything I needed to know through them, and I'm sure you'd pick a thing or two up as well, especially about girls." Yuji could only nod to that as beads of sweat drip down his temple, still worried about the prospect of his mother stumbling upon them while he's at school, or worse, the ill-tempered, fire-manipulating Flame Haze he's always with, the girl who would later go as far as beating the tar out of him just so the two of them could share the most powerful unrestricted spell there is for all eternity. Saying that she'll get mad would be a big, big understatement. That is, as Satou stressed earlier, if she finds out.

Somehow, Yuji managed to get home safe from the misfortune of untimely encounters. On the way to his room, his mom innocently asked him what was inside the box he was carrying, and he said they were old reference materials he borrowed from a classmate. The follow-up question was, of course, if said classmate's Ike, and he said no. He was off the hook after that. Fortunately, he didn't have to answer to a second, more inquisitive female that day; Shana said she had things to take care of outside Misaki in the evening, which explains why he was able to attend to Satou's request to begin with. That being said, he didn't have to worry about training tonight.

After dinner, he found himself stuck idly in his bed, bored out of his wit with no homework nor training to immerse himself with. Nights like this have been extremely rare since the day he found out he was long dead, and it sure felt liberating to finally have some time for himself again. At the same time, he missed Shana's company, secretly wishing that she too could have more of this privilege. But for now, all he wanted to do was make the most out of this temporal peace, well aware that one day, he has to leave all of this behind to seek the grander purpose that justifies having one of the most precious Hougus ever created. And that is where Satou's earlier suggestion comes in.

"No, I mustn't," he repeated over and over, trying to fortify his will with every utterance. The only reason they're with him is because he's helping out a friend in need. He didn't exactly borrow them, which means that he has no business going through them. However, a battle between temptation and boredom is like a battle between Shana and himself – lopsided for the most part. "...Maybe I should do an inventory," he told himself, following a resigning sigh. He tried to call Satou first for a status update, but before they could begin to discuss things, a drunk and violent Margery yanked the phone from Satou and ordered food and more booze, apparently still under the impression that she's still at the pub bossing a waiter around, forcing him to drop the line and retreat. Realizing how dire the situation is and that he could no longer turn back, Yuji got off the bed, locked his door and window and drew his curtains close before finally pulling the stash underneath his bed.

"Calm down. It's just gonna be like arranging books at the library. You're not doing anything wrong," he told himself, noticing just how sweaty his palms have become minutes into it and how they shake nervously as he laid the issues out in his bed. But the more he tried to keep himself composed, the more he struggled to do so, like opposing a huge tide. Stacking ten issues chronologically took him no less than an hour, most of it wasted on a futile effort of laying unostentatious book shells over those racy covers and looking over his shoulder towards the window. At one point his heart almost skipped a beat when a sudden thud rocked the roof above him. The subsequent purr of a stray cat brought a message of relief a second later, just as he was beginning to consider hiding underneath the bed. "That's it. I give up," Yuji said as he sank on the floor, promising himself that as soon as he's done putting all of them back inside the box, regardless of the order, he would not dare touch them again. The tension's just too much for him.

As he was gathering the magazines from the mattress, however, a yellow caption unexpectedly caught Yuji's eye. "How to control a woman's temper – Defuse combustible situations easily", printed beside the thigh of a model in a plunging one-piece swimsuit bending forward. He actually passed it at first, but upon the second glance he picked up the issue, his curiosity undoubtedly piqued. After his last heated debate with Shana about having to care for the transferee, Fumina Konoe, he figured this would come in handy. Immediately.

There are times when he wanted to give his father a call and ask for advice whenever he and Shana argue for reasons he doesn't get, but neither him nor his mother know which country he's now at, and conflicting timezones make it seem more a hassle than what its worth. Alastor, on the other hand, probably wouldn't have much of a clue to give even if he was around his neck. That leaves him with nobody to turn to, except the unlikely reference material in his hands. "Hmmm... I guess it wouldn't hurt to see what this is about," he decided, flipping through the pages and straight to the article. He spent the rest of the night reading through that, and other articles about dealing with the opposite sex featured in the other issues, his word still intact since he never really got to finish putting them away.

Yuji sleeks over a yawn as he chaperons Konoe to school. He was still reading past the Reiji Maigo's recharge time, and was asleep during his training hours; he didn't have one scheduled in the morning either. After last night, his perception of adult magazines have improved. Satou had been right all along; he learned more about women in the last eight hours than he did the last eight years. Surprisingly, he didn't feel as guilty as he thought he'd be, perhaps attributed by the fact that he was more interested in the articles than the photos. He wouldn't deny staring at a couple of them for a minute or two though, but that's it. All he was really after was the wisdom that he certainly needed. Things like how to control a woman's temper or how to set up an enjoyable but affordable date. Nothing wrong about that. If anything, it actually helped him build some confidence, especially when interacting with girls.

That confidence, however, was short-lived, crumbling at the first sight of Shana since he told her he was helping Satou out yesterday. Asked for her permission, to put it more bluntly.

There she was, standing by the school's gate, her childish form unable to conceal her spine-tingling aura as she awaits for Yuji's arrival. "Gotta act normal, gotta act normal" he thought as his feet shuffled tardily towards her, barely making it in time for the bell. "You were slacking off last night," Shana greeted, looking at him with half-lidded, piercing eyes.

"Huh? W-what do you mean?" he asked back, scratching his temple with his index finger, trying not to look straight at her currently-sepia orbs. Maybe he overdid his ruse a little.

"...Its written all over your face...," she murmured before starting for the class, walking ahead of him like usual, trying her best not to give away any hints of her spending most of last night reading cookbooks that Wilhelmina brought in the other day (she found them lying about yesterday morning), and that she actually went over to his room earlier in the usual time, but he was so sound asleep, she couldn't bring herself to wake him up for training at least for today. Lucky for him, Yuji didn't forget to hide the crate inside the fusuma before he fell asleep, the one that gave out on him not too long ago.

It was during lunch time when Shana's suspicions finally started to burgeon, particularly when Satou cut ahead of her and invited Yuji to have lunch with him and Tanaka up the roof. Yuji couldn't say no, not after Satou handed him a convenience store-bought bento as thanks for yesterday's favor. Neither Shana nor Yoshida could give him their bentos after that, and were forced to watch him leave with the guys.

"Its okay. We shouldn't stop him if he wants to hang out with them," Yoshida told her rival before she could make any effort to get Yuji's attention back, unwittingly trying to sound the more understanding one between the two of them.

"Come to think of it, Satou said something like that too during our group study. But what could that be about? They've been keeping to themselves a lot lately," chimes in Ike, obviously feeling left out.

"Well, if those two are involved, I'm sure they're up to no good," Ogata answered with certainty. "But since Sakai-kun's gone, I guess its up to us to look after her today. The group's attention was drawn towards Konoe, who had been eating her riceball lethargically all the while, completely detached from the chatter, or everything else for that matter. Shana said nothing as well and just took a seat adjacent to her other nemesis, but her silence was definitely more meaningful and her irritation, as palpable as the noon heat. She knew something was up, but as a Flame Haze, she knew better than to jump into conclusions, at least not without enough evidence to support her argument.

"Say, Chigusa-san," Shana began, her eyes trailing after the woman's practiced hands as they alternate fluidly between procedures in preparation of tonight's dinner. She went to Yuji's house right after class. "Was Yuji acting weird yesterday?"

"Hmm... I don't think so," kindly answered Yuji's mother, not missing a beat from her chores even when she pondered about the question for a few seconds. "Why? Did something happen at school today?"

"Nope. Nothing in particular..."

"Oh, that reminds me. Yu-chan brought a box home yesterday, said it contained some books he borrowed from one of your classmates."

Shana was irked by this, certain that Yuji said he was going to help Satou clean up that lavish home of his yesterday and not Ike, who would be likelier to lend him enough books to fill a box. It is absurd to think he's going to lie in that situation. But if he really told her the truth, what kind of books could he possibly borrow from one Keisaku Satou, who gave up studying for the exams fifteen minutes into her tutoring the other night, even though she tried explaining everything in the simplest way she could? Thanks to that, she had to spend about a full hour just watching Konoe have a great time listening to Yuji's lecture, enjoy what's supposed to be hers alone. But wait. Wasn't he reading something that time? She couldn't exactly remember what kind of publication it was for she paid little heed to Margery's errand boy after he quit, but she was sure it wasn't something Yuji could learn from. If anything, it will only add to his distractions. "Is the box still in his room?" Shana asked.

"I didn't see the box when I went to sweep his room this afternoon, but I'm sure its still there. Maybe he kept it in his closet." Shana was about to ask for permission to inspect Yuji's room, but Chigusa, already a few notches ahead of her, simply bids her a knowing smile.

Meanwhile, after escorting Konoe to her place, Yuji embarked on a stroll at the shopping plaza - the same plaza where it all started for him, to unwind a little before he made his way back home. He felt bad turning down the girls' bentos earlier by leaving before they could even give it to him, especially since they've just ceased the awkward treatment a few days ago. But he didn't want to be rude to Satou either, who went out of his way to get him a pork cutlet bento as thanks for yesterday. Of course he knew Satou was only trying to create an opportunity for them to talk about the stash during lunch or, as luck would have it, hand over an issue that was left behind yesterday, apparently mixed up with some other magazines in the lounge. For Yuji, it was just a matter of nurturing his other connections. And it sure felt great when the tandem often dubbed as delinquents praised him for "manning up" when he admitted reading some of the articles, particularly the "combustible situation" one, which cracked up the two of them for reasons that only reminded him of what he's hoping to avoid: the worst-case scenario.

Still, he worried about how to explain things to his mother in case she happens on them while, say, sweeping his room or bringing in washed clothes, and by now, she's probably done with both chores and is making dinner, or worse, telling Shana about it. While it is pretty normal for guys his age to have magazines like such hidden beneath mattresses and other, more conventional books, it'd be weird if she finds them and assumes that he's been spending his lunch money on them behind her back. In the end, he couldn't avoid thinking of those volumes of bounded glossy paper as another ominous cross he has to bear, not as severe as the Reiji Maigo, but a cross nonetheless, which is half the reason he couldn't enjoy those racy shots the way Satou and Tanaka do; the other half? Perhaps they just weren't his cup of tea.

After dithering for about an hour and a half, he decided to just go ahead and own up slowly to his mom as soon as he gets home to avoid unnecessary fuss. Sure, it is gonna be embarrassing, not to mention a very demeaning thing to do on his part, but he'd pick that over getting beaten up again by her sentient iron gauntlet any day. His mother being very open-minded about things is quite reassuring too.

But as he reached his house's yard, Yuji noticed that his room was lit. Not a good sign, he thought, suddenly working up some sweat from his temples down. Gulping nervously, he gently slid the door open, uttering a lackluster "tadaima" as he crept in. There was no sign of his mom, Shana nor dinner on the receiving area and the kitchen, but the lights were on as well and a couple of utensils were left in the sink. He couldn't sense any imminent threats nearby either. Conceding to the idea that she's in his room, Yuji sighed glumly before heading there, taking his time the way a student would upon the summons of the principal, rehearsing what he intended to say to her. "Mom?" he called out humbly as he stopped face to face with his door, but there was no answer. He would realize a couple of seconds later, as soon as he opened his door, that the reason she didn't answer was because it wasn't her who had been waiting behind the door all along, but rather, it's the grim reaper he had christened "Shana", pouting as she looks right through him, her arms folded like she's trying to keep them from flailing about. Yuji immediately understood that this was his karma – the worst case scenario happening in the worst possible way.

Judging from her firm stance and his room's condition, it is obvious that she ransacked his room earlier, and vented out soon after finding the box, now flopped open beneath her with the issues stacked sloppily as though they had been dumped without a morsel of finesse. His mother was nowhere to be found- she must've left Shana to straighten him out once she caught on with his apparent misconduct. "What's the meaning of this?" Shana finally asked bitingly, her face creased with agitated curiosity. For a second, he actually thought she was using a new ability she had developed just now to purposely make his blood boil out of tension.

"S-Shana- I-I can explain!" he exclaimed while waving his hands, trying to fan the flames while it's still small, figuratively-speaking at least for the moment.

"Then explain."

"W-well, y-you see... Y-yesterday, S-S-Satou asked me if I could hide them for a while until M-Margery-san's mood settles down. H-he said she got pissed off at him last night because of them, s-so... I-I never looked at the pictures, honest!"

"And you seriously expect to convince me with a pathetic fallacy like that," she scorned, followed by a meaningful sigh. "I can't believe that after all you've been through, you're just gonna let your arm be twisted by one of the Interpreter of Condolence's lackeys! Your will is still weak! Easily swayed by other people's advances!" The way she sounded, it almost felt like she still hasn't forgiven him completely about Konoe.

"C-calm down, will you..." Yuji clears his throat, trying his best to remember everything he learned about controlling a girl's temper that fateful night on short notice, his life literally depending on it. "I swear, everything I'm saying is true. I'm not gonna lie about something like this."

"But you already lied to Chigusa-san," Shana sharply stressed.

"Well... Telling her outright would've been very awkward. You understand that much, don't you?"

"No, I don't. Why would I want to understand something this gross?"

Sensing that trying to explain was getting him nowhere at record speed, Yuji moved on to making a compromise - something he learned from the write-up. "Believe me, this is all just a big misunderstanding. I promise, I'll return them first thing tomorrow," he said, touching her shoulders and looking her straight in the eye. It was nothing like what he had perused, which was much smoother and too proactive than what he was brave enough to do. His natural touch seemed to be working anyhow; he couldn't have gotten that close to her if it didn't. But just when she was finally submitting to Yuji's charms, Shana stole a coincidental glance to her left, where he unconsciously dropped his bag a moment ago. The bag's button clip accidentally opened itself upon impact, spilling some of the contents: a pencil that cracked its tip, an weathered eraser, a ballpoint pen, a pocket-sized notebook, and the most conspicuous of all that instantly caught the girl's scrutiny, the monthly Satou passed to him over lunch, an innocent-looking model that could very well be a high-school student adorning the cover, her well-endowed curves showcased in a white two-piece bikini. Her overall vibe reminded Shana of Kazumi Yoshida during their outing at the pool. "Oh, crap!" Yuji thought, cussing himself mentally for neglecting to hide it before going up. "S-S-Shana- T-t-that's-"

"Urusai, urusai, urusai! I don't want to hear any more of your excuses, stupid Yuji!" Her face now warped with smoldering fury, Shana breaks free from Yuji's grasp and punches his horribly vulnerable stomach. It only took one solid blow for him to black out, and considering how upset Shana was then, that was probably for the best.

The following morning, Yuji found himself sprawled flat on his face on the same spot where he lost consciousness. He seemed to have spent the rest of the night lying there. Neither Shana nor his mother spared him at least a blanket. He may have developed some resistance thanks to the rigorous exercise he's been getting lately, but he could still feel the effects of Shana's punch wrenching his torso muscles, painfully rousing him from his apparent slumber. The rest of his body was a complete mess, unaccustomed to sleeping on hard surfaces. "I better return the magazines to Satou, and then try to apologize to her," he mumbled while clutching his bruised abdomen.

As his senses begin to catch up with the rest of his messed-up body, he caught a whiff of smoke permeating from the inch-wide opening of his glass door, too strong to be someone grilling meat, too weak to be a burning house. There was no Fuzetsu active, so it was safe to assume its a normal occurrence. Sluggishly, he paced toward the porch to check it out, finding Shana standing in front of a barrel, intently watching a fire prosper from it, the smoke trailing up the clear Sunday sky. Rubbing his eyes, Yuji then noticed a cardboard box resting to her right, and upon recognizing which box it was a couple of seconds later, his body was jump-started by intense panic, realizing what Shana had just done. He called her attention out from where he stood, but his shrill cry didn't seem to distract her at all. With the hopes of salvaging anything from the box thinning with each passing second, Yuji hurried downstairs and into the yard, nearly tumbling down the steps with his frantic movements. "S-Shana-! W-what are you doing?!" he breathlessly asked upon finally reaching her.

"I'm burning trash. Isn't it obvious?" Shana replied unequivocally, her glistening eyes not moving away from the fire like she's paying tribute to it.

"B-but they're not trash!" he insisted.

"I've already read the contents last night, and they're all garbage. Biased fabrications meant only to satisfy the ego of its preferred audience in order to lure them into buying more without realizing that they're essentially the same. You don't need these in order to be a man." She took a heap of mutilated bits from the box and spread them towards the fire. From the looks of it, she must have hacked away with the Nietono no Shana first before turning them to ashes. As expected from an ideal Flame Haze, she made sure he couldn't do a thing about it even if he caught her in the middle of the incineration.

"You didn't have to cut them up...," he said, his face contorted with horror.

"They'll burn faster if cut into smaller pieces," she pointed out in return.

Yuji buries his face on his palm, realizing the futility of his arguments. "...What am I supposed to tell Satou now?"

"That's no longer my problem."

"B-but Shana-"

"Urusai, urusai, urusai! Its all your fault it came to this! So its your responsibility!"

Even the so-called God of Atonement wouldn't bail him out, saying "take this as a learning experience and press forward, Yuji Sakai" before his mother emerged from the house with the fire extinguisher. Concluding that explaining to deafened ears won't improve matters even for a bit, Yuji despondently went back inside for a quick bath and change, seriously hoping that Satou would be much, much more lenient once he breaks it to him. After all, he did tell him countless times the other day that this could happen, and now it has.

"Seriously? And here I thought I'd seen the worst of it." Keisaku throws himself down the couch, smirking wryly at Yuji, who had prostrated himself immediately after being allowed in, apologizing repeatedly. He told the whole story that way too.

Yuji tilts his head slightly, reluctantly like someone who just ducked a ball of fire flying toward him on reflex. "Y-you're not mad?"

"If we never met these Flame Hazes, I'm sure I would've wiped my floor with your face right about now, but since we did and after seeing with my own eyes what happened to the one Ane-san found, I get what you're going through. Guess I shouldn't have underestimated that Hirai. Anyways, you better get up now before I lose all my respect for you."

Hearing this, Yuji finally felt some reprieve, the chain of guilt wrapped around his neck since last night loosening a bit, just wide enough to let him breathe helplessly. "You don't know how thankful I am," he said, picking himself up to finally sit upright.

"Actually, I should be the the one thanking you. You saved me a lot of trouble getting rid of them..." replied Keisaku, much to the surprise of the still-troubled Yuji, who looked at him in askance. "Let's just say that after a day of not having them around, I realized I don't need them anymore." For a second, he shoots a melancholic glance at the blonde, full-figured woman curled up under a blanket on the other side of the couch all the while, hardly making her presence felt. "Don't get me wrong, okay? I didn't mean it like 'that'," he later added just to set it straight.

The Fang of Devastation Marchosias couldn't resist joining in on the conversation though, starting with a mocking laugh, apparently getting bored of being a pillow. "Looks like this old carouser still has some sex appeal going in to the 21st century!" The viridescent grimoire's mirth resumed after that, but was soon cut short by Margery's reflexive bonk. Keisaku curves up a faint smirk upon her reaction.

But as expected, Yuji missed the underlying message. "What do you mean?"

"Huh?" Keisaku cocks his head back at him, giving him an astonished stare. "I thought you of all people would get what I'm saying."

The then-Mystes rubs the top of his head, all the more dumbfounded. "I think I'm missing something here."

"Well, I'm not really good explaining this sort of thing either, so you're on your own with that. You can stick around if you think its not safe for you to go home yet. Meanwhile, I'll just go grab some grub and make some coffee. She should be waking up any minute now."

While Keisaku busied himself with the coffee and whatnot, Yuji took a gander around the room from where he sat. Seeing nothing peculiar, his eyes eventually homed towards the sleeping Margery, who has become a fixture in the couch. "Did she threaten him or something?" he thought, kicking off a series of speculative questions why his classmate said those things a moment ago. "Or did she do something far worse to the one copy she got her hands on than what Shana did to the rest? Or maybe-"

"I don't really mind being stared at, but you make me feel very uncomfortable when you do," Margery suddenly spoke, her posture unchanged and her tone suggesting that she was only speaking under drunken stupor, yet there was a hint of certainty in her tone that would make someone think she had feigned sleep all along.

The idea of that gave Yuji the willies. "Oh- I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to," he promptly apologized.

"...What the hell are you doing here anyway?" The Interpreter of Condolence asked bluntly.

"W-well, you see-"

"Spare me the nonsense will you? I've heard enough from you boys already." Yuji fell silent for a moment, embarrassed. As if taking it as a cue, Margery kept on, still cranky, it seems. "... Bet you did something dumb... And you're too wishy-washy to smooth things out with the midget... Not that I care about what you two do in your down time..."

The forlorn Mystes casts his eyes down the empty surface of the desk. "You're right. But I don't think she'd listen to me even if I tried explaining the situation over and over."

"There... That's your problem... You give her waaaay too much credit..."

"Huh? W-what do you mean?"

"...She's still a girl, you know... Annoying at that... If words don't work... Try... Something else..."

"I-I don't understand. Can you explain it further, please? M-Margery-san?"

His face smeared with bewilderment, Yuji pleads Margery to explain deeper, but the Interpreter of Condolence spoke no more, returning to her hushed slumber. A couple of seconds later, Keisaku returns from the kitchen, a tray holding a cup of coffee and two cups of instant noodles, still lidded with saucers, in tow. "Don't waste your breath," he said, serving everyone their respective fix, including the coffee for the apparently-still-slumbering woman, before returning to his previous spot on the sofa. "She does that a lot that I've gotten used to it. We even chat sometimes and she'll hardly remember any of it when she wakes up."

"She does what exactly?"

"Sleep-talking."

Yuji's own credulity smacked him right in the face after the revelation, which shouldn't be surprising at all had he considered the voluptuous Flame Haze's tendencies. But regardless of whether she was conscious when she said it or not, Margery still raised a fine point there. He turned that point over his head for a moment, losing himself in his own inner space filled with unquenched musings. He heard Marco babble something on the side and the thud of Margery's fist that automatically follows it, but the exact words failed to register in his head, like a distinct noise that wisped by. Keisaku said something to him too a little later, but that eluded him as well. It wasn't until the so-called delinquent snapped his fingers loudly across his face that he was finally able to return to present time.

"I said it should be done by now," Keisaku repeated, already set on chowing down his ramen by the time he got Yuji's attention. "I hope you don't mind instant though..."

"N-not at all." Yuji nods politely as he takes his cup, tearing the lid off and letting its steam waft up his face. A familiar aroma fails to entice his palate; coincidentally, he had the same seafood-flavored cup ramen, or so it claims to be, a couple of nights ago.

"Good, 'cause it's the only thing I can whip up right now." Keisaku slurps a not-so-generous amount of noodles, and then sips some of the broth. "Just that its such a hassle to work those stuff in the kitchen if you can have your fill faster with these anyway."

Seeing that his comrade has liberated himself from the traditional, and at times stiff way of eating noodles (since it was instant anyway), Yuji felt engrossed to just enjoy it his insipid brunch on his own whims. But in the end, he still ate it conventionally, as in soup first before noodles and back again. "Start with the crispy part first, then the soft part inside, the crispy part again and so on. That way, you'll be able to appreciate it thoroughly," Shana will always tell him whenever they eat. She must have said it once too often that his body obeyed it automatically, like a program that installed itself. Those words were specifically for a different snack, of course, but the point remains the same.

As Yuji reached the halfway mark of his meal, an epiphany suddenly occurs to him. "Speaking of which, what kitchen appliances do you have?" he casually asks. "I don't remember seeing anything aside from the dishwasher."

"Most of them were put away in their boxes since nobody's using them," Keisaku informed. "But as far as I remember, we have a turbo broiler, a juice maker, a blender, a mini oven..." Just then, he notices a familiar glint in the Mystes's eyes. "Wait a tick, you're thinking of something, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how well its gonna work, but I still want to try, though I'm gonna need some help with it" Yuji said, looking at Keisaku earnestly.

Keisaku didn't need a second to think it through. "Sounds cool. To be honest, I was getting bored until you dropped by. But coming from you, its probably something big. I'm gonna call Eita and the rest of the gang over just in case."

And so another plan is set into motion, and this time, Yuji's confident that he's not gonna get into trouble.

"I don't understand. Why is Yuji reading ridiculous things like this?!" Shana furiously asks Chigusa, slamming the last remaining copy down the wooden table: the first one Yuji ever read, randomly spared only as an exhibit for debate. "I don't see what kind of satisfaction he gets from looking at photos of girls he doesn't even know." Recalling just how many times he has seen her in a rather "compromising state", it just makes her feel... Deficient, supposing that Yuji prefers girls who lug dead weight around everyday like Yoshida. It didn't help that those appalling articles that described things that are way beyond her comprehension remain fresh in her memory. She couldn't come out with it though even if it bothered her so much.

"I'm not really sure if I'm the right person to ask about that," Chigusa replied apologetically, laying a club sandwich platter and a glass of iced tea in front of the little girl before taking a seat across. "But I do have my opinion about the matter. Would that be alright with you?"

Shana nodded submissively while helping herself to a sandwich.

"I honestly don't think Yu-chan would read magazines like this if he was only after the pictures. Knowing my son, he's probably just curious."

"Curious? About what?" she asks after a bite.

"Like this one here, see?" Chigusa directs Shana to the "How to control a woman's temper – Defuse combustible situations easily" sub-heading. "Yu-chan's at the age when he starts to ask all these questions... About how to deal with a woman's temper, for instance, but he couldn't ask anyone since his dad's not around."

"Can't he just ask you like I do? I'm sure you could give him better advice than the ones written here."

"Men and women perceive each other differently, and there are questions they ask that only a person of the same sex can answer, situations where they could sympathize better. Take this conversation for example. Would you rather talk to Arasu Tohru-san about this than me?"

Shana shakes her head. "I don't think he could give me an answer that would make sense to me."

The homemaker smiles warmly. "Its kind of like that for him too. But since he has nobody else to turn to, and it just so happened that this magazine wound up in his hands, he must have felt like he's finally found a way to answer some of them."

"I understand," Shana says after mulling it over for a moment while gobbling up the rest of her sandwich. After a sip from her iced tea and she continued. "But that line of reasoning can also be used as an excuse to look at the pictures. I've read the magazines last night, and not all of them have anything informative from a general instance, there's a topic promoting infidelity, teaching its male reading how to engage different girls into superficial relationships, and another about figuring out the appropriate mixture of alcoholic drink for a girl with a specific type of personality."

"Well, as long as he's just looking and reading for the sake of it, I don't think you worry too much. It'd be a different story if Yu-chan suddenly tries any of them, but I don't think my son has the guts to do them," Chigusa said half-jokingly. Finally working up some appetite, she takes a sandwich as well.

"Have you experienced this sort of thing with Yuji's dad before?" Shana asks, suddenly curious.

"Oh, believe me. I always worry that he might be fancying some foreigner when he flies to another country. What's worse is that I can't possibly keep an eye on him all the time." After three morsels, Chigusa gave up on her snack, returning it to the plate. "But would you like to know how I overcome it?"

The Flame Haze leans closer to listen. "How?"

"I put my faith on him and make sure he remembers it always," the older woman advised, fondly reminded of her most recent conversation with her husband which, putting into simpler terms, ended exactly as she described.

"Come to think of it, I don't even know if he was telling the truth," Shana thought, mulling over her mother-figure's earnest words. Looking back, not only did she break her own cardinal rule about seeing things for herself first before agreeing to anything, but she also failed to internalize the advice Yoshida confided to her after their exam, the one about trying to understand the guy's point of view. "Maybe I should have at least listened before I did anything..." She felt so dejected, knowing that it was her who struggled first, granting Yoshida another win as a result.

Well-aware that Shana's tormenting herself with contrition, Chigusa quickly tries to lighten the mood by appealing to her tougher side. "But if I ever catch him with another woman, I'm definitely going to have to ask you to teach me some of your self-defense moves. I must say, he can be as credulous as my son sometimes."

True to form, it worked. "I'd be happy to," answered the young girl, her aura once again brimming with resolve and fervor.

The two relished on their late lunch more peacefully once the profound air was lifted. With considerable effort and time, Chigusa managed to finish her only helping, but was quite satisfied spiritually just watching Shana enjoy the rest of them until she had emptied the plate. Shana, on the other hand, has put the lone remaining smut monthly away for later disposal, riveting to the question of how Yuji's mother could make a treat as delectable as the sandwich with minimal use of the range - an invention that was apparently made to spite Flame Hazes. She could really use that information for her upcoming battles against Kazumi Yoshida, now enlightened that this curiosity is, all things considered, the same force that persuaded Yuji into reading those magazines.

As the humid afternoon ebbs towards the sunset, the whole house now glossed in hot yellow-orange both inside and out, Shana and Chigusa's leisurely time would be harried by the dull rings of the phone. An unexpected call, the mother's initial reaction apprised, shuffling to the unit to pick it up. A typical greeting and a couple of nods later, she returns to Shana, beaming as she hands over the receiver. "Shana-chan, its for you."

Strange, thought the black-haired girl, for someone to look for her specifically in Yuji's house like she's living there. Assuming it was someone from the usual group, since only those people would think of that and Wilhelmina's the type who'd rather come in person than call if she can, she took the phone and greeted a monotonous, almost unnerving "yes".

"S-Shana?" the male voice on the other end spoke with reluctance. Her heart nearly skipped a beat upon hearing the voice that never fails to invoke fuzzy emotions out of her.

"Yuji! Where are you?! You're going to be late for your training if you don't come home this instant! You still have to make up for two lost days!" she scolded overbearingly, trying not to show any hint of her regret in punching him to sleep last night.

"I'm still at Satou's place. Don't worry, Margery-san's here," he tries to say in the most reassuring way he could. "A-anyway... I... I wanna ask if..."

"Hmm?"

"Uhh..."

"What is it?"

"I... I was wondering... I was wondering if you..."

"Quit stalling and just spill it already!" Shana demanded.

Ironically enough, the success of Yuji's plan rested on whether he could defuse this particular combustible situation or not. But after last night, he learned that just because a suggestion worked for others doesn't mean its gonna work for him. Figuring that if he's going to get beaten half to death for what he's about to say anyway, might as well say it in words that would naturally come from his heart. "...I wanna ask if we could postpone tonight's training."

"Why?" Shana immediately asked, requiring a logical explanation like always.

"Err... I was hoping we could talk," the Mystes answered. Expecting that she wouldn't be satisfied with only that, he added "I-I promise I'll do three days worth of training tomorrow".

"We're already talking. Can't you just say it now?" Shana coldly pointed out.

Yuji fell silent for a moment, hesitating on his next ad-lib. Now that she's listening, he didn't want to mess it up with his poor selection of words. On her part, Shana waited for him, trying to give him enough space so he could express himself properly. "...Its a different kind of talk, and it'd be better if I said it in person," Yuji finally said, profoundly, "but I still have some things to take care of, so... D-don't worry, I'm not doing anything bad! I swear!"

"...Fine. I'll hear you out first," she consented, albeit sternly after a few seconds of contemplation. "So are we meeting up or am I supposed to wait for you here?"

Hearing Shana's ultimately positive response brought confidence back in Yuji's voice. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done here. Please take care of Mom while I'm gone. eating well the past couple of days."

"You don't have to tell me that," she answered. In the background, Shana heard Tanaka's voice calling Yuji over quick, loud enough that it could only be something urgent. "Now go do what you say you have to." The line dies after Yuji's hurried goodbye, leaving the Flame Haze wondering what could that urgent matter be until Chigusa beckoned her over as well.

At around seven-thirty in the evening, Yuji arrived home, at least twice as nervous and as he was yesterday, clutching two paper bags close to his body, but trying not to squish them too. Feelings of disappointment dispirited him immensely after his plan, that same plan he alluded to Shana earlier... Didn't exactly yield the results he was hoping for, to say the least, perhaps still part of his karma's undoings. Fortunately, he still came up with results, albeit a very discouraging one that is likelier to be futile than it is to be of any help. For a couple of minutes he just stood outside their doorstep, trying to get himself together. "You've got to do this, even if its the last thing you're gonna do," he thought audibly. As if reenacting last night's sneaky entrance, he reached for the door and slides it open as slowly as he could to control the scraping of the wood, all while holding the bags with care. He took the same unnecessary precaution in shutting it.

As soon as he got in though... "So...? What's so important that you have to say it in person?" Shana asks, sitting by the shoe cabinet, cupping her right cheek with her palm, unimpressed with his blunder yet not annoyed with it either.

"S-Shana-! H-how long have you been waiting there?!" Yuji asks back, utterly startled that he nearly dropped the bags.

"That's irrelevant to the question. Now answer me before I decide if tonight's training is cancelled or not," she gave the ultimatum. Not the type to miss details, she curiously eyes the items Yuji's handling so carefully, like his life depended on its condition. She didn't have to say it outright for him to understand that she's now asking about the contents too.

Sweat started to feel hot and on Yuji's skin now that Shana has her sights set on the bags. He didn't want to delve into them just yet, preferring to bring light to it at a better mood, but as it seems, he doesn't have any other choice but to give it to her now. Composing himself with a deep breath, Yuji bows down and extends the bags toward her.

"I'm so sorry. I know I've been very inconsiderate and irresponsible lately... With the magazines, the secrets... And most especially about Konoe... Please accept these as my peace-offering," he blurts out, expending all the courage he could muster in one go that he no longer had any to spare to be able to look her face to face while doing so.

Blood rushed up Shana's cheeks rapidly when she received what seems to be a present, overpowering whatever animosity she still bears for him after last night like water to a fire. The possibility of him apologizing didn't escape her, frankly speaking, but she tried not to keep her hopes up until it officially came from him. And now that he's said it, she

the gifts made her all the more pleased. Its been a while since Yuji personally gave her something after all. "What are you saying sorry for? That's admitting you did something wrong, even though kept insisting on your innocence yesterday. You're contradicting yourself, stupid Yuji," she responded severely, her way of letting him know she forgives him.

"W-well I... I should have given you the heads up while we were still in class," he said meekly, returning to an upright position.

Too absorbed in his present, Shana practically ignored his remark, choosing one bag randomly and slipping her elfin hand inside. Her face lit up in an instant upon pulling out a large piece of melon pan from it, the one thing that effectively puts her at ease no matter how mad she is, and the one thing Yuji could think of that she'd like. She wasted no time tearing the pack off to sample it, nibbling on it twice - first on the crust, then on the soft, flavorful part, observing what she fondly calls the proper way to enjoy the bread. "...You're starting to learn how to pick out good melon pan," she praised, bobbing her head in approval before munching on.

"I forgot where you usually buy them, so I went to the biggest bakeshop in Misaki for that. Guess I just got lucky picking," he explained, relieved to see her savoring the melon bread like a benign little girl like always, but at the same time, extra-scared, knowing that this is only half the battle - the easier half that was guaranteed to succeed anyway. The real test hasn't even begun yet. "By the way, where's Mom?" he asked, trying to dissuade her from the other bag, the one she saved for later. Sure enough, it contained another gift, but it was one he had serious doubts with. One that may ruin the amiable aura they've reestablished.

"She said she wasn't feeling well and went to bed early," Shana answered, imbuing both of them with worry for a moment.

"I see." Yuji casts his eyes down sympathetically, making a note to apologize to her tomorrow morning. "We should probably just drop by the convenience store for dinner or something. She could really use some rest."

"That's fine with me. Now then..." Shifting to a more pressing, more pleasant topic, Shana sets her half-finished melon pan aside and grabs Yuji's other present, making his deviation useless.

"W-w-wait-!" Yuji blurts out, "Shana, t-that's-"

The Flame haze gives him a quizzing look. "A peace-offering, isn't it?" she stated bluntly, finally unveiling the contents of the present that made Yuji suspiciously frantic. Laying eyes on it herself, Shana quickly understood why.

It looks like a melon pan, or is supposed to be a melon pan for that matter, but it was unevenly molded and lumpy on certain parts, not to mention too soggy that it stained her hands with fruit extracts crumbs the moment she took it out of the aluminum foil that was wrapped haphazardly around it. Her face creased with reluctance, unsure whether she'd consider it a melon pan, or pass it off as an eccentric variety she has yet to try, or downright abhor it as an experiment gone wrong. Practically speaking, all those were right.

Perceiving the distraught look on Shana's face led Yuji with no choice but to recede the unsightly bread. "...You don't have to ea-" But it was too late. Shana nibbles on before he could complete his warning. It's the first time he ever saw Shana eat a melon bread without the girlish enthusiasm that never fails to give his heart that fluttery feeling. Rather, it's the first time he ever saw her hesitate to eat a melon pan, or in this case, something that's supposed to be one. "I'm so sorry," he uttered, shrinking on the spot where he stood anxiously, cursing himself repeatedly for bringing what he should have discarded long ago.

"Sorry? For what?" Shana asks, delaying another bite.

"...Umm... Well... I tried baking that with everyone's help," he no choice but to divulge. "But as you can see... Baking can be difficult if all you can rely on is the internet... T-that was the best I could make, but before I came home, I figured it isn't very presentable, so I bought the other one at the bakery. This won't happen again, I promise."

"Who's 'everyone'?" she followed up, ever the antsy one when it comes to the people Yuji interacts with.

"Well, Satou let me use his kitchen and was the one looked the recipe up on the web. Tanaka and Ogata-san bought the necessary ingredients for me."

"...And Kazumi...?"

"Err... Yoshida-san couldn't come. She said she had to take her pet dog to the vet for vaccination. As for Ike, he wanted to catch some sleep since he's been studying and reviewing for days on end. And Konoe-san, her butler said she isn't feeling well," he enumerated excessively just to make sure she's satisfied.

Shana spoke no more after that. To Yuji's utter surprise, the Flame-haired, Red-hot eyed Hunter dared eating the unsightly bread, the authentic melon pan that she loves becoming no more than dessert. Even more amazed was he when she gobbled it up down to the last bite in mere seconds, and without ever making a weird face. But that assured him of nothing; he only needed one Reshuffle switch to know that she's got a tougher stomach than him, so even if it tasted as bad as it looked, she could probably endure it and still slaughter a dozen Denizens with ease. In bated breath Yuji waited, his eyes closed in fearful anticipation of Shana's final verdict, the only thing that would settle the score decisively. That didn't come until about a minute later, when she was done licking juice stains off her fingers.

"This is the sloppiest melon pan I've ever had," she said at last.

Shana's response wasn't too far off from what the Mystes was expecting, which made it a lot easier to accept. After all, he just learned how to bake hours ago, and without natural cooking talents like Yoshida, or at least basic kitchen skills, failure was more inevitable than probable. That was among the life lessons he learned after failing to do justice on the part of a smooth talker last night, and paying for it the morning after.

However, the critique wasn't over yet. "...But its also the most flavorful," Shana added, smiling at him with flushing cheeks. "You remembered I hate melon pan with too much artificial flavoring."

"Yeah, well, I can't possibly forget something as important as that," Yuji emphasized while returning Shana's gleeful smile, overjoyed after hearing the most amiable remark he's heard from her in a while.

Time suddenly froze for them without the need of a Fuzetsu as they smiled at each other, letting them savor this precious moment where they both felt peace with each other's thoughts and feelings, their very souls resonating as though they're bound to be one. At the time, neither of them could have foreseen that one day, they'd suffer the torment of separation, only to cross swords much later to decide not only the fate of all those who continue to agonize over the centuries-long war between the Flame Hazes and the Denizens, but the fate of their relationship as well. That, however, is still a few months ahead of them. For now, the calm before the storm ensues, and as it seems, Yuji plans to make the most out of it.

"So... About tonight's training," he wishfully alluded.

"...Fine. We won't be having any physical training tonight," said Shana, returning to her usual tepid demeanor, and her unfinished melon pan.

"Really? That's a relief..."

"Instead, we're going to do some mental exercises. That means you won't be having any dinner for tonight."

"EEEEEHHH?! B-b-but Shana, I haven't eaten anything other than cup ramen today! At least let me have a bit-"

"Urusai, urusai, urusai! Why would I let you have a bite?! Besides, you need to strengthen your willpower as much as your combat abilities, and to do that, you must first learn how to overcome your body's whims and requisites, starting with hunger."

It is safe to say that the most basic way to handle a powder keg is to keep even the slightest spark away from it.

The End.

written by akaisherry47