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Shakugan No Hybrids: Chapter 24

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Chapter 24:  The Training Of A Flame Haze – Part 2

Voices screaming in her ears, visions of terrible things appearing for her eyes, and pain, so much pain..
There is nothing left she can do but scream, as her control gets stripped away from her, leaving her at the mercy of the curse.
There is nothing left, no person, no thoughts, just the wish for an end..to make it go away..to make it stop..
That is the only thing she can think, and even that thought is more of a longing for the end then that it is formed in words..
Make it stop…make it stop…
It is a begging without words as there is nothing left for her to do but shaking in the mud with her arms hugging her knees and her knees almost touching her nose.
All control is lost.
And suddenly, without a warning, it is gone.
Shana almost sighs out of relief as her control over her powers is restored and the maddening voices and other disruptive effects of the forest get pushed to the background and borders of her mind.
But she realizes that it was not her own doing, despite her best efforts.
Malachite has let go of her.
“Perhaps this was a bit too much for you” he says.
“I guess my expectations where unrealistic.”
Shana suppresses her slightly upcoming fear.
Malachite could have killed her right there if he wanted to, and she doesn’t like that for one bit.
“Shut up and hit me with all you have!”
Her frustrated words only seem to amuse Malachite even further, as he bows to her in a demeaning manner.
“Gather your strength.
We will try again in a few minutes.
And try harder this time.
In a real situation you would be dead.”
“I know!”  Shana growls.
“Then try harder!
be..better.”
For the first time it appears like the hybrid shows some sort of frustration.
“Bring it on!”  she taunts him.
“I am ready for anything, I will do it this time!” she motivates herself.
“Fine.
Focus yourself then.
And fend me off this time.
Don't hold back just because you think I'm handsome.”
Malachite grins annoyingly as he says that, obviously trying to get under her skin.
“Shut up Shut up Shut up!”
For some reason he always manages to manipulate her into anger, and Shana gets even more frustrated when she realizes he just pulled it off again.
In an impressive display of self-discipline she manages to let go of her irritation, and focuses on her own body, and the existence inside of her.
This time she feels the hybrid coming, as his disrupting mental attacks wash over her, even more intense then before.
“He was holding back!” she realizes.
“Focus!
Malachite’s commanding voice brings her back to reality.
“Your power is your territory!
Defend it!
Imagine a wall surrounding the edges of your power.
Now try to feel at what point I am breaking in!”
Despite trying to stay in control feels like steering a boat in the middle of the ocean in a massive storm, Shana does her best to give it all she has.
And while Malachite is giving her a hard time, and casting spells or even moving is out of the question, she continues to at least have some form of control..for now.
Shana is satisfied as she feels how it is easier then las time.
“I can do this!” she thinks, regaining a bit of the confidence she lost earlier.
“It is coming more easy to me now, as if my frustration is helping me!”
“Try harder flame haze, try harder!”
Malachite is shaking beneath the raw power he is emanating.
Since his body is not built for such a stressful situation it must be way more taxing for him then it it for her, how impossible that may seem.
“Standing your ground is not enough!
Deny me control!
How many more times do I have to explain it to you!
Feel where I invade!
You can stalemate me, but you won't be able to stalemate them!”
“Shut up!” she ripostes, but deep inside of her she feels her existence flowing.
Slowly she becomes more and more aware of it, its purity..
And the impurity that Malachite is forcing on her.
Now that she knows the difference it does not affect her as much as before..
“How can I turn this into an advantage” she wonders.
Suddenly the imbalance fades, and Shana realizes Malachite has once again let go of her.
“For the record little girl, you are dead.
Once again.”
He sighs.
“Perhaps we should start a bit more..simple first.
I thought the example of the fire and burning out my influence would be a stimulating image for you, but it does not seem to be working.
I will try to explain it in different words.
You are slowly becoming aware of the existance flow inside of you.
That is good, and it will allow you to use spells without this place wrecking you.
But you don't feel it when I disrupt you, somehow you don't feel what weak spot I take advantage off.”
Malachite looks just as exhausted as she feels, yet he does not seem to even consider to take a break.
He simply closes his eyes for a split second, then assumes his starting position, stretching his arm towards her once more.
“Again” he says in a way a teacher would speak to a child who does not understand how to solve a mathematical problem after it has been explained over a dozen times.
“I will only touch the edges of your existance now.
A gentle touch, so to say.
I want you to not just feel your inner existance flow, but also be aware where that flow ends, the edge of your personal existance space.
Feel the border.
Do you think you can do that?”
Surprisingly, the question appears to be completely void of all forms of sarcasm.
Still not used to his unpredictable behavior Shana glares at him viciously.
The mere thought of failing, even worse, failing at something that this…denizen!..is trying to teach her is causing her on the brink of an outrage.
“No!” she spats at him, unwilling to admit her painfully slow progression.
“Hit me with everything again! I'll do it! Give it all!”
It is hard to read Malachite’s face, but Shana wonders if she just read a tiny shred of respect in those blue eyes of his.
“It has nothing to do with strength little girl.
But it has all to do with perception and sensitivity.
You feel me, but you do not feel how I distort your balance.
All you do is draw more power from your contract and push against my own push.
That is not what I am trying to teach you.
You do not seem to understand the point of this exercise.
Being that you feel at what spot I invade your powers, seal that spot, push me out, and then counter it. ..with being almost invulnerable to these attacks in the future as a result.
This is about finesse flamehaze, not about raw strength.
More simply put:
I am trying to teach you how to dance, but you are making it look like it is a cagefight.”
Shana really wants to make a witty comment, but she has to admit that what the hybrid says makes sense.
Unwilling to admit that he has a point she stays silent.
“Do you understand what I am trying to say?” Malachite asks her.
“And what you are doing wrong?
Do you think you can now feel WHERE I invade your existance, and not just THAT I invade it?”
Shana chooses not to answer and simply closes her eyes in order to concentrate better.
Malachite sighs, clearly expecting her to once again fail miserably.
“One more time, flamehaze.
This will be your last chance for today.
I do not want to have you out here when night falls.
After last night, you know why.
Now, defend your existance.
And do it well this time.
Because I will hurt you like hell if you won't.”
Shana can feel how the hybrid focuses again and grabs her existance, twisting it, battling with her over its control while trying to deny her from casting anything. It feels more raw and horrifying this time, and she realizes he has put his full strength behind it, and that he was holding back until now. As Shana struggles with him  for control, she remembers his words:
“sense where I invade your concentration, so you can push me out and counter me...”
And just like that everything falls into place.
“I  am feeling it...in fact I am being one with it!” Shana suddenly understands.
Without anyone telling her she now knows that in order to master it she must be able to attack Malachite at the same time she is controlling her power, that still  feels as if slipping from her hands at any moment despite her revelation.
“And on top of that I have to keep in mind that I might get attacked by others on the battlefield!”
The amount of concentration for multiple tasks involved dazzles her, but at the same time she knows she can do it.
With Alastor and Yu..Alastor, she can do it.
“I can do..anything!” she mumbles as she concentrates even more, and suddenly the control of her existence seems to go much easier, as if she saw the sun beyond all the clouds!
Without hesitation Shan calls upon her power as her hair goes ablaze and her eyes burn fiercely.
As she opens her eyes the Blazing-haired-red-hot-eyed-hunter grabs her sword.
“Ahhh!” she pumps herself as she raises the Nietono no Shana and charges the field, ready to deliver punishment to Malachite.
As she attacks, Shana  feels what the hybrid meant when he said Shana had to feel his invasion.
She feels her  existance, but also how at a certain spot something from outside is injecting itself into the delicate balance. Shana cannot explain how she feels it, but she does.
And instinctively she knows how to respond, as she imagines a huge wall around her existance, shutting out all outside interference.
At the same time she imagines a gate in that wall, and allows her existance to lash out at Malachite, attacking him now both physically and mentally.
The half denizen still has his eyes closed and  cannot see what is coming.
Shana’s attack hits him with such a force she almost kills him outright, as the hybrid gets not only cut by the Nietono no Shana, but also suffers from Shana’s mental attack and the fireball her blade created on impact.
The fiery blast causes the scars on Malachites hands to light up again, and his eyes suddenly open wide as he shout out of the pain, as the combined attack launches him from his location, his body cleaving and piercing multiple trees before coming down in an impact crater of several meters deep. The intensity of the attack was terrifying, and of an entirely different level then Shana is used to.
It was just a minor blow…
The sheer scale of the devastation she caused leaves Shana in pure euphoria.
“I did it!...I did it!” she yells excited, resisting the urge to dance on the spot.
Then she remembers about Malachite, and somehow she feels worried.
“ Are you allright?” she asks while walking towards the edge of the crater.
“I..am going to need a new coat.. “ the hybrid whispers with his eyes closed.
Smoke is coming from the remains of Malachites clothing, a lot of it scorched by Shana’s attack, the coat itself is not much more then a few shreds of leather, the parts of his skin that Shana can see are black of ash, and a deep red line across his chest shows where the Nietono no Shana hit him.
To say he doesn’t look that well would be an understatement.
“I..hope you..can agree that this concludes..todays lesson..”
Shana nods while sheathing the Nietono no Shana, then realizing that he cannot see her nod with his eyes closed.
Without knowing why she kneels next to the fallen hybrid and takes some of her big stash of Wilhelmina’s bandages out of the Yogasa.
Slowly she starts to wrap them around Malachite’s wound, unsure why she is even bothering.
“I told you..today would be the day you would get your chance to hurt me...” he whispers again.
“Enjoying...yourself..?”
“Humph! Shut up!”
Shana makes a tight knot to the bandage and stands up.
“I..think I might just continue to lay here for a while..” Malachite says as the smoke still comes from his scorched clothing.
Somewhere deep down inside Shana enjoys the temporarily shift in control of the situation, as for the first time she towers over him instead of the other way around.
“Do as you please” she says on a flat tone, concealing her feelings.
Malachite looks up to her from the ground, still lying flat on his back.
He seems intrigued by something.
Suddenly Shana realises that she is standing very close to him.
Is he looking at…..?!
Malachite’s sudden smirk confirms her fear.

“When wearing short skirts like that, you should not stand that close.
Unless you like revealing yourself like that.
Even while for the first time you can now look down on me instead of the other way around, I suggest you to..change the view.”
The return of sarcasm in his voice is a clear indicator thar Wilhelmina’s bandages are doing their work.
Meanwhile Shana blushes ten shades of red, as her hands go to her skirt to pull the edges down while simultaneously taking a few steps back, preventing Malachite any further glimpses of her panties.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
“Relax little flame haze.
There is no one around who I could tell what I saw.
Just you, me, and an army of angry ghosts.”
“Humph!D-Don’t embarrass me like that…” she mumbles uncomfortably while looking around, just to see if there really are no ghosts present.
“They don't wander during the day.” Malachite guesses her thoughts.
“I don't know why, somehow the distortion of this place is more severe at night.
Satisfied?
There is nobody around who I could tell what I just was forced to see, or that the colour of what I saw was white.
With that out of the way, do whatever you see fit.
Go smash something to make yourself feel better.”
Slowly Malachite gets up and limps past her towards the cave.
“I…am going to recover from the fact I just got my skull bashed in by some little girl..and find myself a new coat..somehow.”
Shana decides to ignore him, and spends the next few hours alone, practicing her sword skills on one of the trees Malachite’s flying body blasted to splinters.
Losing track of the time Shana is surprised when she sees it is getting dark.
“Maybe you should head inside, you have been training for long enough” Alastor suggests.
“It can never be enough!” Shana disagrees, while looking if she can see Malachite anywhere.
There is no trace of the hybrid, who has not left the cave ever since he limped to the very back end of it after their clash during training.
“Well sometimes is good to know when to retire. You are tired. Get inside to get some sleep...”
Alastor says, with a more concerned tone this time.
Shana would love to train more, but she knows her contractor is right.
“Okay..fine..” she sighs before sheathing the Nietono no Shana and walking towards the cave entrance.
The campfire is burning, and the bed rolls are all ready, but of Malachite she still can’t find any trace.
Not really hungry Shana lays down on her bed roll, suddenly feeling how tired she is.
It is only a matter of seconds before the flamehaze contracted to the God of Atonement slips away into a deep sleep…
Disclaimer for all readers up to this point:

Updates to this story will come less regular from this point on, as me and :iconflame-haze--shana: are busy writing the plot.
What you have read so far could be considered Part 1, and we have a Part 2, but we are now busy to connect 1 to 2.
Part 2 is not the end, this story is far from over.
If you have enjoyed Shakugan No Hybrids so far, we would appreciate all feedback you can give!

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Shakugan No Hybrids is a story within the Shakugan No Shana universe, following an alternate timeline.
Basically, this story picks up somewhere in the last quarter of season two.
This means that all the events from Shakugan No Shana Final never took place.
Yuji discovered the true identity of Konoe Fumina, and thus the events of the last few episodes of season two ( near christmas ) never happened either.
The start of this story kicks off in January after that christmas.
This is a co-production, based on roleplay conversations between me and :iconflame-haze--shana:
© 2013 - 2024 AngelsWillFallFirst
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