He was drowning.

The heat smothered him, melting away his thoughts. He flailed about helplessly, but the viscous blood clung to him stubbornly. It drained him of his strength, embracing him warmly, and slowly, frightfully, he realized he was losing himself to this pleasure. As easily as taking a dip in a hot spring, he fell into the monster’s own thoughts.

In the bloody depths, he saw an office worker, his face flushed, burning with indignation from a day of failures and rejections.

In the burning abyss, he saw a couple screaming at each other. A baby is crying, her bottle one of the many broken things within the household.

In the smouldering darkness, he saw a bald youth nursing his wounds in an empty house, shaking violently, viciously, unable to let go of his hatred.

And, in the womb of the beast, he saw himself, the tinder that set others aflame.

Ah.

So he deserved t-

“Aku soku zan!”

A radiant force blew away the smouldering darkness, blinding him. Swords of light flew past Hiraku, driving the vestiges of the Spirit away. Writhing madly, its blood-red body convulsed, slipping through the gaps as blades pierced the wall. The mask contorted into one of hatred, an ear-splitting shriek deafening him.

But Shinobu faced it, unbothered. Standing at the edge of the forest, the brunette drew out a slim stick from her pockets, pointing it towards the enraged Spirit with divine righteousness.

“By my command, shatter! By your nature, corrode! Metal begets Water!”

The sound of a dozen ringing bells overpowered its shriek, as the swords of light exploded, their radiant shards sliding into the Spirits body. Before Hiraku’s eyes, those shards disintegrated, becoming swirling orbs that drove large holes into its body. The shrieks ceased as the body began to lose its tadpole shape, the dark red form bubbling erratically.

The cherry blossom girl wasn’t done, however, as she twirled the wand in her hand once more, flourishing it elegantly. With a wink at the blue-haired boy, she called out, voice ringing with power, “Kuraokami, Sovereign God of Rain and Snow, I beseech thee with an offering of the soul! Freeze the evil before me and dash them into the earth!”

At her command, ice raced up the Spirit, freezing it instantly. One final, strangled cry resounded before it fell onto the ground, shattering into dozens of large pieces. Bouncing about, the mask fell face-first onto the white ground, still.

The one-sided exchange took less than a minute, and, at the end of all this, the only sign that Shinobu had exerted herself was a drop of sweat that formed on her forehead.

Dumbfounded, Hiraku said, “That…was fast.”

Shinobu flashed a V-sign in his direction. “It’s only a Type-Stray, after all~” the brunette said. “And I happen to be very good with the watery stuff!”

The boy scratched his head. “Going for that stereotype where water is related to illusions, huh?”

“Oh no, being an illusionist is different from Prayers. They’re totally different things!”

Hiraku picked himself off the ground. His exposed skin was beet red, as if he had spent too much time in the bath, but outside of that, he felt…fine. Everything was alright, and while it bothered him how useless he was, he could deal with it. Putting his hands on his hips and surveying the icy mess, he asked, “Right…so what now?”

“Purification ritual, obviously. Help me gather the pieces while they’re still frozen, cause it’d be a total pain to do that process all over again.”

“Can’t you just use magic to do all the gathering?”

“Geez, Hiraku, would you tell a God to do janitorial work for you just because you’re feeling lazy? There’s a time and place for everything.”

“Wait, what? You were actually talking to a God?”

Shinobu laughed, kicking a few frozen pieces into a group. “There’s a reason why it’s a Prayer. We offer up our souls in order to invoke the power of Gods or the Five Elements. Of course, use too much and you die, so it’s better not to waste it, right?”

He sighed, nodding. Looked like magic really was an incredible thing.

Hiraku swept up the remains of the Spirit, irritation still scratching at him. It didn’t sit well with him at all. The fight, if it could be called one, ended before he did anything useful. She offered up her life to a God to resolve the situation, while he sat on his ass the whole time. And, in the end, his past actions most likely caused the creation of the ‘Type-Stray’ the first place.

But, on the other hand, did it really matter? When did he start caring about that deceptive magician? She taught him about the world, but Noa could have done so as well. She disabled the monster, but so could anyone involved with this ‘Kaminazuki Academy’. So, in the end, Shinobu was replaceable. Anyone could have been in her spot and done the same things.

Not to mention, when it came down to it…did Hiraku really care about the people whose lives changed due to his interference? Did he feel sorry at all whenever he beat up Daiki?

The answer was ‘no’. He didn’t owe them anything. He hardly knew them. They offered nothing that he couldn’t get from another source.

So, why was it that, despite all those reasons, that regret still clung onto him?

He grit his teeth as he picked up the Spirit’s red mask, surprised at how slick it was. A frosty sheen covered its surface, and it sparkled in the white light.

“Are you done faffing about?” Shinobu called, beside an icy pile. “It won’t be able to move even if it’s awake, seeing how its body is frozen, but it’d be a pain in the ears if it started screaming, you know?”

Hiraku rolled his eyes. “Just freeze it properly.”

“I did though? Anyways, it’s not like that’d silence it.”

“Being frosty doesn’t mean that it’s frozen, y-”

Hiraku stopped. Why were his hands suddenly warm?

Why, when they held a cold object?

A wave of heat surged from the mask, blasting Hiraku off his feet. Hot flames burnt the air, ruffling his hair as a Spirit returned to power. Reveling in crimson light, the Spirit of Hotbloodedness rose like a phoenix from frozen ashes, its mask a blazing white.

“EpΦsTl€! ṒfΓer mé y0µя ĻiΓe!”

Before its fiery tendrils ensnared Hiraku, Shinobu dove inbetween the two, her cherry blossom hairclips gleaming in the firelight.

“By my command, rise! By your nature, engulf! Water conquers fire!”

A geyser burst from the ground as the magician lifted up her hand. Striking the burning mask, an explosion of steam burst outwards, covering the two in a warm dampness. But, just as Hiraku managed to relax, a white flash shone through the mist.

“EPΦSTlÉ€€É€!!!!”

Shinobu tensed, eyes of lightning searching for the next attack to come out of the fog.

But that assumption had been wrong to begin with.

Behind Hiraku, a delicate clink sounded.

The Spirit’s frozen pieces were already in flight when he turned. Two dozen spears launched themselves at the blue-haired boy, blades of death too fast to dodge.

“SHIT!”

The spears were too fast for Hiraku to dodge, and Shinobu’s prayers were too slow for salvation.

There was only one answer.

An instant before impact, Shinobu interfered.

SHNNNNKKK.

Icy spears jut out of her back as she stood before him, her small frame riddled with wounds. Blood leaked from her mouth, and her eyes dimmed, losing their electrifying spark. She didn’t owe him anything, so…

“W-why?!”

Shinobu forced a bloody smile, clasping her hands together.

An invisible force pulled the spears out, as the fog was blown away by the Spirit’s mask. It cackled madly as pieces of its body returned, ice melting to become blood.

But, in front of a foe she could not beat, in front of the powerless youth, the brunette made a final prayer.

“Amaterasu-O-Mi-Kami, Imperial Goddess of the Sun, I beseech thee with an offering of my life. Deliver us from evil and bring us back to your side.”

A faint, scarcely audible prayer.

But one that was answered regardless.

In the black sky, a shining pillar descended, bathing the two mortals in a golden light.

When it faded, there were only cherry blossoms scattered on the ground.

Had a metric ton of trouble trying to write this thing. Sorry for the lack of quality, but it'll be a placeholder until I figure out how to do everything better.