Note: Another long break but I have some ideas (and time) for this now so I'll get cracking until I've finished it. Thanks for all the interest, it's part of why I'm determined to continue this.

Chapter 3

Outside, Julius stared up at the blue sky, lost in thought. After a moment's repose he turned away, walking from the apartment and out into the city. He pondered the situation of the city, sub-consciously noting the layout of the area as he wandered through the streets and also the concentrations of Torches.

It was true, Misaki City was famous among Flame Haze for having a high concentration of Torches; but it mildly surprised him to see so many, even with forewarning it was an odd sight to behold.

The snow had all but stopped, however the streets and roads were covered in a thick blanket of white. The city was quiet, no cars were out and people were in their homes, in the warmth. After all, where would they go? Few shops and services were open as a great deal of workers could not get to work and it would take some time for those in charge of clearing the roads to be ousted from their homes and families, it was Boxing Day.

As Julius wandered, exploring the city while thinking of his home and what he was missing, the snow began to pick up drastically. After a few moments his mind realised the blizzard that was coming over the city and he retreated into a nearby shopping mall, shaking his hair and wiping the snow off his clothes.

The building was almost empty, a few stray people rushing back and forth, presumably staff having to cover for their absent companions. After having freed himself of the quickly melting snow, Julius walked further into the mall, curious as to what was sold in such a place. He was from the west, where things were very different. Upon sating his inquisitiveness, he walked towards the sliding doors again, only to find that they were stuck close and that all he could see was a think wall of white.

Frowning, Julius turned away from the doors, heading to the other side of the building but to no avail, he found the same situation there. Climbing to the next floor, he found a window that was not locked and; after looking around for anyone who could see him, he quickly opened the window and slipped outside, dropping down onto the snow. The blizzard had become a lot stronger, large snow flakes falling from the sky and settling in huge clumps on the ground.

If it had not been for Julius' intuition and his abilities as a Flame Haze, he would have sunk right into the snow and have been stuck there before he was buried alive in the stuff. He ran across the snow, eager to escape from the blizzard. Somewhere in his slowly freezing his mind he was aware that such a heavy snowfall was not realistic, that something was wrong. The thought grew and grew until it became a certainty and; after dropping behind a building out of the storm temporarily, Julius looked around, searching for something out of the ordinary.

It was a fruitless search. After five minutes, Julius decided to just get out of the snow and utilise the equipment he had brought with him in order to find the cause. He left the cover of the building again, the blinding snow instantly hit him and he slowed down considerably but strove onwards. It seemed as if the snow was following him, trying to bring him down and bury him alive. He laughed, finally realising the truth. Julius unsheathed his sword and leaped into the midst of the snow storm, the power from his legs enhanced by his powers as a Flame Haze. He finally sensed a Guze no Tomogora, the blizzard thinning and he saw a figure against the faint light of the clouded sky.

Catching sight of movement, Julius twisted and his sword sang through the air. There was resistance for a moment, a scream, and then nothing. Julius saw a splatter of red on the snow below; but the presence he had felt had disappeared, along with the blizzard and all other traces of the Guze no Tomogora. Hurtling down towards the ground; Julius flipped around at the last moment and landed deftly on his feet, barely making prints in the fresh snow.

He stood up, sheathing his sword. The blade and scabbard disappeared and he ran from the scene, not wanting to be caught near a blood splatter on the snow, there would be too many questions. He had not even had time to cast a Fuzetsu; he had had to act quickly.

The white haired boy reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a modern mobile phone, the latest model in the West; and dialled a number before holding it to his ear while running across the piled snow. It became shallower as he went further, the effects of the unnatural blizzard weaker further away from the fight scene.

"I need information about a Guze no Tomogora. Any that have abilities to do with water, ice, snow, the weather and cold. Yes. Good, fax it to me when you have a chance. Thanks." With that, he pressed the end call button on the phone and dropped it back into his pocket, turning a corner, now the snow was thin and he could feel the solid pavement underneath his trainers. Releasing his powers as a Flame Haze, he began to walk normally, footprints beginning to appear where he walked. It would not do for someone to see him walking on snow and leaving no prints.

*****

"Can you believe him? Who does he think he is?" Shana demanded angrily.

"It's only because I was careless, Shana." Yuji tried to assure her but the girl was in one of her tantrums and would not break free easily.

"He comes here and doesn't understand anything!" She cried.

"Shana! Calm down!" Alastor's voice was firm and Shana paused, holding a pillow over her head prior to throwing the object at an appropriate wall nearby. "He is not someone you should just ignore. I have heard about the Flame Haze Lord Raietei contracted. He is very powerful and skilled; but he is famous for being wise despite his age. You should listen to what he says carefully."

"So he was right, Alastor?" Shana asked, her arms falling to her side as she looked down at the pendant around her neck.

"I can give you more of my power but I don't know if you are ready for it. You have great depth as a vessel, hence why you alone can survive Tenpa Jyousai, but I do not want to risk giving you too much of my power, the flames could kill you if you're not ready."

"I'm ready." Shana answered instantly but Yuji intervened on Alastor's behalf, concerned that Shana's obstinate nature would lead to her own death.

"Shana, maybe we should only do that when we're in danger? It doesn't make much sense to have power when you're not going to use it."

"He speaks the truth." Alastor supported Yuji's theory. "If I give you extra power now then our enemies can make a measure of your power; but if I do it when you need it then we can use it as a surprise to gain the advantage."

Shana frowned, not happy with this explanation. She looked to Wilhelmina who nodded her head and then to Yuji.

"You think its best?" She asked. Yuji was surprised she asking his opinion and it was clear she was embarrassed about it for she had pulled that tell-tale face where she blushed and pouted; looking away from the person she was talking to and over their shoulder.

"I think its better safe than sorry." He insisted and she gave in at last with a tremendous sigh.

"Fine, I suppose for now we can do it like that. But later we'll do it, right Alastor?" Shana asked and the Flame of Heaven meekly agreed to the steel in her voice. The girl would not forget that agreement and they all knew it.

"Oh, I should probably head home now." Yuji suddenly said, noticing the time as he looked around the room aimlessly and saw a clock.

"I'll take you back. There's another Tomogora around. It's wounded but it could still attack you if you're on your own." Shana's voice once again brooked no argument and they left the apartment together.

"Hey, Shana." Yuji started; but stopped, unsure how to continue.

"What is it?" She asked, tilting her head to look sideways at him.

"Did you see that ring on his finger?" Yuji asked her. It took the girl a few moments to work out who he was talking about and cast her thoughts back.

"That silver thing? It was just a piece of jewellery." She dismissed the significance of the ring without really thinking about it but Alastor spoke up.

"In Western Europe they use silver rings to symbolise engagement and gold rings for marriage. He wore it on his ring finger so it means just that."

"He's engaged?" Shana asked, incredulous.

"I don't know; but it would seem so."

"How could someone like him be engaged?" Shana demanded, the fury once again rising to the surface.

"By asking for someone's hand in marriage. That's the usual way, isn't it?" Shana's eyes drifted to the right where the boy in question was standing, hands in his pockets, by a telegraph pole at the end of a row of houses.

"What is it?" Shana demanded abruptly. Julius sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I suppose I made a bad impression with what I said earlier, huh? Sorry about that, I have… problems with some things. In any case, I thought you should know that the second Tomogora here is still around and that he's a member of a group of Tomogora separate from Bal Masqué."

"Separate from Bal Masqué?" Alastor demanded.

"There are many more groups of Tomogora around; Bal Masqué is just the most prominent by virtue of the Trinity who have eluded us for a few centuries. This second group has come onto the stage fairly recently and with a bit of a bang, they destroyed our outpost in New York." Julius' voice was grave.

"Isn't that East Edge's outpost?" Alastor asked and Julius nodded. "Impossible." The Flame of Heaven surmised.

"East Edge?" Shana asked quizzically.

"One of the most powerful Flame Haze. There are Four Gods of the Earth and he is one of them. One of the Trinity would have difficulty fighting him, and would most likely lose. To think an unknown group of Tomogora could kill him is ridiculously."

"He survived; but barely. He managed to make a report a couple of days ago. There were seven of them and their powers were complimentary. They killed the other Flame Haze staying there at the time and he was barely able to fight them off. He believes he wounded them all quite heavily but was positive none of them would die as a result."

"That is… problematic. One of them is here, you say?" Alastor asked, the scepticism now lost from his disembodied voice.

"He was the one you will have detected earlier; but it was not one of the six. Just a scout who belongs to that same group. I wounded him but his power makes him hard to corner without a spontaneous wide range attack. He'll most likely report to the six and they'll head here so I advise you be on your guard."

With that Julius turned to go but he stopped

"Sorry again for how harsh I was earlier, it's been tough over in Europe and I've seen a lot friends die because they weren't properly prepared. I don't want to see anymore death if I can help it, at the cost my own life if necessary." The boy walked away, leaving Shana and Yuji to watch his receding back.