Disclaimer: I own nothing HAHAHA.

Yuji wasn't used to waking in the early hours of the morning.

So how came he to stare at the neon green numbers on his clock at this unearthly hour?

His tired eyes, droopy and bloodshot from sleep (or lack thereof), were fixated on the numbers 5, 0 and 0. Mouth slightly open, he stared in a stupor at the alarm clock. What had woken him, no, dragged him, from the sweet embrace of sleep?

"Yuji."

He jumped. Only one voice – one person – could have awoken such terror in him. Of course, that one person also managed to make his heart throb with the pulsating nervousness of first love as well, but he hadn't realised that. And so his eyes automatically swivelled to the door, where he beheld a shadow, a tiny pint of a girl, standing there, almost melting into the menacing darkness outside.

Shana.

"Shana? What're you doing here? Go back to bed."

"I can't sleep!" Annoyance and irritation coloured her tone, and he flinched.

"Try to sleep. Count sheep or something." Yuji was really a very nice guy, but sleep deprivation took a lot out of him. He did not appreciate one bit being awaken ahead of his time schedule.

"Sakai Yuji! You are going to accompany me for a walk now! I told you I can't sleep!" Shana's crisp orders flew at him. And he wanted to get out of it, somehow or other.

"Shana, I – "

"You will come with me. If you don't, I'll increase the intensity of your training by three times. Are you coming?"

That was how Yuji found himself treading dew-speckled paths swept by a desolate wind in the hour before dawn. With Shana leading the way, the duo betook themselves to the nearby park, shivering slightly in the chilly arms of night. Sitting on a patch of grass, he looked around him and could not resist a smile in spite of his chattering teeth.

The frosty mist billowed and trailed like the train of a ghostly dress, weaving around trees and flowers, and twirling about Shana's feet. And above the fluttering fingers of the icy mist he could see constellations of stars, all winking at him from above. Amid the stars danced the moon, now rowing her way downstream along the Milky Way, rowing to her dark palace hidden behind the doors of night. Even so, the light glimmer of the moon's silver hair still streamed down to earth, and they settled around them, dusting them in fairy light. It seemed to Yuji that some silvery lunar threads intermingled with the black river on Shana's head, giving her an ethereal look.

Shana's really quite pretty.

"Yuji, stop staring at me."

Blushing, he lowered his eyes and lay back. With sparkling eyes he gazed at the stars above their heads. Fingers dancing, he traced the constellations and named the stars he knew.

"That's Ursa Major, and that's…"

"Look, what's that?"

Yuji looked, and he stared. A meteor, it was. It streamed through the black dress of night, leaving a shining trail in its wake.

"Shana, let's make a wish now."

"Why?" Shana tilted her head to the right, looking at Yuji with a curious expression.

Ignoring the loud thump-thumps of his heart, he steadied his voice. "People usually make a wish when they see a meteor. It's like wishing on a falling star."

"Okay."

Shana and Yuji both lowered their heads.

"What did you wish for, Shana?"

"Melon bread. What did you think I wished for, you idiot?"

"Ohh. Ohh."

They relapsed in silence then, and remained so till dusk arrived with great fanfare. But the beauty of the morning and its splendour did not captivate Yuji one bit. His mind revolved around one thing – Shana, and the wish he made. He'd never really believed in wishing upon falling stars before, but he really did hope for his wish to come true.

He wanted a world with Shana beside him.

He wanted a world where Shana would not have to do battle at all.

And most of all, he wanted her love, though he hadn't realised that yet. He would though, in time to come.

He wished for a peaceful world.

A/N: Hahaha, i'm back from my short hiatus! Decided to post for shakugan no shana first, don't ask me why. I don't know either. So how's this? I hope it's not too bad hahahaha. I'm not sure if they're IC or OOC, but yeahh. Please review! i appreciate all reviews! Thanks :D