Itadaki no Hecate Second

The Measure of a Whim

"This is where we part ways," Ike said as they stood to one corner of an intersection, their shadows stretching long on the orange-dyed pavement. "I'll see you on Monday, Yoshida-san, Shana-chan." He waved goodbye as he left the two girls, with the short-haired one waving back.

"Thanks again for coming Shana-chan, I had fun with you," Kazumi told the girl with a sincere smile.

The Flame Haze turned away as she replied with an unconvincing tone. "I just didn't have anything to do today."

Kazumi giggled. It was still a work in progress, but at the very least she began to feel a better bond with the strongest Flame Haze, even if she still wasn't honest to herself.

"Let's do this again next time, okay, Shana-chan?" she said with such friendliness.

Shana glanced back at her and took a moment to consider.

"If I have nothing else to do, maybe I can spare a few hours," the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter replied.

On her way home, the very same path that the real Yukari Hirai had normally taken in the past, Shana chanced upon Yuji and Hecate a little ways ahead of her after rounding a corner. While she did sense their presence since before, she didn't think the coincidence of encountering them this close was likely—and there was no real reason for concern anyway. But she was curious about their present state.

Hanging on both of the male's arms were several paper bags, the kind bearing the merchandise sold at malls, while on top of those arms rested a couple of boxes and a pink stuffed sheep. He also seemed to be a bit tired by the way he was walking. Meanwhile, the girl next to him had her attention glued to the paper—wait, it was a photo in her hands.

Hecate had been staring at the photo since she and Yuji had left the mall. On it was the Supreme Throne herself in a pure white dress decorated with lace, cut just above her modest chest, with a frilly white ribbon around her neck and long white gloves on her arms to match. On her head was a flowing veil trailing down her short, dark-greenish hair, crowned at the top with white flowers. She stood straight, and while her cheeks were a touch pink, she gave a tiny smile towards the camera, or rather, to the boy who had been standing next to the cameraman.

"It sure was nice of them to let you try out those dresses even if you didn't pay for anything but that picture," Yuji said. The Crimson Lord nodded half-absentmindedly.

He peeked a glance at the immortalized bride and felt his cheeks heat up. She was certainly elegant and beautiful, and her petite figure only added to her cuteness and charm. Not for the first time, the Mystes once again found himself aware of the feelings stirring in him.

At that exact moment, the girl turned her eyes his way and met his gaze, causing him to blush a little bit more and skip a beat.

"Yuji, is this really what eternal togetherness is like for humans?" she asked him.

Yuji felt his heart start thumping hard very quickly.

"Er, y-yeah," he answered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, it's more like a vow for it really."

"A vow," Hecate repeated. "It makes sense that there would be a ceremony for something as important as that; to stay with each other forever." Without noticing it, she smiled again. She had been doing that a lot more as the days passed, the Mystes noticed.

It faded after a while, however. "But unlike Crimson Denizens and Flame Hazes, humans cannot live forever, so what happens when they die? Is the vow that binds them together broken?" she asked.

"I... can't really say," Yuji admitted. "Do Denizens have anything like that?"

"It's different for each of them, but it is not something normal for Crimson Denizens. Because they can live forever, it is not often that you meet a couple who would commit to each other for eternity unless their bond was truly unbreakable."