El Hazard: The Magnificent Sequel Chapter 5 "Okay guys. You know what to do?" Tanaka said to his henchmen who were carrying buckets of gasoline. "Yeah, boss. We throw this stuff around the restaurant and we burn this place down,"answered one of his men. The lout looked nonchalantly around and proceeded to peep through one of the windows. The 'old hag' was yelling at Palnus who was busy wiping some tables. Afura sat non-chalantly by the side reading a book. "All set?" "Yes boss." "And you're sure that the old woman and the rest didn't spot you?" "Positive sir. There's no way they could have seen us." "Okay. Let's get started." Tanaka grinned to himself. He had informed Lord Lagus about discovering Afura's wherabouts. Lagus had taken the information calmly and had cooly told him what to do. According to him, Afura's demise was "for the good of our noble Phantom Tribe." Tanaka was sure that when they found a way back to El Hazard, he would be given some kind of high-ranking post when they defeated the Roshtarians eventually. He smiled with a smile of satisfaction. **************************** Shayla Shayla had muttered something about chores and wandered up the track to one of the outer shrines, scuffing the dust and cursing. The cursing helped to keep down the lump in her throat. *Oh, why didn't the old priestess let them have alcohol on the grounds anyway.* Shayla longed for a bottle of the hard stuff and Masamichi Fujisawa to swig it with. *Alcohol?...Instead of sitting here feeling sorry for myself, I should just go and get myself a bottle.* She checked her pocket for small change. The priestesses at the temple survived mostly on donations. The Head Priestess, Sakura Hino, made sure that Shayla received a small share of the donations even though she was not training to be a priestess here. It was probably her way of thanking Shayla for all her hard work. Shayla stared at some loose change. *This coins look strange. Japan is strange. Makoto must be....* She stopped. *Why am I thinking of Makoto now?* She mused to herself and walked out. Shayla Shayla walked to the bus stop. *Hmmm...I hope this is the right bus.* The bus was crowded and people were jostling each other. Her red hair really stood out among the dark-haired passengers. A little boy was tugging his mother's hand and crying, "Look mom. Gaijin! Gaijin!" Shayla Shayla turned away and ignored him. Half an hour later, the bus was taking a very unfamiliar detour. *Damn! I must have taken the wrong bus.* She muttered and got off. Looking around, she saw a group of connected shops. There was sign called "Kirei Plaza". Shayla Shayla muttered under her breathe. *Oh well. Maybe I can find some alcohol here.* *Smoke. Is that smoke I smell?* Being the Priestess of Fire, Shayla's nose was very sensitive and attuned to the smell of smoke. After all, she was the Fire Priestess and she was no stranger to the smell of smoke. She walked to the direction of the smell.... ******************************************** Makoto Mizuhara had just finished one of his evening classes. *Groan. Have to study again for my upcoming tests.* There was a roadblock and there was a sign asking him to take a detour. *Road repairs again? When are they ever going to finish them?* He sighed as he took a detour into a highway. Ura was seated in the passenger seat. "Makoto. This place is new to me. NYAAAH!" "Would you like me to drive around? Okay, I will take you for a short drive. After that, it's time to hit the books?" He hadn't gotten too far when suddenly..... Fire. Fire? FIRE! "Oh no! That place is on fire. I think I need to stop and help!" ***************************** "Hurry up and wipe those tables, Palnus! It's almost closing time!" "Yes ma'am," Palnus answered sleepily. Despite the fact that he was barely awake, he somehow found the energy to wipe off the tabletops. *C'mon, Palnus, you can do it,* he told himself. *It's only a few minutes to closing time. Just hold out for a little while tonger....a..a...little while..ZZZZZZZZZ* Unfortunately, Palnus just couldn't stay awake. He collapsed and fell asleep on the table, dreaming about his own harem. Palnus was awakened by the sound of someone calling his name. "Palnus! Palnus! Wake up! Wake up, NOW!" "Zzzz..aw, Alielle, I'm not ready to get up yet. Jus' gimme five more minutes, 'kay? Owwwwww!!!!" Palnus felt a sharp tug at his earlobe. He reluctantly opened his eyes, and not surprisingly, the old woman was standing right in front of him. *Her again? Well, go figure. I never get a break.* It wasn't long after Palnus had opened his eyes when he noticed the smoke. The entire restaurant was covered in what looked like a thick, black cloud. It was nearly impossible for Palnus to see more than five feet in front of his face. The smoke filled Palnus' nostrils and made him cough painfully. Palnus covered his nose and mouth with his hands and tuned his attention to the woman. Palnus noticed that the old bird had a grim expression on her face. "What the heck is going on ?" "The entire restaurant is on fire! It's all going to burn down if we don't do something quick!" she yelled, nearly hysterical. "Wait a minute...the entire restaurant is going up in flames?! YES!!-uh, I mean, oh no, that's horrible! Whatever shall we do?" "Afura and I are going to try and put out the flames. While we're doing that, you're going to go over and get help over at Takuya's place. Now go, hurry!" Palnus didn't argue with her. He bolted out of the restaurant door, and ran to go find help. Palnus bolted across the plaza square. His lungs ached and he hd a cramp in his side, but he couldn't risk stopping to regain his breathe. *This is just great. Here, I am, busting my butt to help out that old hag save her lousy restaurant. Why the heck am I doing this anyway?* *You know EXACTLY why you're doing this,* a voice in the back of his head told him. It sounded just like the one Alielle used to lecture Palnus when he was younger. *You may not like her very much, but the restaurant is the only thing that keeps her going. If she loses the restaurant, she loses everything.* "Jeez, it looks like I can't escape Alielle even when I'm in another world." Takuya was in his own dream world. He was busy plucking the petals of a flower and daydreaming about Afura's 'sister.' "She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me......" The sight of someone running towards him jolted him back to reality. *Can it be? Has she finally fallen for my manly charms?* ****************************************** Palnus had been running for a while before he finally noticed a familiar-looking figure. *All right! I've finally found him!* he thought happily to himself. Palnus stopped running and struggled to regain his breathe as he approached Takuya. "Whew..T-Takuya...I'm so glad to see you....." Takuya's cheeks turned bright red. "really?? You are?? Well, um, I'm...really happy to see you, too, Miss Palnus!" Takuya began to laugh nervously. Palnus' left eye twitched slightly. *I really hate being called Miss! But I can't think about that right now...* "Takuya, we don't have any time to waste right now, we've got a real dilemma on our hands! The entire restaurant is going to go up in smoke if we don't do something!" Palnus pointed to the smoke in the distance to illustrate his point. "My God, the restaurant is on fire?! Stay here, I'll go tell my dad!" Takuya disappeared back into his house, temporarily leaving Palnus standing on the porch. He reappeared after a few moments. "Okay, he's calling the police, so what do we do now?" "Uh oh, I haven't thought of that yet." "Well, um, I guess I'll head back to the restaurant to give Afura and the old maid a hand. You stay here and wait for the police to come!" Before Palnus could run back in the direction of the restaurant, Takuya grabbed a hold of him by his sleeve. "No way, you're not leaving without me!" Palnus gave him a confused look. "Huh? Takuya, why do you want to come? It would be too dangerous. You should stay here with your dad." "Well, I....I just thought you'd like some help, that's all." Takuya was fidgeting and blushing like crazy. *What's this guy's problem?* Palnus thought to himself. Suddenly, it struck him light lightning. He realized what was wrong with Takuya. *Wait a minute....don't tell me he's...he couldn't be...oh, no, he is!! HE'S GOT A CRUSH ON ME!!!!Oh, gross!* The very thought made Palnus sick. "Miss Palnus, are you okay?"Takuya asked with some concern in his voice. Palnus backed away nervously. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Takuya...look, I..I gotta go!" Palnus ran in the direction of the restaurant eager to get as far away from Takuya as he could. "Hey, Miss Palnus, wait for me!" Takuya took off after Palnus in hot pursuit. ***************************************** "Huh???" Makoto Mizuhara and Shayla Shayla stared at each other. "You are.."Makoto brushed his cheek. "..in this world?"His startled look changed to a look of honest joy. *I guess it makes sense. After all, if Diva and Ura came, then the rest should also be somewhere in this world.* "Oh Makoto, I..I"Shayla Shayla couldn't hide the look of joy on her face. "..I am so glad to see you."She started to advance towards him. *Heaven must be smiling on me. The man of my dreams is here.* Their thoughts were interrupted. Inside the burning restaurant, the old woman ran frantically and grabbed a pot that contained some rice that had been soaking and threw the mess at the fire. *This is doing nothing.*Afura thought. "Obaasan you have to get out of here now."Afura commanded. "No, this is my restaurant!" the old woman snapped back at Afura. "You(cough) are leaving now!" Afura cried and with a shove, the old woman landed outside the front door. The door locked behind her. "Afura!! Afura what are you doing!!(cough cough)" the old woman banged on the door. *damnitDamnitDAMNIT* Afura dropped to the ground. *I got to get rid of this fire* Afura crawled on the ground, trying her best not to inhale the smoke. *What can I do? I'm not Miz or Kauru; my power is wind and wind feeds fire. Okay, got to get out of here..1,2,3." Grabbing a few personal items, Afura bolted out of the place through the window and inhaled deeply. The scene outside shocked her. Makoto was there! Shayla Shayla was there! A group of rough-looking men were facing them. One of them confronted the two of them and said,"I think the two of you have seen too much. Sorry, but we need to take care of you before you can cause any trouble." A burly guy faced Makoto and threw a punch at him. Makoto looked too surprised to avoid it. Before his punch could land on Makoto, Shayla Shayla threw a punch at the thug's face. "Oww! You broke my tooth!" Shayla Shayla angrily confronted him. "How dare you commit acts of violence here?" In the meantime, the old woman was crying. "You! You were the ones that burned my restaurant!" With that she began to spew endless accusations and profanities at the group of rough-looking men confronting Makoto and Shayla Shayla. People living in the surroundings were beginning to stir. "S..someone shut the old bag up!" One of the men dressed in a suit walked towards the old woman and smacked her, causing her to fall on the ground. And that's when Afura got angry, REALLY angry. Afura had been angry before, but it had been a different sort of anger, sisterly anger at Shayla, annoyed/anger at a good many people. But this was different. This was the kind of unfiltered hate that Afura didn't even know that she had. *The old woman...she didn't even know us, she took us in, trusted me. They hurt her, I'm going to kill them.* In one deft motion, she got ready. A thug's initial charge knocked Afura to the ground. While wrestling for a moment, she clawed at his throat and that was when he began choking. It did seem strange that he wasn't choking because of her physical actions but more because of something else... The man lurched away and grabbed his throat, still choking, and it was then Afura realized what she was doing. *...rather than blow air at people, I can draw it away...He can't breathe...* The man fell to his knees hand to his throat, it was then when Afura released him, he blacked out unconscious. "That's more than you deserve." "Afura!"Shayla cried. "How did you do that?" *If I can do that to a person, then I can draw air away from the house and the fire will stop.* ****************************************** (In the meantime...) Palnus saw the burning restaurant looming ahead of him. *Alright, I'm finally here. I hope I'm not too late......* Palnus looked over his shoulder to see Takuya running close behind him. *Oh great, he's still here? That's just what I need right now!* It was useless to try and desert Takuya now, so Palnus stopped running and let him catch up. As soon as Takuya caught up with Palnus, he bent over and rested his hands on his knees while he struggled to regain his breathe. "(Panting heavily) I...don't...see...how you can...run so fasst!" Palnus didn't even hear what he said. Instead, he was concentrating on the scene that was unfolding in front of the burning restaurant. Two figures were desperately fighting off a group of men that had surrounded them. It took Palnus a few moments to realize who the two figures were. "Is...is that Shayla and Makoto? I must be seeing things, that couldn't be them over there!" *They are in trouble. I need to help them.* Before Palnus could move, he was stopped by one of the large men who had surrounded Makoto and Shayla. "What?! More people? This wasn't suppose to happen in the plan! I better take care of this..." The burly man tried to grab Palnus, but before he could do so, Takuya pushed Palnus out of the way. Takuya stood in front of the thug and gave him a defiant look. "Takuya, what the hell are you doing?!"Palnus cried out. "Don't worry about it, just get out of here! I'll take care of this hairy gorilla myself!" "WHAT?! Are you crazy??"Palnus cried back. "Kid, you're making a big mistake!" The thug snarled and lunged at Takuya. "Takuya, watch out!" Palnus yelled as he charged at the thug. Before the large man could even lay a finger on Takuya, Palnus grabbed him by the arm and threw him a good 10 feet into the air, making him land in a nearby dumpster with a loud THUD. Takuya watched this scene with disbelief. "Palnus, how...how did you...?" Palnus grinned nervously. "You mean that? I don't know, I've been able to do stuff like that for a while. I, uh, guess I don't know my own strength, huh?" Takuya's face turned a deep shade of red and his eyes began to sparkle. "Palnus, that...that was incredible! You saved my life! Thank you!" Palnus smile turned into a grimace. "What? Oh no, no, no, no! You don't need to thank me! It's fine, really!" NYAA!NYAA! Ura had gotten out of Makoto's car and was scratching the face of Tanaka who was shaking his head in disbelief while trying to fend her off. ************************************** Afura looked at the burning restaurant. *It may be bigger than a person but if I can draw the air away from it, the fire will stop.* Afura turned to the house and raised both hands and began to focus. It seemed like eternity. Time seemed to stop. Then like a lamp, the fire turned off. ***************************************** Takuya's father had arrived with a lot of local people. They chased the thugs away and gave the place a good washdown with a hose for good measure. The old woman in charge of the restaurant was busy talking to the police. Police noticed that the large bruise on her cheek had swollen up and for the first time since he met her, Palnus felt sorry for the old hag. "No doubt about it. It was arson. We will investigate this. By the name, I am Detective Tetsuya Kumamoto." A kind-looking policeman of average looks was talking to the old woman who was muttering obscenities to her burnt furniture. Afura was unaware of all of these as knees seemed to have buckled under the weight of her body and she collapsed into a heap. Shayla Shayla had her arms around Afura and was trying to revive her. "Looks like you are doing fine adapting to life in Japan." Makoto had walked over to shake hands with Palnus. Palnus didn't have a chance to respond because he had to make a hasty retreat when Takuya showed up. "Uh..Makoto. I'll talk to you later." "So where will you be going from here?" "I'm not really sure." Afura still looked kind of dazed. "I'm going to miss you..."the old woman sniffed. "...but not that childish, bratish Palnus." "Hey!" Palnus exclaimed. "I wanted you to know that I called a cousin of mine. She said that you could stay at the temple of hers for the time being. Let's see, that's the address...." The old woman was fumbling with a piece of paper. Shayla Shayla peered over. "What the....That's the same temple I am now staying in!" Shayla Shayla clapped her hands. "Oh Afura, I am so excited!" She shook Afura who was getting unsteadily on her feet. "I'm glad." Afura smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is for you, Afura." Takuya held out an old red book. "I remember suggesting that you try a little fantasy. I want you to start with this. It'll be good for you." "Thank you, Takuya." Afura hugged him. "You've been a wonderful friend." "You will come back, won't you Afura?" "Yes, I most definitely will return,"Afura replied confidently. "Maybe,"Shayla interjected. "Definitely." "Oh. I am so happy to see the three of you again. I can always come and visit anytime now." Makoto smiled sincerely as he came up to give Shayla Shayla a friendly hug. "Makoto...I...uhh..ummm..." Shayla's cheeks were turning crimson red. Her knees buckled and she collapsed against Afura. Oblivious to this, Makoto turned and said,"It's getting late and I have to run. But you can be sure i will drop by to visit." "NYAA! NYAA! Ura happy!" Ura followed Makoto into his Mitsubishi and they disappeared from the scene. Takuya turned to Palnus. "I really need to talk to you. No arguments..." Before Palnus could react, Takuya picked "her" up and carried "her" off where they could speak quietly. "Is he...?"Shayla began. "He doesn't know." "He doesn't know?" "He doesn't know." "Hmmph, serves that little girly boy right anyway. Maybe he'll get a decent haircut and stop looking like a...." A distant scream pierced the air. (Behind some trees) "AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Palnus began to spit and rub at his mouth with his sleeve. "P-tooey! Ugh, ugh, Takuya! I can't believe you just did that!" "Oh jeez, Miss Palnus, don't be upset! I couldn't help it, I....I.." Palnus turned around with his hands raised around Takuya's neck, and for a brief moment, he had the insane desire to strangle him. *Whoa, okay, don't freak out now, Palnus. Deep cleansing breathes...in, and out, in, and out.* Palnus sighed and lowered his hands. "Takuya, could you do me a small favor?" "Sure, what?" Never, NEVER do that again!" "S-sure, no problem!"Takuya nervously replied. "So, what are you and Afura going to do know?" "Actually, I don't really know. Shayla said something about a temple not far from here, so I guess that's where we're headed." "Shayla and Afura are pretty good friends, huh?" Palnus laughed. "You're kidding, right? Those two are practically inseperable! You couldn't keep them away from each other even if you tried! They may not show it and they may sometimes seem to be at each other's throat but those two go way, way back." Takuya laughed back. He was starting to fidget and he looked really nervous. "So,uh,Palnus, do you think...you'll stop by sometime and visit?" Palnus looked at him, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. *Poor dope. It'd crush him if he knew the truth...* "Well, I'm not making any promises just yet...but I don't think it will be a problem. Just don't kiss me like that again, okay?" Palnus held his hand out to Takuya. Takuya blushed and grabbed Palnus' hand to give it a firm handshake. "Sure, it's a deal!" Suddenly, Afura began to call out to Palnus. "Oh, "sister"? Our bus is here! Time to get moving." "Err..coming, "big sis"! Palnus replied through clenched teeth. "Well, see you around, Takuya." Palnus ran towards the bus stop where Shayla and Afura were standing. Shayla and Afura were laughing. "So what were the two of you doing back there? Something INTERESTING? You have feelings for the guy?" Shayla nudged Palnus playfully. Palnus covered his ears with his hands and pretended not to hear her as he walked inside the bus. "Shut up, SHUT UP! I can't hear you! La de da de dum!" Takuya smiled and waved goodbye to the three "women."