Author's note: This is my first fanfic, and I'm quite nervous, but I hope that my fic is at least pleasant. It's going be a Ren/OC and Hao/OC, and please do give me your comments on how I can improve it and what I did wrong. I actually planned this with my friend, snow-angel-anna who has already posted the first chapter of her fic. Our fics are similar, yet different, so please do check out the fanfic entitled Miracles.
Chapter 1- Shaman King…
"Shaman fight, semi-finals one. Tao Ren versus Aizawa Lyn. Ready…Fight!"
"Bason in Thunder sword!"
"Archangel in Heartblade!"
Lyn smiled when she saw Ren's oversoul shrink. Compression of furyoku. Just as expected of the famed Tao Ren. He had, after all, fought alongside Asakura Yoh in that battle against Asakura Hao four years ago.
"Hao…" Lyn looked out the corner of her eye to where the spectators were sitting. Her gaze slid past hundreds of faces, then came to a rest on a boy with long brunette hair and huge earrings. Four years ago, he had been a person most people hated or were afraid of. Everyone had thought that Asakura Yoh had killed Hao, and so they had been shocked when he had reappeared a year later. Even now, many shamans did not trust him.
In her opinion, he wasn't that bad. Even then, when he had been considered evil, there had been a spark of good in him. He was kind in his own way, no matter what others might think or say. She shook herself out of her thoughts and barely dodged an attack from Ren.
"Focus man! Ren's strength is his speed. You can't let your guard down against him. Besides, he has a furyoku of at least 14,700." Lyn muttered under her breath. She leapt towards him, sword at the ready.
"Golden slash dance!"
Lyn flew backwards from the impact of the attack. She had been cut quite badly in several areas and she could feel blood trickling from those wounds. Her oversoul had been broken once.
"How the heck did she get to the semi-finals in the first place? I could beat her hands down!" Horo Horo exclaimed in disgust. Lyzerg looked towards him and shook his head, disagreeing with Horo Horo's attitude. "Don't underestimate her. The fact that she got to the semi-finals must mean something right? Besides…I don't think she's showing us her true power yet. She has a furyoku of 13,500, and even though she started out as an unknown, I've heard her name being whispered a lot lately."
"You should have given up the moment you heard the name Tao Ren. I am going to become the next Shaman king…because I am invincible! So why don't you just surrender now!" Ren said, smirking. Lyn shook her head, laughing at Ren's confidence. "Isn't it a little too early to give up? I didn't come this far by chance! Don't you think you're being a little too complacent? It's still too soon into the match to declare who the winner will be. At this point of time, anything can happen. Besides, I'm just warming up! Archangel in Heartblade!"
Lyn smiled at Ren's shocked expression as her oversoul compressed. She shrunk her over soul to the size of Heartblade, then she stopped. She waited for Ren to recover before she made her next move. She unlocked Tsubasa from Heartblade and grinned at Ren's expression of pure horror. He recovered quickly and lunged for her, slashing at her. She blocked all his attacks with ease, and even managed to hit him on his arms several times.
With two swords in hand, she felt whole. This was the style she had been trained under since she was four. Her father had been a strict teacher, well-versed in Kendo and an average shaman. She attacked Ren and he blocked, and what followed was an exchange of blows which resulted in numerous injuries on both of them. Then, they both increased the amount of furyoku in their oversouls for one attack, and when the two oversouls each came in contact with the other, there was an explosion which knocked both Lyn and Ren back. Ren was just preparing for another attack when Lyn released her oversoul, laughing.
"I come, I go." Choco Love tried to make a joke of what had just happened. Hao stared at him in amazement. How COULD he tell such stupid jokes? The next thing he knew, Anna had whacked Choco Love on the head. "Please do not tell such jokes, banana comedian…"
Ren stared in shock as Lyn walked away. A gust of wind blew at her short brunette hair, ruffling it. In that instant before she had released her oversoul, her deep blue eyes had been sparkling with joy. This girl was definitely weirder than Yoh. Ren clenched his knuckles. "How dare she…how dare she walk away from our battle like that…"
"Shaman fight, semi-finals one, end. The winner is…Tao Ren!"
The crowd roared with approval.
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"Shaman fight, semi-finals two. Asakura Yoh versus Katsumoto Kaede. Ready…Fight!"
"Amidamaru in Harusame, in Spirit sword!"
"White Dragon in valkyrie!"
Kaede let out a sigh when she saw Yoh's oversoul shrink. She was not strong enough to compress her furyoku, unlike Lyn, and Yoh was using his double medium, meaning that she was seriously overpowered. However, one thing that the spirited Lyn had taught her was never to give up no matter the odds. The wind blew her shoulder-length blonde hair into her hazel eyes, and she pushed it back behind her ear. Then, she used the rock pillars around her as stepping stones and leaped up into the air, firing her projectile weapon.
"White meteor!"
Yoh watched as Kaede's oversoul streaked towards him. He was the very image of calmness as he slowly lifted his sword up and sliced the oversoul into half. He would not lose this match. He could take things easy once he became the Shaman King. Besides, just imagining Anna's reaction if he lost made him tremble.
Kaede was stunned with the ease at which Yoh had broken her oversoul. That had been her ultimate oversoul, and she had used her strongest attack. She created her oversoul again and White Dragon swung its sharp tail towards Yoh. Yoh stopped that attack with his sword, and White Dragon pushed its tail towards Yoh. They stayed there for awhile, pushing back and forth, before Yoh swung back, then slashed forward again. White Dragon flew back, crashing to the ground.
"Amidamaru style Halo blade!"
Kaede's oversoul broke a second time and she fell to the ground on fours, panting. Not that she had expected anything less from the great Asakura Yoh. She got up and walked over to Yoh, and held out a hand to congratulate him with a smile. Yoh grinned and shook her hand.
"ROAR!"
Manta jumped out of his skin as Ryu roared and rampaged. "…Ryu…calm down…" Despite Manta's plea, Ryu continued shouting incoherently, drawing unnecessary attention to himself. Horo Horo growled in frustration and whacked Ryu's head with his snowboard. "Why don't you just GROW UP already, dude!"
"Shaman fight, semi-final two, end. The winner is…Asakura Yoh!"
A deafening cheer filled the stadium. Hao stood up, smiling. The finals would be interesting. Yoh versus Ren. Maybe a definite winner would finally be picked in their long standing stalemate. He looked to his right and saw with a start that a small smile was playing on Anna's lips.
"The Finals will be held at the main arena tomorrow. I'm sure that all of you are hungry after all that excitement. Our restaurants provide meals, and are open for business until late at night, so don't forget that!"
Hao laughed at the announcement made by Karim. How like the priests to grab every money making opportunity which appeared.
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The next day dawned bright and early, but despite the early hours, the main arena was packed. Every Shaman wanted to know who their King would be. The air in the arena was tensed and packed with electricity. As Lyn took the seat beside Kaede, she felt a shiver of excitement down her spine. It was finally the long awaited finals between the two most favoured to win. Both Yoh and Ren had an almost equal number of supporters. However, if Ren lost, his supporters would still cheer for Yoh and vice versa. A hush fell over the spectators as Yoh and Ren stepped out onto the arena.
"Shaman fight, Finals. Asakura Yoh versus Tao Ren. Ready…fight!"
"Amidamaru in Harusame, in Spirit sword!"
"Bason in Thunder sword!"
Yoh grinned as both he and Ren compressed their furyoku. This was a friendly match but neither one would give the other any chance.
"Amidamaru style Halo blade!"
"Golden slash dance!"
Their attacks met in the middle and there was a huge explosion. Ren jumped through the smoke only to find that Yoh was no longer standing at his original position. He looked up to see Yoh streaking down towards him. Ren increased the amount of furyoku in his oversoul and swung, meeting Yoh's sword and pushing so Yoh flew back.
"Ha! I knew that this was not going to be easy, but I'm not going to lose!" "Me neither, Ren…Can you imagine Anna's reaction if I lost? I shudder at the thought…" Ren grinned at Yoh's comment. He could just imagine Anna screaming at Yoh, and increasing his training schedule. Regardless of how Yoh would suffer, he would not give way.
Ren barely managed to deflect a jump slash from Yoh. They then descended into a flurry of attacks, one occasionally gaining the upper hand.
Yoh panted as his attack was deflected once again. They had been at a stalemate for over an hour now. They were both exhausted by the effort of having to maintain their oversouls for such a long period. The battle had started out as a test of strength, but had now developed into a test of attrition. He put all his remaining furyoku into his oversoul and saw Ren do the same. He gave Ren a grin and saw Ren smirk in return. They both knew that this attack was the deciding factor of the match. They both leapt into the air and when their oversouls met, there was a huge explosion followed by a bright flash of light.
Lyn blinked sand from her eyes and scanned the arena for any shadow through the smoke. Who had won? Who was the Shaman King? When the smoke cleared, she saw Yoh and Ren standing with their backs to each other, and both of their oversouls had been broken. Their shoulders were heaving, an indication of their exhaustion. The problem was…whose oversoul had broken first?
"We are unsure of whose oversoul broke first, so we will have to discuss this, and all will be done by the will of the Great Spirits. The results will be announced in three hours time, so please feel free to have your breakfast at any of the restaurants. We apologise for the inconvenience caused."
Silva watched as Karim walked towards him after making the announcement. This was sure to cause heated debates amongst the priests. He and the other priests walked solemnly to the cave where Goldva was.
Hao was sitting at his seat in silence. That match had been so close. But he had seen it all. Both their oversouls had broken at the exact same time. Just who would be declared shaman king? Probably Yoh, since he had been the one who had defeated him in that battle four years ago. That would be to his merit. "Yoh! Ren!" Hao jerked out of his thoughts when he heard Lyzerg shout, and he saw Yoh and Ren lying face down on the ground. Both of them had passed out from exhaustion. Ryu carried Yoh and Pai Long carried Ren, and they left the arena and headed back to the inn so that Yoh and Ren could rest.
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"Asakura Yoh's oversoul broke a split second before Tao Ren's…"
"No! Tao Ren's broke first!"
Silva sighed as the priests argued over whose oversoul had broken first. Then, Goldva held a hand up for silence and a hush fell over the priests.
"The Great Spirits showed me everything very clearly. Their oversouls broke at the exact same time."
"Then who should the Shaman King be?"
There was a pause following Silva's question. Then, the priests started taking sides and a heated debate ensued.
"Asakura Yoh is stronger than Tao Ren."
"Tao Ren could match Asakura Yoh with ease."
"Asakura Yoh has a stronger will!"
"Tao Ren is strong in his own way, and he is younger, leaving more time for him to grow."
"Asakura Yoh is older, meaning he is wiser."
"Wisdom does not come with age alone."
"Asakura Yoh was the one who had defeated Asakura Hao four years ago."
A silence fell over the priests at Silva's statement. Then, one by one, they slowly nodded their agreement. Goldva was nodding her head in consent when there was a sudden beep from Silva's oracle bell. He stared in shock at the announcement on it, and when he read it out loud, there were exclamations from everyone present.
"This should not be allowed!"
"What are the Great Spirits thinking!"
"Stop arguing! It is the will of the Great Spirits…"
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As Lyn took her seat at the arena, the air was buzzing with excitement. When Yoh and Ren entered, a roar was heard from the crowd. Lyn stared at them. They had fainted from exhaustion earlier. At least they seemed better now. Then, the priests entered and a hush fell over the spectators. Silva stepped up on the stage to make the announcement, and Lyn sat on the edge of her seat, barely breathing. She glanced at Kaede on her right and saw that she was seated rigidly on the edge of her seat.
"The Shaman king is…Asakura Yoh!"
The crowd roared their approval.
"And…Tao Ren!"
Dead silence…
Heartblade. This is actually a sword made of 5 swords locked together. The five swords are in acscending order of strength Tsubasa, Phoenix Flame, Murasame, Dark Entity and Ancient Warrior.
Author's note: Umm...hope you liked it...please do review to tell me what you thought about it. Oh and yes...I got my inspiration for Heartblade from Cloud's sword in FF advent children. Remember to check out miracles by snow-angel-anna.