. We Will Never Change .

"Oof..."

The girl landed gently on the ground on her two feet. As if on cue, a strong gust of wind blew, making her black dress, red bandana and her yellow hair flow vigorously. Her hair stood out the most amongst her dark-coloured clothing and her tanned skin. And despite her frightening aura, she still had the countenance of a bright, young itako; the kind which would be considered the best in her generation.

She loosened her grip on her weapon, as she stared down at the defeated boy before her. "Is that really all you got?" she taunted, narrowing her eyes in the process. She watched as the boy coughed and struggled to get back on his feet. "I said that if you can't defeat me, I won't marry you."

"Who said I wanted to marry you in the first place...?" the boy muttered, but made sure it was loud and clear enough for the girl to hear. He obliged himself to stand upright, and grasped his right arm due to its piercing pain. He looked up and made himself look the girl in the eyes, before widening his very own; something about her seemed very...

"You seem to have forgotten who I am," the girl interrupted, breaking the boy's chain of thoughts. She continued to stare down at him as her frown got more intense. "I am the best itako in this generation, and I will only marry you if you are able to defeat me."

"Tch...," the boy furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. Who the hell does this girl think she is? "This is all Uncle Hao's fault...," he mumbled. "Who cares if he's the Shaman King? That doesn't give him the right to choose my future wife.."

"Fight me, or I will not hesitate to finish you right here and now," the girl continued, staring straight into the boy's eyes. The sober expression her face possessed gave him the hint that she wasn't kidding in any way.

Nevertheless, the usual cocky smirk didn't stop itself from forming on the boy's own face. "Heh.. Very well, show me what you've got," he replied.

The girl raised her weapon, preparing herself to perform yet another attack on him, "You asked for this..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on here?"

"Huh?" both the teens said in unison as they lowered their weapons (and their guards!) and turned, only to meet face-to-face with a young, and somewhat comical-looking gentleman, who was only dressed in a simple white shirt and a pair of bermuda shorts. His long, wavy hair covered nearly half of his face, but somehow, that gentle and carefree smile of his didn't seem to be hidden.

"Hana?" the man tilted his head. "What are you doing with this girl?"

"F-father...!" the boy named Hana blurted out. He was beyond shocked to find such a person at this place and time. Wait.. wasn't he supposed to go do some shopping for Mother? What's he doing here?

"So you're this boy's father," the girl voiced, eyeing the newcomer from head to toe.

The man turned to the girl and stared at her, his mouth agape. The blank expression on his face somehow made him look like a young child. "A-Anna...?" he almost yelled. Upon hearing the name of his biological mother, Hana widened his eyes and took a step away from the girl.

The girl smirked, "It may seem like a coincidence, but in truth, you may call me Anna. I am the best itako in my generation, and I just came here from Los Angeles."

Hana stared at the girl, flabbergasted. Was she for real? It seemed unbelievable for the girl to share the same name as his biological mother. Even their personalities were very similar. And what's with her telling them to call her 'Anna'?

"O-oh, for a second there, I thought you were my wife...," the man, Asakura Yoh, muttered nervously. He scratched the back of his head as he began to recall how his wife had dressed back when they were still teens. She, too, had blonde hair, wore a black dress and a red bandana around her head. Then Yoh widened his eyes, "That bandana you're wearing..."

The girl Anna widened her smirk, "You've noticed, haven't you? I am part of the Patch Tribe. I am the proud daughter of Silva, the very same man you killed many years ago during the Shaman Fight."

Yoh tried to ignore his son's baffled stare by regaining memories of the Shaman Fight years before. It was true; he did kill a man from the Patch Tribe named Silva. That was at the Glacier plant, when they were at Mu, and he and his friends had wanted to finish his twin brother off before he woke up from his sleep and finally merged powers with the Great Spirit. But then again, Silva had never told him about his daughter..

Then he finally spoke up, "What were you doing, picking a fight with my son?"

"I don't want to live the rest of my life supporting a weak man, both physically and mentally," Anna III explained. "Therefore, to see if this man is capable of marrying me, I must test his powers."

"Ah!" Yoh's face lit up. "H-Hana's future wife...!" Hana felt like he could kill himself any moment.

"Father...!" Hana called out, gaining his father's attention. "This is just between her and me! Don't you have any darn shopping to do? So get the hell out and mind your own business!"

Yoh stared blankly at his son; he probably got his uptight traits from his mother. Just unexpectedly, he laughed, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Hana. I got introduced to your mother when I was only ten."

Hana's face turned a bright red, bringing forth a mocking smirk from Anna III. "B-but...!"

"Enough, I simply came here because I need you to come with me," said Yoh. "A man needs to learn how to buy groceries and prepare dinner for his wife!"

Hana's eyes widened, and then he sighed; for the first time since that day, he felt relieved. So many things has happened in just a short period of time. His guardian spirit Amidamaru going all out on him, the meeting with Tao Men, the encounter with that Horo guy in his room, and now, his first meeting with his 'future wife'. Buying groceries with his father did seem a little boring, but it was much better than having to waste his time and energy on this girl, whom he still refused to address as his future wife. It was all too absurd.

"...Then let's put this test on hold 'til another day," Anna III said finally, after a short moment of silence. "Asakura Hana, I will never forget you. And neither will I marry you if you fail to defeat me."

"Yeah, yeah...," Hana sighed.

"Also, before you go," Anna III said, turning to the man. "There's something I wish to tell you..."

Yoh arched a brow, "Oh? What is it?"

Anna III fished out a handful of trinkets, which were all designed in Native American style. She stretched her arm out for the man to see, before smiling, "If you don't mind, would you please buy these handmade trinkets? They're really cheap."

"The Patch Tribe never changes!"

This is one of the most random thing I've ever written in my entire life! xD I really do like it, though it doesn't have anything to do with Silva... Oh, well! Happy Birthday, Silva! You're my most favourite Patch (it's a tie between him and Rutherfor, actually). Anyway, I got this idea after I got reminded of the countless times when the people of the Patch Tribe would pester their visitors by getting them to buy their handmade trinkets in the anime. Don't remember if this happened in the manga, though when I try to recall it, the image of Silva carrying an iPatch appears in my head instead. xD Oh, well!

I apologise for my poor sense of humour. I tried to make this fic as interesting as I could, but I think I've failed. xD Well, I enjoyed writing this anyway, and that's what matters most, right? So I hope you guys enjoyed this too! Sorry for any mistakes!

- A

P.S. Many of my readers have asked me about the SK character's birthdays. So instead of replying to them one-by-one, I've decided to post up the list of ALMOST ALL the characters' birth dates on my profile! Do check it out if you wish!