*This is my version of the anime series, Shaman King and the plot is slightly different from the series.
*The Main Character is a young girl named Kari Asakura. She has a slightly different personality than Yoh, but she's still optimistic. She also was separated from the Asakura family, so she has no idea that she's an Asakura, let alone a shaman. Due to capturing of young female shaman around Kari's age, she has to disguise herself as a boy name Karu.
Episode 1:
The Girl who Dances with Ghosts (Morty's POV:
WWWAAAAAAAAANNNKKK! That was the sound of the last train to my house, and as always I missed it. Our English class at my cram school always gets out late on Tuesdays, so I have to walk home. Not that I mind, because I like English, I mean I like to read, mostly horror stories and the walk home is not so bad, usually.
"Beware the night of the full moon." I read from my big red book that was about a little bigger than half the size of my abnormally short body. To take a little breather from reading, I looked up to see if the light was green and saw that there was a full moon right now.
Then I looked down at my watch and saw it was getting beyond late. Everyone back home will be worried if I'm any later. Perhaps if I take a shortcut through Monument Hill Cemetery, I can get home faster.
"There's nothing to worry about Morty. Keep reminding yourself that there are no such things as ghosts. Besides, there's full moon to light the way and the place is completely deserted." I reminded myself. "HEELLLLLLLOOOOO!" other worldly voices called out of nowhere. "Huh? Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked. But there was only a starry sky. I guess it was nothing. "Hello there!" a voice called out to me. "What?! Who's there?" I asked, feeling jumpy.
There was a young girl of thirteen with brown hair that went a little underneath her chin, she was wearing a shrine maiden's uniform. "What brings you here? Are you visiting a relative's grave?" she said politely. "No, actually I was taking a shortcut home through here." I explained.
"That's too bad they can get pretty lonely here with just the stars." She stated with a sad smile. "They?" I asked perplexed. "The spirits." She answered. Then all of a sudden, people came out of thin air, see through people. I shudder in both fear and shock.
"What's wrong?" she asked concerned. "G…G…GH….GGHHH…" I shuttered. She looked behind her and looked back at me full of disbelief. "Wait a minute! You mean you can see them?" she asked astonished. And the answer I gave her was "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Next Day Morty's POV:
"Morty…" the three kids, who I told about last night, said in disbelief. "It's true! After Cram School, I took a shortcut through Monument Hill Cemetery and there they were. And there was this one girl in a shrine maiden's attire and one of the ghosts looked like a samurai." I blurted out.
"Hey Morty, have you studied for the science test today?" the larger of the boys asked. "What test?" I asked, about to press the panic button. "We don't really have one, I was just messing with you." he admitted, "But seriously, I think you're losing your marbles."
So they still don't believe me, well then, I'm just going to have to try harder. "Oh, you guys don't have to worry about me, I still have all my marbles." I reassured, understanding that this is a lot to take in, "You guys just have to trust me on this one. Unless, you want to go back there tonight?"
"No thanks, I got better things to do." the slimmer of the boys said. "A lot better than ghosts?" I asked, surprised that he would pass up the chance for a little excitement. "Look, Shorty, we all know how you love to read ghost stories but enough already." he said. "He probably got that story from reading some book." the girl stated. "Right!" the boy agreed.
"Hey Shorty, do you know what the name of the story was?" the girl teasingly asked, as I shook in frustration, "I should love to read it, it sounds good." "MY NAME IS MORTIER!" I snapped. "Oh sorry." she said.
"And I definitely saw ghosts, they were having a party right out under the stars!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around desperately. "Alright, we believe you." the larger boy said, sarcastically. "I'M NOT LYING!" I yelled. "Maybe next time, you can tell us about your little party so we could come." the girl said. "I don't know, they might not want people like there." the skinnier of the boys said. "Living?" the larger boy adding to the joke, making the group laugh, while I shook in anger and frustration again.
"Alright, that's enough now." the teacher said as he came in the classroom, "We have a lot to do today people." With that, we went to our regular desks to begin homeroom. "I'll show them, I know what I saw last night." I thought to myself as I marched myself to my desk.
Then that girl came strolling into the classroom. I just stood there in utter shock. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, shocking the entire class, and giving the stranger a look of confusion. "Is there some sort of problem Mortimer?" the teacher asked after recovering from my little outburst.
Then I took a closer look, he was wearing our school's boy's uniform, so this was a boy and not a girl? But they look so much alike. "No." I said in complete embarrassment. "Then kindly take your seat." he demanded, short on patience. "Yes sir." I said, hanging my head low as I took my seat, which had two thick textbooks as a booster seat.
The boy stood in front of the classroom next to the teacher, as if nothing ever happened. "Well as you can probably see, we have a new student joining us today. This is Karu." he said. "He looks like the girl I saw, maybe that's her brother." I whispered to the larger boy. "What?" he asked. "I'm talking about the girl I saw at Monument Hill." "Right, and I'm the son of the Tooth Fairy." he teased, making me grind my own teeth in frustration. Just wait until I talk to this guy, then those guys will be singing a different song.
During break, the boy was reading a history book while listening to music through some small headphones. "Hey!" I said. But he didn't hear me, so I tried again. "Hello…" I said, but still nothing. "YO!" I yelled, which finally got his attention.
"Yo, what's up?" I said causally, my voice full of suspension. "Um…" he was flabbergasted. "Do you happen to have a relative, like a sister, who hangs out at the cemetery?" I said trying to jog his memory, but we nothing, "She was hanging with the ghosts."
"You must be mistaken, I'm an only child and I don't know any girls who look like me." he said. "WHAT?!" I exclaimed. "Nice try shorty, but it looks like his sister wasn't at your little party." the girl said. "She must have been a ghost." The skinnier boy said. "Right!" the larger boy agreed, then they laughed at my frustration.
I should have known that the kids at school would give me a hard time, they usually did. But I can't shake the feeling that this new kid was somehow connected to that girl. I had to find a way, some kind of proof that show that I really did see a girl that hangs out with ghosts and that I wasn't imagining things.
Later, After School Morty's POV:
"Hey! I know how to blow this guy's cover! I'll just follow him wherever he goes, and as soon as I seen him with the girl and her ghost buddies, I'll call up the gang." I said to myself as peeked around the corner to keep an eye on that kid. He was just standing there, with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths. He had his hands on the rails of the bridge and continued to do whatever he was doing.
Three Hours Later Morty's POV:
"HUH! COME ON KID! I HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS!" I growled as I ground my teeth together, about to snap at any moment, "HUH! WHEN I GET THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO WISH YOU'VE NEVER MESSED WITH MORTIMER!" What's the point of doing this for three hours straight?
Then finally, he lifted his arms into the air to stretch his limbs. "Here we go!" I said in relief and anxiousness. "That was a good mediation exercise." he said to himself, "Before heading back, I can stay awhile longer and enjoy the scenery. It's such a beautiful evening, I can look at this river until sunset." "WELL I CAANNN''''TTTTT!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my patience finally at the breaking point. That was a mistake, as it caught the boy's attention.
Faster than a second, I retreated back to my hiding place, trying to control my breathing. "Boy that was a close one." I thought to myself, "I got to be more careful, the last thing I want is for this guy to…" I peeked out from pole to check to see if the boy saw me, but… "WHAT!?" I exclaimed, "UGH! I LOST HIM! WHO IS THIS KIIDDD!?" I nearly got a bald spot, pulling my hair out of frustration.
Later that Night Morty's POV:
"Okay fine, the guy may have given me the slip, this afternoon, but I know where the girl hangs out, and I got the perfect hiding spot." I said to myself with a flashlight and instant camera in hand, standing near the shrine at Monument Hill cemetery, "Right now, all the kids think I'm crazy for telling stories about ghosts, but we'll just see whose crazy tomorrow morning.
I snickered somewhat evilly, thinking about the looks on their faces when they realize that I was right all along, then… "Really." I jumped as a heard an unfamiliar voice from the hill. "And why didn't anyone tell me about this situation?" a man with a long Elvis Pompadour hairstyle asked a group of rough looking guys. Where did they come from, and how did they get pass me? They must have done so while I was gloating to myself.
"Um, it didn't like it was worth the trouble, he just seemed like a mellow dude." a large guy wearing an orange coat and hat said. "Yeah, he probably won't come back Rio, I wouldn't get too worked up about it." a skinner boy stated. "Don't get too worked up about it huh?" Rio said.
"Listening to me good, you dirt bags, and everyone needs someplace to call their own. The Dead Enders have been run out from everywhere in town and we will run no more." he said, as he gripped a tombstone tightly, "Monument Hill will be our Sacred Hand!" Then he knocked the tombstone to the ground, earning a round of shocked gasps from his gang.
"Magnet…" Rio said, menacingly to the guy with the orange coat. "Yeah?" Magnet asked terrified as Rio put his right foot on top of the fallen tombstone. "Go find this mellow dude and make sure that he knows what will happen to him, if he ever comes near our sacred hang again." he said, "And if he still doesn't understand where we're coming from. You just bring him to the hill. I'll make sure he understands well."
He began to laugh, but the other Dead Enders didn't join in, they were too concerned about the tombstone Rio was standing on. "Um…Excuse me, Rio?" The big bald guy said nervously. "What's wrong B-Boy, you're all pale? More pale than usual." Rio asked. "Well, it's just…Just…that you're…" B-Boy stammered.
He looked down to what B-Boy was pointing to and saw that he was referring to the tombstone he was standing on, but he still didn't know what he was trying to say about it. "Come on, B-Boy, out with it." Rio said impatiently. "Well, you just knocked over Amidamaru's headstone!" B-boy finally answered.
"Who on earth is Amidamaru?" Rio asked. "It's more like who in earth is Amidamaru, Mr. Rio." B-Boy said. "He was a famous samurai warrior that existed six hundred years ago. He was said to have turned against a shogun and was eventually bought down and executed, but not before taking out fifty of the shogun's best warriors. Legend has it that that big slab of concrete that you're standing on is what keeps his evil spirit in the ground." "So what?" Rio asked bluntly.
"I'll tell you what!" B-Boy snapped, "You might have released the spirit of some bloodthirsty killer!" Rio just snorted in amusement then raised his wooden sword with a yell and slashed the tombstone in half. The other Dead-Enders screamed in terror and cowered as they waited for something to happen. "I think I hear my mother calling me." one of them said. "Yeah, this might be a good time for us to skedaddle." another said.
"I'll show you an evil spirit!" Rio snuffed as he put his wooden sword on his right shoulder and put his left foot on top of the slashed tombstone, "Okay, I'm waiting! Where is the spirit of the great Amidamaru? I hope this teaches you not to believe in ghost stories. There's only one evil spirit on this hill, and luckily for you I am still very much alive." Then he laughed at the irony of it all.
"This guy has a screw loose." I exclaimed as I saw the events unfold, "I'm out of here." As I tried to move back to escape the Dead-Enders' path, I kicked an empty can of cherries and it fell down the hill, alerting the gang of my presence. Rio was the first to take notice of the short boy.
"And you would be…?" Rio asked. "Oh, me? Um…I'm nobody, I'm just… um…out for a little stroll." I said on the tip of my tongue, "But I didn't see anything, I swear! I didn't you break the tombstone really?" But that didn't cover up the truth.
"I see, then I suppose you don't notice what is about to happen to you?" He asked with an evil grin on his face. "That, I kind of noticed that sir." I stated noticing I was in deep water. Rio and the other Dead-enders grinned as they found their next prey.
"Okay that's everything so I'll just…" I said, slowing backing away from the dangerous group. "This place belongs to the Dead-Enders, got it?" B-Boy exclaimed threateningly. "Okay, I got it, I understand." I replied, sweating like a pig. "Maybe we'll just make sure you do." Rio said as he and his group came closer. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs at my fate at the hands of the Dead-Enders.
After Morty and the Dead-enders Left Narrator's POV:
"Looks like the coast is clear." the new student said to himself or rather herself as she walked up to Monument Hill. Then she noticed something wasn't right, starting to feel frantic, she dashed up to the lone tree hill and gasped. The tombstone was knocked over and slashed in half.
Then she heard a moan of pain and a small bluish white light sinking to the ground. "Are you alright?" she asked concerned. "I'm fine, but probably not for long, if we don't do something about this, I'll lose my strength." A voice called out from the light. "Who could have done this?" she asked as she stared at the broken memorial.
The Next Day Narrator's POV:
"Oh no!" the female student exclaimed in shock, "Morty, what happened to you?!" Morty was wrapped in bandages, his arm was in a sling, and one of his eyes was blackened. "I sort of fell down a hill." he answered, embarrassedly looking down at the floor. "It wasn't Monument Hill was it?" the bigger boy asked, "Were you dancing with the ghosts again?" "I was trying to get prove so you guys will believe me." Morty answered. They just groaned in annoyance that he was still going on about that.
"That's where the Dead Enders are hanging out now!" the girl exclaimed. "I found that out the hard way." Morty mumbled. Those guys are maniacs! You were lucky to have only fell down a hill Morty!" she scolded. "Yeah! The Dead Enders are way scarier than any imaginary ghosts. And how did you end up falling down a hill anyway?" the slimmer boy interrogated. "I WAS TRYING TO RUN AWAY FROM RYO!" Morty answered, impatiently.
"FROM NOW ON, WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY GHOST STORIES FROM YOU! UNDERSTAND?" the larger boy demanded. "It wasn't a story I really saw them." Morty insisted. "Oh yeah? Well we don't care! We don't need Ryo and the Dead Enders messing with us!" he said. The other two teens agreed with him.
"Alright, I understand… I won't say anymore…" Morty said in defeat, "BUT I SAW GHOSTS!" That last statement brought attention from the entire study hall class and to the foursome. "Morty…" the girl said losing her patience. "No one ever believes me. Never. Never…" he said on the verge of tears.
"I believe you." a voice said. Shocked, Morty turned around and saw Karu standing right behind him. "Come again, pal." he asked, flabbergasted. "Ghosts are real." Karu said with absolute certainty. Unfortunately, no one believe him either. They just thought they were both crazy.
As the day went on, Morty just sat at his desk, feeling pretty miserable about himself. He just wanted to get home and forget that this whole thing never happened. On the other side of the room, Haru was pondering what to do about the small boy.
After school, Morty was about to head home, but someone called out to him. "Hey! Wait up!" It was Haru, "Hey, uh… My friends at the graveyard told me what happened." "Ah, it wasn't that bad." Morty reassured, "I might want to become a doctor someday, so I might I gone a little overboard with the bandages." "A doctor huh? You must be pretty smart then." Haru stated, trying to break the ice, "Anyway come with me." With that, he took Morty by the arm and started walking towards the entrance.
"Hey! What are you doing? I got homework to do!" Morty exclaimed, trying to come up with an excuse, "Where are we going?" "Monument Hill." Karu answered bluntly. "WHAT?!" Morty shouted in disbelief. "Yes! It's one of my favorite places to hang out, and besides, we both have unfinished business to attend to." he explained. "What time do those Dead-Enders show up anyway? Probably not until dark, but we can just hang out and get to know each other until then…" "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Morty shouted as he yanked his arm out of Karu's Grasp.
"I may have bumped my head last night, but I haven't completely lost my mind!" he said, "Monument Hill belongs to Rio and the Dead-Enders and those guys are pure evil! Why would anyone want to go there?" "Well for me, let's just say, he hurt a really good friend of mine and he needs to be taught a lesson." Karu answered. "Oh yeah, that will work." Morty said sarcastically. "Yes it will!" Karu said with a bright smile on his face, then he grabbed Morty by the wrist again and started to walk again, "Come on! Let's go!"
"By the way, I'm sorry for saying I didn't know you yesterday. It's just with me being the new kid, I rather not have that much attention." Karu explained. "I understand." Morty stated. "I wouldn't believe us anyway." Karu said, "Especially since not everyone has the sight like you and me." Morty was surprised by the statement and smiled at the fact that he might have made a friend of a kindred spirit.
Later that Night Narrator's POV:
"Hey! Hello? HEY!" Morty yelled. "Did you say something?" Karu said as he peeked inside the shrine as he was changing. "I was just wondering, was tying me up to this tree really necessary?" he asked. "You would have run away if I didn't would you?" Karu asked. "Yes! As fast and as far away as I can!" Morty answered. "Then yes." Karu stated. "OOOOOHHHHHHH! Why me?" he asked himself in despair.
Then he stepped out, wearing a Shinto priestess attire. Then realization hit Morty like a waterfall. "You're that girl from that night!" he exclaimed. "Yep! I'm a girl, no additives no preservatives. And my name is Kari." she said as she sat next to the sliced tombstone, "Sorry I lied about my identity, but I had a good reason."
"No problem, but remind me why we're out here again." he said. "Well, let's just say you're going to witness something that other kids only dream about." Kari said. "Oh yeah! I'm really lucky! I get to see Rio and the Dead-Enders turn us into ghosts!" Morty exclaimed. Kari just giggled. "Don't worry, Morty! Just watch, and I promised you won't be disappointed. Although you probably won't believe your eyes, I know I didn't when I first saw them." she said.
Then suddenly, voices came approaching the hill. Morty froze immediately and started shaking in fear. "They're here." he shuddered as he turned his head to the source of the voices, seeing the Dead-Enders coming closer to them.
As Rio was about to step on the wooden bridge that connected the two hills, one with the shrine and the other with the tombstone and the tree which Morty was tied to, he noticed a figure sitting on the other side. "Well, what's this?" Rio asked in a teasingly threatening tone, "Having a little slumber party? Isn't that nice?" Normally, people would flee at the sound of his threat, but Kari just got up and dust off the dirt off her robes, which puzzled the pompadour gangster.
Then Kari turned around with a bright smile on her face. "Hello there! It's nice to meet you, I'm Kari. And this is Morty, who I'm sure you've already met." she introduced. Morty was flabbergasted that she just casually just introduced them to the thugs. "Huh, hi guys!" he said.
"Hey Boss, that was the kid that was here last night." Magnet said. "I am aware of that!" Rio snapped at the unneeded information. "Morty, here says you were hanging out here last night. I like to hang out here as well." Kari stated. "Really, then it is you who hangs out here at our sacred hang. Unfortunately, your days of hanging out here are coming to an end, little girl." Rio said threateningly.
"That's not what my friends say." Kari stated, "You see Rio, they love it when I come out here. This is their home and they love visitors. In fact, other than Morty, you'd hurt another really good friend of mine, whom I consider my family." "Really, I would like to meet these friends of yours" Rio said impatiently. Morty flinched at that response. "Where are they?! Where are all the ghosts?!" he asked in a panic.
"Don't worry, Boss, we'll take care of it." One of the Dead-Enders, called Space Shot, said as he came up with one of the muscular members. "Yeah, no one steps onto the Dead-Enders' sacred hang." he said as he cracked his knuckles. "This might be a good time to run!" Morty stated. "You mean like you did last night?" Kari asked. "Well at least, I'm still alive!" Morty stated.
"Don't worry we got this!" she reassured. "Who's we?!" Morty demanded. "I'm not alone!" Kari exclaimed, "AMIDAMARU!" Then, a shadowy essence appeared behind her, which seemed to be coming from the broken tombstone behind her. "I am giving you the chance to redeem for your mistakes. You should be grateful for that." An other worldly voice said.
"Enough stalling! FINISH THEM!" Rio ordered the two Dead-Enders, then they charged at the two youths. Morty screamed in fear at the approaching thugs. "Morty! It's okay! Don't be afraid! We're not alone!" Kari reassured.
"AMIDAMARU! SPIRIT FORM!" Kari called out, as the ghost of a samurai changed into a ball of light blue fire with eyes in her hand, "I am a shaman, a link to the world beyond!" "You're a what man?" Morty asked perplexed. "UNNIIITTTTYYYYY!" she called out as she brought the ball into her chest and it went inside her. "What happened to that ghost that was just here?" Morty asked.
"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" one of the charging thugs yelled as they were about to attack the girl. Then suddenly her eyes were alit and faster than the naked eye, she grabbed the wooden stake next to the broken tombstone, used it as a sword, and knocked the two into air unconsciousness. "Uh…What just happened, Magnet?" B-Boy asked. "I don't know, B-Boy, I must have blinked." Magnet answered, unable to say anything else. "How did she do that?" Morty asked in astonishment.
Then Kari stood up and pointed her makeshift sword at Rio. "You should learn to respect a spirit's resting place, Rio!" Kari and a male voice exclaimed. "What's with this kid, it's like she's two different people." Rio thought to himself.
"Okay Rio, if you think that Monument Hill belongs to you, then prove it. Or are you afraid of my sword… kid?" Kari and the ghost taunted. That struck a nerve with Rio. "With Pleasure!" he snapped, and then he charged at her, "NOBODY TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT!"
Just as Rio was about to swing his wooden sword on top of the girl's head, she disappeared. "WHERE DID SHE GO?" he exclaimed. "MR. RIO, WATCH OUT!" B-Boy warned. Kari didn't disappear, she went underneath Rio and strike her sword right at him.
Rio was flinching at the board in front of his face, one inch more towards him, and it would have been a serious injury, fatal even. "I only spared you, because I don't want trash like you in my world." Kari and the other voice said, "But remember this Rio, the next time you vandalize this gravesite, I'll do more than just take a little off the top." Then with a large chunk of his pompadour and fainted flat on his back. "RUN FOR IT!" the other Dead Enders shouted as they ran out of the gravesite.
Morty was in complete awe of what had just incurred. In his mind's eye, he was doing a replay of the fight. "Whoa! I never read anything like this in my books before, I had no idea anyone could have that kind of power. The person borrows the ghost's abilities and strengths and then uses them in physical form. That is so amazing!" Morty thought to himself. He then found a new aspect of this mysterious girl.
A Few Hours Later Narrator's POV:
After the Dead-Enders left, Kari and Morty got to work. "Thanks for helping me fix the tombstone. We can't leave it like this." Kari said. "Are you kidding? After what I saw that you did, I don't mind!" Morty answered. Once the stone was whole again, Kari put the stake back beside the grave and said a short prayer to the resting place. "It was nothing!" Kari stated humbly. "Oh really…? Then perhaps you can teach how to fight like that?" Morty suggested. That statement shocked Kari. "I would, but I think that my ghost friends have had trouble action for one night and need a rest." Kari answered, giggling a bit, which Morty giggled in return.
"That's okay! You can teach me tomorrow." he said. "Well, you sort of have to have the ability of a shaman and well as the Sight, to merge with a spirit like that." Kari broke the news carefully. "So you're really a shaman huh?" Morty enquired. "Yeah." she answered. "REALLY?!" he asked excitedly. "Yep!" she answered again. "What's a shaman?" he asked. This dumbfounded her for a bit. "How about we wait until tomorrow for that?" Kari suggested. "Okay!" Morty agreed.
"Wow! There sure are a lot of stars out tonight!" Kari exclaimed as she looked up to the sky. "Wow! There sure are!" Morty said in agreement, "You know, it's strange, Kari, I've always been known as the kids who loves ghost stories, but now I'm right smack in the middle of one!" "Your sure are, Morty, your sure are!" Kari exclaimed. "Ghosts are cool!" Morty stated. "Yeah!" Kari agreed. They as continued to watch the twinkling stars, with the samurai spirit leaning against the lone tree behind them, they realized that their adventures have only just begun.