Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King, and I never will.
Author's Notes: This fan fiction does not really coincide with the events that occur in the series. Yes, I know that Zeke and Jun cannot actually merge with their spirits, but they can now. Yes, the pairing is Zeke/Jun, and both of them may be out of character. So be warned. Please do not flame me saying that the pairing is never going to happen, because I know that it won't. It is just for my own entertainment. Also, this was written for English class, so that is why the explanation of a shaman is in there. Other than that, I hope you enjoy it .
King, Queen, and Menrui
A few lone sparks jumped up from the forest floor, igniting the scarce amount of plant life that still existed. Pinecones and leaves lay scattered along the ground, their edges charred a deep black. Branches and ashes now only remained where mighty trees once stood. The sky was covered by the blanket of night, with a few stray stars illuminating the darkness. The remaining stars were blocked out by the tufts of smoke that still hovered within the vicinity. A cluster of partially-charred trees remained near the edge of the forest, and the dull outline of a figure could be seen crouching within one of them. She was one of the people responsible for this disaster; a shaman…
Shamans are most simply defined as the ones who can see and interact with the spirits of those long forgotten. Some make friends with the spirits they meet, while others make enemies of them. Some try to help the spirits pass on to the other side, while others fight alongside them; for good or evil purposes. These shamans eventually receive a guardian ghost to call their own and to fight with. Some receive them as a gift when they are young, and others earn their partnership by assisting them in various ways. What these shamans fight for, however, is up to them and sometimes, they are driven by what their families wish. Once every five hundred years, a Shaman Tournament is held to crown the King of Shamans, and his respective Queen. Basically, shamans are a link between this world and the next.
The young shaman perched in the tree let her sapphire gaze travel around the ruined landscape that lay before her. 'Is this all my fault?' she turned her head slightly to the side, causing her jade hair to fall into her face. She raised her hand to her face and casually brushed her shoulder-length hair behind her ears once more. She let her eyes slowly close for a brief moment as a warm gust of wind blew past. Her black cheongsam rippled slightly at this, giving off the illusion that it was made of an expensive type of silk. The Chinese dragon embroidered upon it seemed to spring to life for a fleeting moment, before falling limp and returning to its eternal slumber. Jun then glanced over to the small, purple orb floating next to her; which closely resembled a tiny dragon.
"Do you think he's going to find us, Pailong?" Jun returned her gaze to the barren landscape below her, almost as if not expecting him to respond.
"I am not sure Jun," the spirit flame floated over to her shoulder and gently rested upon it. "However, I would not worry about it, seeing as how you have not seen him for a number of hours…."
"True, but you and I both know how stubborn he is when he wants something that is his." she shifted her gaze back to the smoke-filled sky and began to recall the day's earlier events.
Birds were happily chirping in the lush evergreens as Jun made her way through the shady forest. She clutched a small silk bag in her hand which had the name 'Asakura' inscribed upon it. She kept a tight grip upon it, showing that her life may have very well depended on it. She kept her gaze constantly moving around the forest as she walked along, not wanting to be caught off guard. She caught a glimpse of a fireball dancing in the air behind her and quickly turned on her heel to face it.
"Aw, did I catch you off guard, Tao?" a mocking voice asked as a male adolescent, about four years younger than Jun, jumped effortlessly from a tree. A mass of chestnut colored hair flew around him in chaos as he made his quick decent. The beige cloak that was ever present upon his shoulders fell back down to cover his bare chest as he landed almost silently. His circular earrings dangled a bit as he tilted his head to the side. "What? Not going to bless me with an answer?" Zeke leaned back against a tree and aimlessly flicked one of the many belts dangling from his jeans. His chestnut eyes looked so innocent that anyone would have fallen for it. Well, except Jun…
Jun narrowed her eyes to slits as she noticed his 'innocent' demeanor. "I don't even have to stand here and listen to you. I also know better than to trust you when you look like that," she turned her back to him, only to see a towering humanoid figure bathed in flames. "Call your spirit off, Asakura." Pailong moved in front of her and growled at the spirit.
"Why should I? You hurt my feelings, dear Tao," he pouted. "However, you have something that I want." a smirk formed upon his lips as he walked up behind her. The drastic height difference between them was quite evident, but it was the shorter and younger male that seemed to have the upper hand.
"Oh really? And what would that be?" she tilted her head back to him and tightened her grip on the silk bag.
"My 'menrui'," He pointed at the bag with an amused expression on his face. "So I would suggest you hand it over."
"You must be sadly mistaken if you believe that I am scared of you, Zeke."
"I know that I am not the one you fear, Tao; my spirit takes the prize in that category." a smirk graced his features once more as he raised his hand to her, palm facing outward. The huge fire spirit took a step toward Jun, illuminating the trees with a deadly glow. A few panicked birds could be heard spreading their wings and flying off, in hopes to escape the oncoming disaster. A few trails of thick, dark smoke were winding their way into the sky as the spirit gazed down upon its target.
"As soon as I snap my fingers, dear Jun, you will be nothing more than a pile of ashes in a heap upon the ground." Zeke jumped back into the tree and crossed his arms.
"You're a chicken, Asakura," Jun clenched her hands into fists. "All you ever do is hide behind your spirit and expect it to fight for you." she shot him a deadly glare as a few beads of sweat began to appear on her brow.
"You fight the exact same way, Tao," he grinned as he glanced down to his raised hand. "And you have no right to be talking to your king that way."
"Oh of course, my king." she shot back, though it seemed her voice had changed; almost sounding dragon-like. The young woman still stood there but an ivory-colored tail was flicking back and forth behind her. Her hands were now outstretched in front of her, and elongated diamond claws glistened slightly due to their fiery surroundings. Protruding from her back was a pair of dragon wings, shimmering in the fire's glow. "You're sure you want to fight?" Jun bent down and slipped off her slippers, revealing claws identical to those on her hands.
If any sort of shock overtook Zeke, he hid it extremely well. "So you learned a new trick," he shrugged as he extended both of his hands toward his spirit. "It isn't anything new. Spirit of Fire, come to me!" he closed his eyes as his spirit changed into a spirit orb and slammed into him. His eyes slowly opened as his fiery whip-like tail slammed into a branch at lightning speed. The branch burst into flame and fell to the ground, crackling and snapping. Heat seemed to radiate off of his body as his heat-inducing wings flapped back and forth, causing tiny flames to fly. "Unlike you, I am a master of fire, and nothing you can do will be able to stop me." he smirked as he drew a gold-plated katana with two phoenixes engraved onto the handle.
Jun slowly shifted her gaze over to a nearby lake, watching as the fire was reflected in its depths. "…how about going for a swim?" she spun around and tried to slam her tail into his side. Zeke quickly clamped both of his gloved hands around her tail and tossed her into the sparkling water instead.
"I think you need the bath more than I." he caught sight of the silk bag and casually headed over to it; a few smoking leaves and branches cracking under his feet. Jun soon re-emerged from the water, coughing and shaking off water like a wet dog. She cursed to herself in Chinese as she saw him near the bag. She leapt out of the lake and scrambled over to the bag, still coughing. She slashed at Zeke's hand with her claws and snatched it back from him. She began to dash off on foot, since she couldn't fly with soaking wet wings.
"Baka!" Zeke yelled at her as he clutched his wounded hand. He hadn't been intending on hurting her too badly, but his ideas were slowly beginning to change. Clouds of smoke began to surround him, but he just waved them away. He was the master of fire, after all, so he didn't have to worry about such trivial things as dying from smoke inhalation. He spread his fiery wings to their full span of about ten feet, and took to the dark sky. The smoke clouds billowing in the sky willingly parted for him, causing a smirk to cross his features. His gaze scanned across the ground below him and caught sight of what appeared to be a dot with wings. "Looks like I've found you, dragon…."
Jun eventually slowed her pace and leaned back up against a charred tree. She was constantly coughing, trying frantically to get the toxic smoke out of her lungs. She turned so that she was facing the tree and rubbed her claws against the charred bark; trying in vain to scrape Zeke's blood off. "If he's invincible, then why does he bleed?"
"Hm, sounds like a logical question," came an all-too familiar voice. "Just because I am an all powerful shaman who can control the elements does not mean I am inhuman now does it? Or perhaps it does, depends on your perspective really." he placed his hand under his chin as he pondered this; completely unaware of the fact that Jun was sneaking up behind him with a rather sturdy looking log…
Jun quickly smashed the log down on his head, smirking to herself as he slumped over, unconscious. "Seems the hunter has become the hunted." she dropped the log and quickly began to dash off, knowing that it wouldn't take long for him to regain consciousness and resume the chase once more.
Jun yawned softly to herself as she curled up in the evergreen tree. 'Guess it really isn't too difficult to lose him after all…' she let her eyes close, oblivious to the fact that the temperature was slowly beginning to rise around her…
Zeke soon caught sight of her fuzzy tail dangling from the tree and chuckled lightly to himself. "Who has become the hunted?" he raised his own tail and slammed it into the branch she was sitting upon, smirking as it began to crack and burn. Jun shifted a bit in the tree as she began to feel the air around her warm up dramatically. Her eyes soon shot open and random Chinese curses could be heard coming from her as she jumped off the branch and collided with the ground.
"Heh, I always did enjoy watching flesh burn." he was on her in an instant, keeping her pinned face up on the ground. His eyes staring right into her own was the only thing that Jun could see through the billowing smoke. A sigh soon escaped her parched lips as she flicked the bag to him with her tail.
"I always do get what I want, Jun." he smirked as he drew a small package of noodles from the bag. "You should know better than to steal my lunch, my queen." he grinned as he leaned down and kissed her; the smoke beginning to clear and the sun of the next day beginning to shine down.
"Sure, now you try to suck up to me." she smirked as she smacked him with her tail, causing him to fall back.
"Hey, what was that-" he just stared blankly at where she had been a few seconds ago.
"Coming to get this?" Jun grinned as she flashed his wedding ring to him. She hovered above him, flicking her tail back and forth in a taunting motion.
"You never change, do you Mrs. Asakura?" he smirked as he jumped up and began to speed after her; the noodles lying long forgotten on the ground.