Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or its characters.
The leaves trickled delicately from the red and gold trees upon the Funbari Onsen. The wind carried a gentle song. Many people referred to the hot spring as a place of great healing, but Hana Asakura only saw it as a death trap. Not that he didn't enjoy the place. When he said death trap, he was only pointing out the number of spirit which flowed in and out of the place on a daily basis.
And so the nine year old sat in his usual spot, hidden among the plants and staring into the steaming pool. A group of men sat in the pool chatting and reclining against the edges. They were business suit types. Hana smirked to himself. They would probably leap out of their skins if they knew that less than a foot away sat, Conchi, a scraggily, half drunk fox clad in a wig and kimono. The tipsy fox crawled up and began air humping a chubby balding man's head. Then he looked over at Hana and winked. The young boy giggled. Suddenly the group of business men were staring straight at him.
Their stares weren't cold, but Hana knew that they were judging him. "Why was that strange child laughing? What a trouble maker. What are his parents teaching him?..."
"Young Master," came a call from the kitchen. "Have you cleaned the baths yet?"
Hana ran back to the main house; on the other hand, this place might very well lead to his death, especially if Tamo-mom caught him slacking off. The woman was scary, but at least she didn't treat him like he was crazy.
"It's not my fault you guys can't see him," Hana muttered to himself as he ran. "It was that pervy fox's fault."
As he trampled into the house a large hand stopped him.
"Young master what is wrong?"
Hana looked up at the tall muscular man, who served as the place's chef. His hair was dark black and gelled and teased until it stood out from his head like a canon. His eyes were beginning to show lines from a life of hard work. However, this man, despite his strange sense of style, was one of the few people who Hana could trust.
"Young master are you crying?" the man, Ryu, asked again.
Hana shook his head and peeled the large man's hand off of him. He wiped his face just to make sure there was no evidence left behind. Then he about faced and began to walk off. "I'm going to my room."
"What about the bath?" Ryu called after him.
"I'll do it later!"
As Hana walked through the Funbari Onsen, he suddenly heard the yells of Conchi and his raccoon accomplice Ponchi echoing through the halls.
"She's back! Tamao's back! I was so bored!" They screamed.
Hana stiffened. He could feel the familiar feeling of blood draining from his face. Without another second of hesitation he sprinted up the stairs, into his room, and locked the door. He still hadn't cleaned baths yet, which meant any second she was going to come flying up those stairs like oni straight out of The Grudge. Hana's cheek already was beginning to sting, despite not even being slapped yet. He closed his eyes and counted to three. He counted to ten. He reached twenty, but still no sign of Tamo-mom. There wasn't even the sound of yelling.
After waiting a couple more minutes, Hana cautiously peeked out of his room. From downstairs he could hear footsteps, but nothing else.
Quietly he slipped out of his room and eased himself down the stairs being careful not to make a single creak. From the foot of the steps he could hear the muted sound of two people whispering in a nearby room. Like a ninja he snuck over to the crack of the door and began to listen.
"So why exactly are you here then?" came a terse whisper, which Hana immediately recognized as being Tamo-mom. Hana tried to peer through the crack, but was unable to see anything.
"I came to check on the child's progress," said the smooth, cool voice of another woman.
Hana was confused. Ever since he could remember, there were very few times that his guardian had ever brought over guests, and even fewer times that she had not told him. And what was all this business about the child? Were they talking about him? Hana raked his brain, but couldn't remember doing anything outrageous at school, or at least, not enough to warrant a home visit. Maybe the school counselor had it out for him.
"Don't you want to at least see him?" Tamao whispered in a way which struck Hana as sad, but he knew better than to think that she could get sad. After all, she was the toughest lady ever, nothing could get to her. "Maybe I could go get him-"
"Don't bother."
Suddenly there was the sound of approaching footsteps from the room. Shit! Hana scrambled over to the stairs as the sliding door flew open. Hana froze in place and glanced up at the woman standing in the doorway. A slender woman with long blonde hair stood there, arms crossed. Her eyes were distant, and she was avoiding eye contact. However, Hana thought her face looked familiar. Before he could figure out how he knew her, he was startled by the forceful command in her voice.
"Get in here now!"
Although he was afraid, Hana did not move. He just stared at the woman, as flames of pride boiled up inside him.
"And if I don't!" he yelled back against his better judgment.
The woman in the blink of an eye had closed the distance between them and with one smooth motion slapped him across the face and dragged him into the room.
Hana looked up through his now clouded vision to see the woman close the door behind them. He sat up and rubbed his swollen cheek, grudgingly. That crazy woman slapped harder than Tamo-mom. What was this crazy lady thinking coming into their house and slapping him? Who did she think she was?
"Is this how you've been raising him?" the woman asked. Her face was beautiful but scary, as she began to chew out the woman who raised him about how important discipline was. Every time Hana looked at the woman he couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of familiarity.
The woman then began a tirade about health and diet. She claimed that protein is the most important thing for a growing boy and continued about the horrors of fast food. Hana was amazed at how long she could talk. And that was when he noticed him.
A man with long auburn hair, a serene face and an orange pair of headphones was asleep in the corner. His baggy t-shirt and pants reminded Hana of some of the homeless people he had seen around Tokyo. Had Hana just have been shooting out a guess, he would have said the man looked like a drug addict. However, there was no stench, and amazingly his hair seemed to be completely clean. The poor guy must have gotten worn down by the psycho woman who thought she could boss around his guardian.
Finally the woman finished her rant, summing things up with a quick, "do you understand?"
Tamo-mom bowed politely. "Yes, Miss Anna."
Hana felt a cold chill run up his spine as his memories began to engulf him. There was the woman holding him, her blonde hair soft against his skin. Her body was warm, and she smelled of wood and candle wax. A man, eerily similar to the man in the corner laughed and held his hand. There was the sound of a woman singing a haunting melody. The woman and man sat in front of the TV. Wind and soft laughter.
Hana stared up at the cold-eyed woman. "Mama?" he asked, suddenly reverting to the tones of a small child.
Miss Anna looked down at him, her cold gaze suddenly switching to one of sadness. She did not need to give him an answer. He could feel it: he was right. That meant the man in the corner was most likely… Yoh Asakura, his father.
Miss Anna turned back to Tamao, her sense of cool returning. "Yoh is very tired from our last trip," she stated very simply. "We will leave in the morning,"
With that the woman walked over to the man and removed his headphones.
"Yoh wake up."
The man did not stir.
Miss Anna, his mother, turned back to them. "Would you bring bedding here? It seems he's already completely out cold."
Tamo-mom bowed again. "Yes, Miss Anna." Then with a firm hand she grabbed Hana's arm and left the room with him.
As they were leaving Hana didn't let his eyes leave his parents for a second. He couldn't tell whether the feeling filling his heart was happiness or anger. His mother, Anna met his eyes, and right as he reached the doorframe, she spoke only three words:
"He's so big."
Hana, under Ryu's watchful gaze finished washing the men's bath. He went up to his room and watched TV for an hour, going back to check the room, where his parents were staying every few minutes. Eventually he decided to position himself on the stairs where he could watch the room without getting too close; he wanted to meet that man, his father. He didn't know what he would say to him, but he just wanted to at least hear his voice.
Afternoon became evening. Evening became late night. It seemed like the lights would never come on, but Hana stayed. He passed the time listening to BOB, until he eventually passed out.
In the morning he woke up tucked in his bed. He bolted upright and ran down the stairs. The door was open and the room empty. Hana stared at the neatly folded bedding, not sure of what he was feeling. Then he felt a large presence behind him. His breath caught as he turned around.
"Dad?"
Ryu stood with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth and a confused look on his face. Hana's heart sank. He brushed by the bigger man and trudged up the stairs to his room. Only one thought was able to push through his mind and the tears;
"Damn that man…"
Yoh Asakura awoke to find himself in bed next to his wife. He sat up and stretched his arms. He figured he passed out when they arrived. He had spent the majority of the morning handling spiritual issues at one of the temples a few towns over and had been awake travelling most of the week. If Anna had her way they would have just left straight for the USA again, but he wanted to stop by and see his friends and most importantly his son.
"Hana must have grown up so much," he said to himself. Then he looked around him. "Amidamaru, you there?"
The large samurai spirit, who was his companion and long time friend, appeared beside him.
"Of course master Yoh."
"Where is he?" the man asked as he stood and dressed in a track suit.
"He's just outside," the samurai answered obediently.
Yoh went to the door and opened it looking around. Then his eyes went to the stairs. There sat the nine year old, slumped against the wall snoring. A smile crossed the man's lips and slowly he ascended the stairs. He bent down and scooped the child up in his arms.
He ascended the stairs followed closely by his guardian ghost. He entered the room, glancing around as he approached the messy bed. He spied the BOB poster on the wall and chuckled to himself.
"He has good taste."
Yoh carefully tucked his son into bed and kissed his forehead. The wind rustled through the trees outside, carrying a sad song. The man stared at the moon and then back at his son.
"He has his mother's eyes" he whispered to himself, running a finger along the boy's cheek. The boy stirred causing Yoh to withdraw his hand.
"He apparently also has his mother's horrible temper," the samurai put in.
Yoh chuckle and stood, watching the child breathe.
"I want you to stay here Amidamaru," he said after a few moments of silence.
"What?" the samurai said turning on his master in surprise.
"Things are stirring. He's going to need someone to take care of him and someone to be his friend… Can you do that for me?"
Tears began to well up in the strong spirit's eyes. He nodded.
Yoh smiled. "If he's anything like his mother he'll need that, " he stated calmly. Then a playful smile crept across his lips. "But don't tell me I sent you okay."
"It would be my honor Master Yoh."
Then Yoh turned once again to the sleeping boy and brushed the hair out of his face. The he whispered in the child's ear: "I love you Hana. Sleep tight."
Then Yoh left the room. He quietly descended the stairs to find his wife awake sitting up in bed with a photograph in her hands. He sat down next to her on the bed roll. Her brown eyes never left the photograph of the toddler clutched in her hands.
"You saw him?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," he whispered.
A tear rolled down her cheek and she pursed her lips. "And?" Her voice wavered.
Yoh wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear. "He's more beautiful than you could ever imagine."
A stream was dripping onto his arms, but Yoh didn't mind. He kissed his wife's hair and let her cry.
"I know," she breathed. "I don't want to believe it…"
Together they sat in silence, until her tears ran dry. Then Anna pulled away from him and crawled under the covers. She placed the photo next to the bed.
"Get some sleep," she said. "Our plane leaves at ten."
Yoh slid in beside her. Only one answer was needed among the silence and the tears:
"Okay…"