Hihi! All I've done is taken Tamra, made her cooler, got rid of her annoying spirits and given her a much more mysterious one! So there fore I don't own Shaman King, or Tamra, just the mysterious spirit. Inspired by "After All" by Delerium, I love that song, and all the fan fics I've ever read.
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The small grey stone shrine stood alone, silently watching the sun set as it always did, alone. Not understood or even known to most the scene made Tamra cry every time she sat at the porch and watched it. The thought that such a beautiful shrine had once been the centre of a circle of twelve others of the same kind, but now stood as the lonely guardian in their memory really touched her. She was always emotional but this went beyond plain emotions, something in that shrine called out to her heart with a lonely voice.
Sniffing slightly she dried her magenta eyes on the sleeve of her kimono and continued to watch the sun set. Footsteps roused her from her thoughtfulness; she turned to see Yoh sliding the door open. Quickly she turned away and tried to make herself a little more presentable. She heard the door shut and forced her hands to stop trembling.
"Uh, Tamra? I just wanted to say I'm sorry about Ponchi and Konchi, it must be tough on you, losing your guardian spirits and all." He padded over and sat next to her with his knee pulled close to his chest, and his arm draped over it in one of his many relaxed positions. She breathed in his familiar scent and smiled meekly. Studying the shaman boy for a moment she realised he was becoming more handsome each day, Anna was so lucky. Although it had been a long time, Tamra still felt the remains of her crush on Yoh. This weekend Yoh and Anna had returned to the Asakura estate to stay for a while, it had opened her eyes to the remnants of her silly crush. "What I guess I'm trying to say is," Yoh continued, staring out at the sun as it made it sank down under the horizon. "You're so brave, but if you need anything – you know, moral support or something – just ask." He smiled at her, that bright smile that made her stumble.
Was Yoh Asakura really worried about her? But it didn't make sense, it had been months since the fox and racoon spirits were lost to her. She blamed herself at first, and then she came to realise that it really was her fault. There was nothing she could do about it; the spirits had been completely destroyed. Instead in their memory she had delayed her shaman training almost certainly indefinitely, it basically gave her no reason to live. She'd spent much of the months following their destruction as a numb shell. Yoh probably thought she was revelling in self-pity out here, bringing herself to tears because of a fate she couldn't control.
"Y- Yoh, thank you." It was all she could say.
"That's what friends are for, right?" He laughed and looked absently at the shrine. "Do you think the tournament will start up again?" Tamra had noticed he thought a lot about the tournament; maybe routine life was too hard to focus on after such amazing events had controlled several years of his life.
She paused before answering, with a soft smile. "I don't know, but I hope it does, for your sake, Yoh." Blushing she stared at her hands.
"Let's keep on hoping then." He laughed again and a moment of silence passed between the two. Tamra struggled to think of something to break the silence, although it was what she had known for most of her life, she still knew the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Yoh broke it, to her relief. "Well, I better get to bed before Anna finds me." He stood and left the girl on one of the many porches of the main house.
Once he had gone Tamra smiled to herself, thinking vaguely that she had better get to bed too, but she didn't move. More to the point, she didn't have time to move. Almost as soon as Yoh was gone something began to stir. The spirit, from it's concealment inside the shrine had over heard all that had passed between the two, and it was interested. Although a long time ago it had been sealed within the shrine, along with twelve other spirits, the spirit had recently gained the ability to leave the prison at free-will; centuries of testing the seals had done this. Now the spirit erupted from the shrine. Once out it stretched into shape and began to laugh, with the relief of freedom.
Tamra on the other hand, stared. Her magenta eyes lost all softness and were wide in astonishment and fear. Her mouth opened slightly as if to speak, but she couldn't. The spirit before her took the shape of a young man, dressed in loose white clothes, reminiscent of a Chinese style. Black hair fell messily over his face, shadowing his eyes from her sight. He turned to her and smiled, showing animal-like canines.
"So you must be Tamra." He spoke with a soft, slow voice that not only made him seem sly but careful as well. It utterly confused the girl's mind as she stared at him. "I am Ne-Koran, the Thirteenth Cat Spirit." Something twitched in his floppy midnight hair. Her attention turned to the movement momentarily. She gasped and scrabbled back slightly; finally conscious she had been leaning forward. He had cat ears, black cat ears. He stepped forward with a vaguely confused and concerned look gracing his features. Now she could clearly see his eyes, a dark blue, sorrowful yet sly. They, like his voice, brought contrasting impressions of the spirit to Tamra's mind. A black tail looped itself round his arm, she soon realised he was holding his hand out to her. Moving backwards, she didn't take her eyes off the spirit.
Cat ears? A tail? What kind of spirit is he? What if he's going to possess me?Thoughts rushed into her mind without her even faintly noticing that the spirit was insulted by her conduct. She hit the wall and looked around in panic, she was cornered.
"Are you just going to sit there and stare, or have I insulted you in some way?" The spirit's frown conveyed his lack of patience clearly. The rose haired girl blinked and looked at him with complete confusion written across her face.
"I- I'm sorry." She stumbled over her words repeatedly, scared he would attack her but at the same time some part of her realising that he was being polite to her, vengeful spirits didn't often do that.
The spirit sighed and shook his head, as he ran a delicate hand through his hair, his long sleeve slipped down his arm. "Let's just cut to the point." He continued impatiently. "It's a pleasure to meet you, and I'm sure you feel the same." The spirit's tail flicked agitatedly, he smiled once again, but this time it was more of a smirk. "You, my blossom-haired girl, are a shaman. Better yet! You are a shaman without a guardian spirit. Therefore, it is my duty to present you with the offer of, well, me, as your guardian spirit."
The blank expression that swiftly passed across the girl's face annoyed him, a lot. It reminded him of something, thought he couldn't completely remember what or whom. Ignoring it he waited for her most certain acceptance. "Oh, I've given up being a shaman. I don't need a guardian spirit." She laughed, innocent of the wound his pride no bore.
His face twitched slightly in suppression of his emotions. "Are you crazy? A shaman cannot just 'give up', and did you not hear me? I am the Thirteenth Cat Spirit." He paused as if thinking over what he had just said in a pathetic outburst, Tamra waited in apprehension for his next words. "You may call me Koran, though." With that he bowed with a flourish.
The girl cocked her head slightly, managing to skilfully hold in laughter. "Koran-san?" She spoke quietly, averting her eyes when the spirit looked at her.
"Yes?" He was yet again impatient, if she had no need for him he might as well crawl back into his prison and rethink his plans.
"Why do you want to be my guardian spirit?" She asked curiously, still she kept her eyes to her hands. The initial shock of the spirit's entrance had worn off, now she wondered if he could read her mind. She was lonely, and a part of her missed the life of a shaman.
The Cat Spirit was taken back a little by the question. "Why? Well, isn't it obvious?" He spoke to cover his lack of certainty, why did he ask her? "I was sealed in that shrine for nigh on five centuries. I'd rather be free, working with a shaman than locked in there." It was a pathetic excuse but it seemed Tamra believed it.
"Then, may I accept your offer, Koran-san?" She smiled at the spirit and shuffled forward on her knees. Her smile was sickly sweet and full of warmth, he wanted to look away, but he didn't. Her face reminded her of something that it seemed his heart wanted terribly to forget.
"Yes, you may." Then he bowed to her on one knee. "To you Tamra, I give my spirit so that I may protect and fight with you as your guardian spirit." Tamra blushed, not really knowing how to respond.
"Uh, Ne-Koran, I accept your… pledge, and promise to fight with you..." She gave up on trying thinking of more. I hope I haven't insulted him, she thought with worry, and that I haven't done something really stupid.
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Please review! Mistakes, flames, adjustments, ideas, anything! Thank you, thank you for reading!