Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.
Author's Notes: My information is scattered between the dub as seen on the Fox Box, the second season as seen in my DVD box set, the first three graphic novels, and a variety of spoiler sites. As such, things might not be 100 percent accurate, but for the purpose of entertainment it is close enough. I know not everyone likes original characters, and sometimes those same characters don't particularly like their creators, but without them I would have no basis for this fanfiction.
WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!
The Key
"..." -Dialogue
Thoughts
The Original Characters
Crystal Mizuka
Age 14
Birthday: January 8, 1986
Star Sign: Capricorn
Blood Type: O
Details: A relatively laidback and optimistic girl from California, she has always been more into playing games and making up stories than actually taking life seriously. Others simply didn't like her because she was different, but she didn't really hold it against them as she connected better with nature than with people. Those that did accept her generally viewed her as a leader simply because she took their scrambled ideas and made things happen. Unknown to her, she had a strong connection to the world of spirits from a young age. Crystal is a character of my own invention.
Taki
Age Unknown
Birthday Unknown
Details: The shape-shifting, hyper spirit of a waterfall in Crystal's hometown, she has a talent for getting into trouble with her energetic personality. As an Oversoul, Crystal generally uses wooden or plastic swords and doesn't really favor real weapons. Once in Oversoul, Taki connects with Crystal's imagination to cause some really unusual, totally random attacks. This character is based entirely on my friend and fellow authoress, Cat. Perhaps you've seen Crystal in her Inuyasha Sleepover Fanfic.
Prologue One: What Doesn't Burn
Summer 1996...
In a place that seemed almost untouched by humans there was a waterfall. The trails that led the way were natural and the only addition that had been made by people was a bridge to cross the ravine created by the local creek. However, this bridge did nothing to get anyone to the waterfall. It was not on the marked trail and as such it was not a very well known spot to hike to. Even so, there were at least a few people that knew the way.
One girl who had no problem venturing into the woods alone went there often enough. It had carved a bowl-shaped area of stones at its base complete with what almost seemed to be a circular staircase down the right hand side. There was a strangely peaceful quality about the area surrounding the waterfall and Crystal felt relaxed in its presence. This was the kind of place that she could go to wash away her troubles and to get away from other people in general.
At least, that's how it had been until that fateful day when the mysterious boy appeared and changed everything. He certainly wasn't one of the local kids, because she would have seen him at school. He appeared to be roughly her age, perhaps a little older. The way he was dressed wasn't exactly normal, but Crystal wasn't really one to judge other people's fashions. The thing that actually hit her the hardest was that she was certain she could feel his anger at the sight of someone else actually being there.
The boy was Asakura Hao and he really wasn't thrilled to see someone who clearly wasn't a Shaman in his presence. That being the case, he was actually a little surprised when she actually seemed to react to his emotions by backing away. It wasn't out of fear either, but more out of respecting his desire for personal space. Even so, she was human and having seen him should be destroyed before given the chance to inform anyone else of his being there. However, he was still curious.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
A puzzled look played across Crystal's face, "Should I be? I can understand you wanting to be by yourself and being angry that I kind of spoiled that for you, but you really don't strike me as a bad person."
Hao's curiosity shifted into mild interest, "... interesting, but unfortunately you're wrong." He raised his arms to the sky, "Spirit of Fire!"
Crystal tensed slightly as the air around her heated up and her brain started sending her a rush of danger signals. Whoever had named that creature certainly knew what they were talking about. She was relatively certain that if that thing touched her, she wouldn't be standing there afterward. Another part of her was confident that she would be alright and so she should her ground.
"I don't believe you're actually going to attack me."
Hao was a little confused when the girl didn't even attempted to run even in the presence of the Spirit of Fire. He hesitated before finally reaching the conclusion that this could prove to be more than just a minor annoyance if he didn't get rid of this girl immediately. The Spirit of Fire responded to his decision by hurling a super-heated fireball down at the girl.
Crystal was untouched by the flames as what appeared to be a veil of water from the waterfall came up around her. Hao's earlier anger returned when his target didn't simply disappear, "Why don't you burn?!"
Crystal blinked, obviously confused herself by what had just happened. In response, the water that had risen from the waterfall took on the shape of a girl roughly Crystal's age although clearly not human as she had furry, cat-like ears. This girl spoke in an amused tone, "When in this dimension has water ever burned?"
Hao's anger and annoyance faded. He wasn't sure whether to be surprised, confused, or annoyed and settled for a combination of the three mixed with some relief. This place had a calming effect on people and even Hao, who had been ready to vaporize another human being seconds earlier, was able to rationalize the situation enough to call off the Spirit of Fire.
Crystal relaxed and looked to the other girl with mild confusion of her own, "This may seem kind of weird, but I get the feeling I know you... that I've known you for a long time."
"You can call me Taki," replied the girl. She pointed to the waterfall and grinned, "You've come to this place a lot, but all you knew of me was the waterfall. I didn't like the idea of you being vaporized by that guy, so I decided to help you out."
Crystal nodded thoughtfully, "I've been brought here since I was born and I've come on my own since I've been able to make the hike."
So, that means that Taki is the spirit of the waterfall and that this girl I was about to fry can actually see spirits, but she's certainly not a Shaman... and... Hao's thoughts trailed off as something else became alarmingly clear to him.
"Why don't I hear her thoughts in my head?"
Crystal blinked in confusion, "So, you can summon a giant made of fire and you can read people's minds? Sounds like you must lead a pretty interesting life."
"... just who are you?" asked Hao.
Crystal extended a hand as she introduced herself, "The name is Crystal. Let's be friends."
Hao looked to the hand extended to him, shrugged and shook it, "Just like that? Even after I tried to kill you?"
"Well, I'm sure you had your reasons and like I said before, you really don't strike me as a bad person," replied Crystal with a smile. "So, is there a name to go along with those awesome powers or what?"
"You can call me Hao."
Prologue Two: Mastering the Elements
It had been several months since their first meeting. Summer had ended and Crystal found herself back in school as though nothing had changed, but that was far from the truth. There were days when she knew she just had to return to the waterfall because he was there. Over the months they had developed a system of Hao teaching Crystal how to be a Shaman and Crystal telling Hao of the adventures she imagined herself having. Since school was back in session, these adventures included the daily games with her friends during the breaks at school.
This was one such day when Crystal had found herself drawn to the waterfall. She had come to realize that a number of strange things that she had been involved with in the past were related to the world of spirits, although she herself had not been aware of the fact. Back then she just called it a "strange power" that she could tap into when she was in some kind of trouble with things that apparently not everyone could see, but that she knew were a threat to herself and her friends. Under Hao's instruction she had learned that she could control this power and tap into it at will, and so when it came to utilizing the elements she just needed to know how it was done and then she could do it.
"Today I decided the others were getting too comfortable with me being the main character, so I let the enemy strike me down with a poison dart and sent them on their own quest to find the antidote," Crystal explained as she practiced summoning fire from the air around her.
Hao was observing from the ledge at the top of the waterfall. For someone who hadn't been a Shaman when they first met, Crystal had proven to be a very interesting subject. She also had some rather remarkable stories to tell, "Do you enjoy playing the role of the tragic heroine?"
Crystal shrugged after calling off the flames that had risen around her, "Not really, but it helps if they are forced to create the story for themselves sometimes. I don't want to get them believing that I'm always supposed to be in charge."
"Well, it's no wonder that they like to follow your stories so much," noted Taki as she appeared in her visible form. "It always sounds like the lot of you have so much fun."
Crystal sighed, "We do have fun... well at least those of us who are involved do, but we're pretty few in number when you consider the number of kids at my school... and the other kids mostly treat us like we've all gone crazy. It's annoying when other kids are telling you to grow up more often than your own parents."
"You two would make a very interesting Shaman and spirit team," Hao spoke as he defied the downward pull of gravity by seemingly floating to the base of the waterfall at which point he casually stood on the surface of the water.
A look of surprise crossed over Taki's face and was immediately followed by a look of interest, "Are you suggesting that I leave this place with Crystal and go out into the world as her spirit partner?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking," replied Hao.
Crystal shrugged, "It sounds like a pretty strong combination, but I still haven't learned how to combine my power with spirits."
"Normally low level Shamans start with 'Hyoi Gattai' or bringing a spirit within themselves and using the spirit's power that way, but I think you can handle the next level up and go right into using an Oversoul," said Hao. "Come back tomorrow with something you feel comfortable using as a weapon."
Crystal was a little confused, but she agreed to return anyway.
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The next day Crystal returned with a plastic sword in hand. From there she would take her first real steps into the world of Shamans.
Prologue Three: The Shaman Fight
Summer 1998...
Crystal sat on the ledge at the top of the waterfall as Hao prepared to leave by means of the Spirit of Fire. Unlike past visits, this one had hardly been for the purpose of fun and games. Hao had come to tell her not to participate in the Shaman Fight, because it really wasn't right for her to just up and leave when it would cause her friends and family to worry.
Alright, so I'm not going to get involved. Hopefully we will get to meet again once the Shaman Fight is over with. Crystal watched as the Spirit of Fire vanished into the sky. It was time that she went home herself, so then she left.
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March 2000...
The Shaman Fight had ended with a bang. Actually, it was more like a series of sparkling lights, blinding flashes and an entire section of the landscape vanishing into thin air. In any event, the finale of the Shaman Fight was something that spectators couldn't rightly explain and so no one really tried. Everything that had happened was because of the will of the Great Spirit, which strangely enough had also seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.
What had become of the infamous Hao Asakura? It certainly looked like Yoh and Amidamaru had finished him and the Spirit of Fire off for good. In fact, if one had watched closely it really did look like Hao along with his giant spirit had been cut in half. The fact that he and the Spirit of Fire vanished certainly proves that his Oversoul was broken. Generally speaking however, when the main villain vanishes into thin air without a trace after the final battle they are still very much alive. Considering the fact that Yoh wouldn't kill anyone, let alone his twin brother, Hao probably had survived even though he was obviously defeated. This is where our story really begins.
This next part rests on one very big assumption. Based on the directions to the Patch Village, I have reached the conclusion that it must have been located in California. There is indeed a red river, the lava flows that make up Red Rock Canyon beyond which is a desert that certainly looks like it is made up of black sand in the dark of night. The only thing I can't account for is the blue cave, which appeared out of nowhere to begin with and disappeared in much the same way.
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"Taki, when I said we were going to comb the desert to figure out where Hao disappeared to I didn't mean for you to Oversoul as a giant comb!" Crystal sweatdropped at her spirit companion's literal interpretation of what she had originally intended to be a simple mission.
Taki chuckled in amusement, "But you said we were going to comb the desert... what else would you want me to turn into?"
Crystal smirked dangerously, "I'll bet you know his scent, so you could sniff him out of this sand with ease."
"I have no intention of transforming into a giant nose," Taki challenged.
Crystal shrugged, "How about a blood hound then? Just hurry it up so we can get him out of here."
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"Asakura Yoh... I deny your existence!"
Hao snapped awake, but from the sounds of it he might have still been dreaming. A few seconds later he was out again. Crystal had set him up on the dry sand bank across from the base of the waterfall and had resolved to stay until he regained consciousness at least.
"It sounds like he was hit pretty hard," said Takikoneko having taken on the form of an adorable little kitten, even if she did have sharp gleaming fangs that could probably cause an incredible amount of pain if she happened to bite you.
Crystal let out a sigh, "Yeah. Still, he ought to be fine after he's had a decent rest. Since no one should be home right now anyway, I'm going to go acquire some snacks... he'll probably be hungry when he actually wakes up."
"Good idea. I'll just stay here and keep an eye on things," replied Takikoneko.
Prologue Four: In Conclusion, It Ain't Over Yet
April 2000...
"So, while you regroup with what is left of your followers, you want me to go to Tokyo and deal with the one person who can stop you from regaining the power of the Great Spirit... Asakura Yoh," Crystal was mostly going over the plan again for herself. "If as you say he really is your twin brother, that makes knowing what to look for simple enough."
Hao nodded confirmation, "You catch on fast as always."
"Well then, I guess I better get a move on," Crystal drew the plastic sword from its plastic scabbard over her right shoulder.
"And there's one more thing before you leave," Hao spoke again. "Put out your hand." Crystal blinked, momentarily puzzled, but then did as she was instructed with her free hand. Hao tied a bracelet of red with a yellow star pattern around her wrist, "I would prefer that you keep yourself alive."
Crystal nodded before stepping back and preparing for her departure. Taki appeared in Crystal's ready hand and was quickly transferred to the waiting sword, "Oversoul time, Giant Takiryuu!" Taki's visible form was that of a large blue and gold dragon once her power had been filtered into the sword in Crystal's hand, with Crystal standing on one of the dragon's shoulders. Takiryuu spread her wings and took to the sky, somehow knowing exactly what way to go in order to reach Tokyo.
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All seemed peaceful within the confines of the Funbari Onsen. The sound of Yoh's Oracle Bell going off once again went unnoticed.
To Be Continued...
A Word From the Characters
Yoh: This whole prologue makes me sound like the bad guy...
Horohoro: How can a prologue be eight pages?
Crystal: Because Rachel was feeling inspired and writes a lot when she has ideas... and I do not approve of my being used as a support villain!
Taki: I wanna cookie! :D (materializes cookie for self)
Horohoro: How'd she do that?
Taki: Cause I'm just like that.
Yoh: This point of view is only being used for the prologue, right?
Crystal: That seems to be the case. In any event, the lunatic behind this feels more compelled to update when she actually gets reviews, the sillier the better.
