Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Shaman King.

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Chapter I: A Day in the Life of Akira Asakura

I've been having these weird thoughts lately.

Is any of this real or not?

Where am I? It's so dark.

It feels like I'm falling…

Those eyes…

They look so familiar. Where have I seen them before?

"Akira!"

Huh? Who's there?

"Akira!"

That voice. Where is it coming from?

"Miss Asakura!"

My eyes shot open only to see Mr. Takashi looming over me, with his arms crossed over his chest. Taken by surprise, I fumbled out of my seat and turned to face him.

Frowning, he adjusted his glasses and said, "It's nice of you to join us. I'm sorry if my lecture is cutting into your sleeping hours, Akira."

Behind me, I could hear the muffled sounds of snickers and giggles as I bowed in apology to my teacher.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Takashi. It's just that–"

"This is the third time this week!" he exclaimed. "Keep this up and I may have to arrange a conference with your parents. Is that understood, Miss Asakura?"

I sighed and dejectedly replied, "Yes, sir."

From a far corner in the room, Rita Kinomoto scoffed. "Go easy on her, Mr. Takashi. Akira's been extra tired lately from helping her dad with that noodle cart business of his and all. 'Oodles of Noodles,' was it?"

This time a wave of laughter sounded through the room, as my face flushed red with embarrassment. All I could think to do was to sit down and hide my face in my book. The last thing I wanted was to make a scene and get myself into more trouble.

Then – as my luck would have it – my best friend, Mimi, decided to speak in my defense.

"Well, I for one think those are the best noodles in town! Not that you conceited losers, with your expensive sushi and whatnot, would know."

No good. Her bold statement only resulted in more laughter and ridicule. I groaned and sunk lower into my chair. This was going to be a long day.

That afternoon, as Mimi and I were walking home, I couldn't help but feel a strange sensation rush through me as we passed the local cemetery. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt as if there was something in there that was waiting for me.

My friend caught me staring at the ethereal refuge and shivered. "That place gives me the creeps."

I thought for a moment and passively replied, "I don't know. I think it's kind of cool."

"Okay, that's not something you should go around telling people," she advised, eyeing me suspiciously.

I laughed and averted my gaze, deciding to ignore my intuition. Yes, so I admit: I am a little weird. But, it was just last week since I've actually taken that notion to heart. Lately, I've been seeing things, feeling things that I could only describe as abnormal.

"Hey," Mimi said, breaking me from my thoughts. "Is there something going on that you're not telling me about?"

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Akira, you've been acting a little distant lately. Like today; normally you would've told off Rita with some smart-aleck comeback. What happened?"

I hesitated before answering, "I didn't want to get in trouble, that's all."

Mimi frowned. "That doesn't sound like you. C'mon, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

By this time, we had stopped walking. I gazed at my friend, wondering if what I had to say was really worth her – and my – time. But, just as I was about to tell her, a distant call broke us from our conversation.

"Noodles! Come get your steaming hot noodles! And remember, folks, it's Wednesday, so you get ten percent off your purchase!"

The familiar chime of a bell echoed through the street, as a shabby, wooden noodle cart appeared at the corner; hauling it was my dad, Yoh Asakura.

"Well, look who it is," he said, approaching us. He was sweaty from the day's work, and clearly tired, but that didn't deny him of his usual cheeriness. "You girls interested in a cup of noodles?"

"Actually Mr. Asakura," Mimi started. "I'd like the usual order to go. My mom's sick, so I have to get home and prepare dinner."

"Oh, that's too bad," said my dad, as he disappeared behind the cart.

While he was gone, Mimi turned to me once more. "So, are you going to tell me or what?"

I smiled meekly. "Forget about it. It's not important."

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.

"Positive."

Just then, my dad reappeared with Mimi's order. After paying, she said good-bye and headed home. All the while, my dad and I watched her disappear into the horizon. He then turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, kiddo. How was school?"

I scorned, "No more embarrassing than usual. I fell asleep in class again. It's really starting to annoy Mr. Takashi."

My dad laughed. "You remind me of me when I was your age. History never really spoke to me either."

"It's not the class, Dad," I argued. "It's just that–"

I stopped suddenly, trying to formulate the best explanation for my father, who stood there watching me patiently.

At length, I sighed. "Never mind."

"Well, I'll tell you what," my dad said, with a slight grin. "Why don't we talk about this over dinner? Right now, we need to head home. You know how your mom is."

I smiled and nodded. Then, I got up front with my dad and helped him haul the wooden cart back home.

Upon arriving at our house, my dad and I were met by the sweet aroma of dumplings and steamed rice. The tantalizing smell led us to the kitchen, where we found my mom setting the table.

"Oh good; you're home," my mom said, with her usual monotony.

My dad just smiled. "Hey, Anna," he greeted, giving her a peck on the cheek. He then placed a hand on the slight bulge on her stomach, and gently caressed it. "How's the little guy doing?"

"Better than me, no doubt."

We had found out about two months ago that my mom was pregnant with her second child. Since then, things have been a little unstable around the Asakura household with her going through the usual pregnancy symptoms. My dad has tried to be as supportive as possible and practically attended to my mom's every need. But, of course, he did that even when she wasn't pregnant.

As we were eating, my dad carried on the usual conversation about his day at work. Meanwhile, my thoughts once again began to wander back to the cemetery. What was in there that stirred my curiosity?

"Akira?"

I glanced up at my dad, who asked, "Wasn't there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

This apparently caught my mom's attention, as she stopped picking the food on her plate and turned her penetrating eyes on me. Now, I had no choice, but to tell them. I gulped.

"Well," I started. "I don't know exactly how to say it, but…I've been having these weird dreams lately."

"What kind of dreams?" my dad asked.

"It's nothing serious, really. But sometimes, it's almost as if I fall into a trance and it's the same thing over and over again." I paused and gazed at my parents, who had their eyes fixed attentively at me. "Anyway, in my dream, I'm falling in this dark, endless hole. And the darkness…it's practically pitch-black in that hole. And then I see a pair of blue eyes staring straight at me. I don't see anything else, but I feel like I've seen those eyes before. Then I would hear this voice calling my name, calling me as if they needed help. That's about it."

By this time, my parents were gazing at each other with that pensive intensity that usually meant they knew something that I didn't.

"What do you think it all means?" I asked.

Instead of answering me, my mom asked, "How long have you been having these dreams?"

"Since last week."

At that, my parents lapsed into another one of their silences. I obviously wasn't going to get any answers tonight. Yet, one thing certain: whatever was going on was clearly more serious than I thought. I just wish I knew what it was.