Prologue
With his chin resting on a palm while he stared at the mountainous scenery before him, Yoh lowered his eyelids and sighed. He had been looking forward to watching the sun rise, but somehow on that day, he wasn't quite in the mood. He had been thinking, lately, about the events that happened before, during and after the Shaman Fight. With so many things on his mind, he needed to find some time to himself to think, and now that the time has finally come, he didn't know where to start.
The cool, morning breeze blew in, causing the tree branches and the leaves and other sorts of vegetation to sway in the process. Winter was near, and the breeze usually made a shiver run down Yoh's spine, but on that particular day, Yoh felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. He didn't know how he should really feel. He didn't know if he should feel happy because the Shaman Fight was finally over, and he didn't have to go through any more of Anna's torturous training. And he didn't know if he should feel upset because he broke the promise he had made to her ten years ago. Somehow, Anna seemed to act as if nothing had happened, but Yoh still felt bad about it. He needed to come up of an idea to make up for his mistake, but dang, it was so hard to please his fiancé sometimes.
The was not a single spot of azure in the sky; everything was still grey and dark, as if a storm was coming this way. Despite it being morning already, the sun was barely visible - despite a few rays of light cutting through the thick clouds - and the dark atmosphere made the whole place seem gloomy and upsetting. This was unlikely for a place like Izumo. Yoh smiled a faint smile as a swarm of nostalgia began to overwhelm him; the atmosphere had reminded him of the first time he went to Osorezan.
Yoh, Anna and Amidamaru had gone to Izumo shortly after the Shaman Fight ended, so as to give their elders some blessings and whatnot. Much to Anna's dismay, Yoh's friends - including Manta - had tagged along, so it was like a whole party excursion to Izumo. Although they had already reached Yoh's grandparents' house a couple of days ago, Grandpa Yohmei still insisted that they stay, since the monsoon was frequent, and it would be unfortunate if they happened to get stuck in one. So, with much anticipation, Tamao had prepared all the spare rooms in the household for their visitors, and tried as best as she could to help all of them, especially Yoh. Anna, however, thought nothing much of this, since she was used to dealing with her fiancé's admirers all the time.
Yoh was grateful for the hospitality, but somehow he felt that they were being a bother to both his grandparents. He didn't think much about Tamao, seeing as she enjoyed doing chores. Then again, it was his grandfather who had told them to stay, so perhaps Yoh shouldn't worry much about such petty things.
"G-good morning, Y-Yoh," a shy, timid voice sounded from behind Yoh, and so he turned, despite already knowing who the owner of the voice was.
"Ah, good morning, Tamao," he replied, cheerful as always, and he couldn't help but smile as he noticed a slight blush beginning to form on the girl's cheeks.
"Th-th-the sunrise was pretty, wasn't i-it?" Tamao stammered as she struggled to hide her blush, but failed ultimately.
"You saw it too?" Yoh inquired, tilting his head in amusement. "How long have you been standing there?"
Tamao nodded, "For as long as you've been sitting here."
Yoh made no spoken response, and only widened his smile. He turned back to the mountains in the background, before sighing deeply, and getting to his feet. "You came here to call me for breakfast, didn't you?" he spoke up, causing the younger to blush once more. She nodded again, bringing forth a grin from the brunette. "I can't wait!" he claimed, stretching both his arms. "Your cooking is the best, Tamao!"
Tamao watched as Yoh laughed and proceeded walk down the corridor. This wasn't the first time he had complimented her on her cooking, but every time he did, she always felt as if her heart had grown wings and was flying its way to heaven. Then she would feel like falling to her death shortly after. She could never bring herself to behave - or even think - properly whenever she was around Yoh.
"Tamao, are you coming?" he called out, stopping dead in his tracks. By now, he was already about three metres away from the girl.
"A-ah, yes...!" Tamao replied shyly, and she immediately ran to him. When she finally caught up with him, Yoh smiled and continued on his journey to the dining room, slackening his pace so Tamao wouldn't be left behind again. Secretly, Tamao was glad they were walking slowly; she could spend more time with Yoh, even if they barely talked to each other.
"Aaaaahh! That was soooo good!" Horo claimed as he leaned back on the floor, rubbing his bloated tummy and belching in the process.
"Disgusting creature," Ren mumbled, before peeling the plastic seal off the milk bottle and drinking from it.
"What?" Horo yelled back in response, this time sitting upright and shaking a fist in front of the Chinese boy's face, as if threatening him. Ren purposely took no notice of him, and proceeded to drink his second bottle of milk.
"Hey! Don't you dare ignore me!"
"Be quiet, you simple creature. I am trying to drink my milk."
"Why do I have to be quiet for that?"
"G-guys...," Yoh muttered, half-smiling. His two friends ignored him, and continued on their argument. Yoh laughed nervously as he turned to his fiancé beside him; a vein was protruding from her temple and it was even twitching. This didn't look too good...
"Your milk is of no importance to me!"
"What did you say?"
"I said, that milk is just a piece of crap!"
"Don't you dare say that about my milk, you little insect punk!"
"I'll teach you to call me punk, knucklehead!"
"Bring it on!"
"Kororo! In Ikupas— oof!"
"Bason! Into the Gw— wahh!"
The two boys were now lying on their heads, with their legs dangling in the air, and the both of them were in the positions of performing an Oversoul midway. Everything happened too fast; no one knew what exactly happened to them, but judging from Anna's devil glare and twitching hands, they assumed she had something to do with it.
"Young Master! What happened to you?" Bason cried as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and flailed.
"Just leave me be, Bason!" Ren yelled, shutting his eyes as an embarrassed blush began to form on his cheeks.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"What are you laughing at, bluehead?"
"How is it that your pointy hair is able to balance you on the ground, huh?" Horo guffawed, as he proceeded to wipe tears off his face. Ren widened his eyes and his face flushed even more.
"You're asking for it!"
"You guys haven't had enough, have you?" Anna bellowed, her glare getting even scarier and devilish as she raised both her arms and proceeded to grab the boys once more. She began to swing them around violently, bringing forth torturous screams and yells for help from them. But you know Anna; she wouldn't stop. Not until she felt that she's punished them enough, anyway. The others stared in horror, their mouths agape; Anna was being really scary today!
"I-I suggest we should all just.. go out and have some fresh air for a while," Manta suggested. His voice was no louder than a whisper, but it was loud enough for Yoh, Amidamaru, Lyserg, Chocolove, Ryu, Tamao, their guardian spirits, and even Yoh's grandparents, to hear it, despite all the desperate cries for the devil to stop in the background. All of them - except for Yohmei and Kino - got up to their feet in unison, and they then proceeded to exit the room as quickly as possible.
Once outside in the corridor, they shut the door to the dining room and took several deep breaths of air. The air wasn't as fresh as it usually was, but it was better than breathing the same air as the insane devil. As if on cue, another cool breeze blew in, nearly blowing the shaken Tamao and Manta off their feet. The winds were getting stronger.
"I-I don't think we should go back in there for the time being..," Lyserg sweatdropped, and the others agreed.
"What are we supposed to do now? I wasn't done with my meal!" Chocolove complained, but the others simply responded by shaking their heads, or even giving him sympathizing looks.
"I know!" Tamao's face lit up. "You can all follow me to town! I need to get some groceries because I used up all of them to prepare the meals for you guys.. - " the others laughed nervously and apologized, " - Anyways, the nearest grocery store in this area is still pretty far from here, so you guys can accompany me and protect me from any sort of danger!"
"Of course! I'd do anything for you, missy!" Ryu claimed, his hairdo automatically forming the shape of a heart, and he puckered his lips. Tamao frowned and took a step back, using both her hands to shield herself from the man.
"Hey! Don't you get anywhere near her!"
"Yeah! If you want to touch her, you'll have to go through us!"
At that moment, the spirits of a raccoon dog and a fox appeared out of nowhere, and kicked Ryu in the face in unison. The raccoon dog spirit then proceeded to slam his massive tail onto the man's head, while the fox spirit glided down to his lower region and, well, kicked him in the you-know-what.
"Ponchi! Konchi!" Tamao yelped, cupping her mouth with both her hands.
"Don't worry, Tamao! We've taken good care of that creep!" the raccoon dog spirit - Ponchi - claimed as he flashed his owner an accomplished grin.
"You... You didn't have to hurt him!" By this time, Tamao was already on the verge of tears, and she buried her face in the sleeves of her kimono. "I'm so embarrassed!"
"B-but, Tamao!" Konchi called out. "He was trying to hurt you!"
"Yeah! And he had the intent to outrage your modesty!" Ponchi added.
"That's enough!" Tamao scolded, throwing a hard punch to both her spirits. Ponchi and Konchi cried in pain as they were sent flying, before hitting their heads onto a wall and falling back onto the floor afterwards. Tamao's whole face was flushed, but whether that was due to her anger or her embarrassment was a mystery. The others stared disbelievingly at her, wide-eyed. Did she just punch them? What happened to the timid and shy girl they knew just less than a month ago? What happened to her after the Shaman Fight ended?
"...Ah! I-I'm so sorry, everyone!" Tamao apologized and bowed constantly to her friends, causing them to sweatdrop. "I didn't mean to...!"
"It's okay," Yoh replied, grinning. Admittedly, he was amused by the girl's action, though it scared him to think that there was a possibility that she was going to end up like his fiancé in the future. "W-we'll just accompany you to the grocery store to - you know - keep you safe... and stuff..."
"Y-yes! I really appreciate it!" said Tamao, bowing probably for the fiftieth time. "A-anyway, we should go back to our rooms and change. Walking around clad in a kimono wouldn't be nice.."
"You're right!" Yoh brought forth an embarrassed laugh and scratched the back of his head.
"Alright, what else do we need?" Lyserg asked as he arched his neck to look at the next thing on the shopping list, which Tamao had oh-so-nicely written down for them, and herself. The incident about Anna and the house spirits had been long forgotten, and they were now in the grocery store, helping the pinkhead with her shopping. They had all changed to some decent clothes, thick enough to keep themselves warm from the cold.
"I think we need - " Tamao fished out her pen and cancelled some writing on her list, before scanning it once more, " - Kai lan!"
"Kai lan?" Chocolove repeated, tilting his head in confusion.
"It's also known as chinese broccoli," Yoh explained, then he laughed. "Are you going to make a joke out of that?"
"Kai lan! K-Kai...," Chocolove slouched. "I can't think of anything..."
"Are these the vegetables you were looking for?" Lyserg asked, raising his hand to show a packet of small, white, flowery vegetables neatly packed in it.
Tamao shook her head," No, Lyserg, those are cauliflowers. We're looking for a vegetable with thick, fat and glossy leaves. They look like celery."
Lyserg nodded his head and went off to put the packet of cauliflowers back to where they belonged. He walked to the basket full of similar packets, and placed his own packet of cauliflowers gently in it. He looked up to read the signs - which have been fixated on the baskets - and began scanning every single one of them. Names of the vegetables available have been written onto the signs, so it was easier for the shoppers to find the groceries they needed.
Lyserg cursed himself; he should have brought his pendulum along with him. He had left in a hurry, and so his pendulum was still left unattended inside his haversack. His kanji wasn't very good either, so partially, he had to rely on Tamao's description of the vegetable to find it.
"Thick, fat, and glossy leaves... Look like celery... Aha!" Lyserg whispered to himself. Not far from him, in a green, rectangular basket, lay a huge pile of long, green, leafy vegetables. They fit Tamao's description perfectly. Lyserg walked briskly to it, and reached his arm out to grab one, but unexpectedly grabbed the hand of another shopper instead.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" he yelped, bringing his arm back. He turned to the other shopper; hey, he was curious. The hand he had just touched felt like it belonged to a girl.
"I should be the one to apologize," the other said, bringing her arm back as well. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned to see the owner of the hand that had just made physical contact with hers; she couldn't tell if it belonged to a girl or not..
With tied-up auburn hair and a pair of maroon eyes, the girl was dressed in a red striped, long-sleeved shirt, with a green jacket on top of it. The jacket had three bone-shaped buttons at the front, and even a checkered hood, which hung lazily from the girl's back. She also wore a pair of three-quarter length denim jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Her total outfit was complete with a silvery necklace, which was in the shape of a head of a wolf.
Something about her seemed so familiar...
"Umm, hellooooo?" she called out, waving her hand to bring Lyserg back to reality.
Lyserg blinked his eyes several times. Holy shit! He wasn't just imagining her, was he? Even her voice sounded the same! He had this urge to turn back and call for his friends, but something in him - his conscience, perhaps - had instructed him to stay and get his facts right.
There was only one thing he had to say to her...
"Meril?"
I really shouldn't be writing this. Especially when I'm still working on another multi-chapter fic, and getting to plan on yet another one. But I couldn't resist! I've had this plot stuck in my head for such a long time, and I couldn't just leave it there to rot and die. D: Also, do not let your ideas go to waste! Even if they're bad... Yes, I think this is a bad idea. I did not plan this at all, like how I'm planning Masquerade and my HaoxOC fic (I usually write them in a notebook before typing them on here), so I must apologize in advance if my plot fails to make any sense halfway.
Then again, I don't expect anyone to even read this! This is based on the game Shaman King: Power of Spirit, which - if I recall right - is for the PS2! It's a pretty old game.. Anyway, like most(?) Shaman King games, this game starts of with Yoh training to take part in the Shaman Fight, getting the Oracle Bell, battling Horo, Faust, and Ren, blahblahblah, then after he gets qualified, suddenly this girl Meril Inugami shows up at their celebration party. She claims to be a childhood friend of Yoh's, and that she's been training under Yohmei. Yoh and his friends believe her and they all go to America together. While on their quest to find the Patch village, suddenly a group of masked villains who call themselves Force Millennium attacks them, claiming that they will get Meril back no matter what. After some more fighting and confusion (and some hints from Hao), the group finally learns that Meril is an android created by Force Millennium, and she is going to be used as some sort of a vessel to hold some huge amount of furyoku, so FM could use the furyoku to control some robot called Zeobide. FM will use these two for some world domination thing, I don't remember. The leader of FM, Vinuvall, had implanted fake memories into Meril - whose real name is Kalis - and claims that the real Meril Inugami is actually still a shaman-in-training, though she knows nothing about Yoh, and his grandfather. Yoh and his friends choose to save Meril/Kalis from FM's control.
I only explained that for those who have never played or even heard of the game. I didn't explain in detail though; if you'd like, you may watch the full gameplay on YT. :D
Anyway, I already said that I don't expect anyone to read this... but I'm going to continue writing this fic until I complete it anyway! I don't think it's going to be very long.. Oh, well! Sorry for any mistakes! Oh, and a thousand hugs if you actually took the time to read this!
- A
