Chapter 2: Manta's Birthday.

Disclaimer: My goldfish ate all the legal documents saying I own Shaman king and got my Halo ownership papers wet so you cant read it so no, I don't own either. Damn goldfish!

A/N: Sorry if you don't think this chapter is very good. Its mostly a filler. Since nothing really happens I tried to add some humour. I promise a more action packed next chapter.

After a very brief moment of free fall Yoh's head breached a ice cold membrane of fluid, then before he could fully register what had happened his whole body was submerged under the surface. His eyes shot open to see the green smog was replaced with blue water. Not much of an improvement. was his first thought. His second was, oh wait, I cant breath. Must have air. His third thought was, I'm to tired to swim, I want to go back to sleep. His forth thought was: I'm hungry I'll grab some food then go back to sleep. His final thought on the matter was: Which way is the fridge?

"He has been under to long." stated Manta as he looked into the deep pond below Yoh's window. "We should help him, Anna."

"If he can't even save himself from drowning he isn't worth the effort of getting wet and cold." Anna replied in a uncaring tone. "He won Hao and Spirit of Fire so I'm sure he can handle some water."

Manta was becoming increasingly worried as Yoh still didn't rise to the surface. Numerous bubbles rose from the deeps of the pond, causing Manta to fear the worst and Anna to continue staring emotionlessly at the reflective surface of the water.

"I can't wait any longer. I'm going in to help Yoh." Manta stated. He dived into the water and started to swim to the bottom. As he disappeared from sight Yoh's head broke the surface of the water.

"Hey Anna." Yoh said as if this was a normal thing to be doing in the morning. "Where's Manta." Manta's head suddenly appeared bobbing up and down near Yoh's, looking slightly purple. "Hey Manta." Yoh added, giving a casual wave to his small friend.

"Couldn't you have swam to the top before I jumped in to save you." Manta panted.

"Sorry. I kinda dozed off when I reached the bottom." Yoh said with a yawn.

"YOU DOZED OFF. HOW DO YOU DOZE OFF UNDER WATER." screamed Manta, amazed by Yoh's unique ability to sleep anywhere at all at any time.

Yoh gazed up at the still visible moon and yawned again. "Its way to early to be awake yet. Its just human nature to sleep at this time."

Manta sighed, "I'll never understand how you can be so calm all the time."

Yoh swam to the edge and climbed out of the cold water, then assisted Manta onto the solid ground. Up till now Anna had just stood and watched Yoh, but now she chose to speak.

"As much as its entertaining to see small fry get all worried and try to be the hero, you shouldn't have been under so long and got him worked up. As punishment I'm adding double laps around the town for today's training."

"Oh man, come on Anna." Yoh whined.

"Look on the bright side," Anna added in a slightly more cheerful voice. "Your already up and have had a morning bathe so you can start training early and fit about 40% extra work in."

Tears streamed down Yoh's face as he silently cried.

"Why are you up so early, swimming about in the pond." Asked Anna.

Yoh stopped crying and suddenly started to think. "I don't know. I was having a nice dream about eating cheese burgers, then I couldn't breath. I woke up surrounded by a thick green fog, tried to escape it and then fell out my window."

Manta started to speak. "I wonder what that green fog could have been and how it got ther-"

"Aaaggghhh, dude its Hao. Take this you hot head."

There was a flash of white light. When Manta's vision recovered he let out a scream. Yoh was encased in a solid block of ice. Stood behind him was Horohoro.

"Wow, I won Hao. I'm the greatest. I so owned you dude. Oh, hi Anna, Manta. Where's Yoh. He's not here and he's not in his room anymore."

"Well he is currently about five foot in front of you and then a foot of ice." replied Anna in a voice more cold than the ice surrounding Yoh.

Horohoro gulped then answered, "So that wasn't Hao."

"No," stated Manta. "It was Yoh with his hair down."

"Damn."

"I'll take it as you was in Yoh's room before as well." asked Anna.

"Yes." he replied carefully. "I was gonna sneak up on him but I kinda let one off. When the gas cleared he was gone."

"Come here." ordered Anna to the now scared looking Ainu. He walked slowly forwards, cowering slightly.

"Y-yes Anna"

"Never gas, or freeze my beloved Yoh ever again. Got it."

"Yes Anna. Sorry Anna."

"Good. I'm glad we have an understanding. Just so you remember though," Like a flash of lightning Anna's fist met Horohoro's face and in the next second his feet left the ground and fired of some where in the distance. His scream slowly faded as he sped away from the group.

The next few hours passed slowly. Yoh was still defrosting in the garden, Horohoro had been sighted somewhere in the next town and Anna had been sat watching various soaps on the TV. Manta was reading his birthday cards and opening his presents from his family.

Ryu called in to wish Manta a happy birthday and Horohoro finally made it back around the same time Yoh was fully defrosted. After a menacing glare from Anna, Horohoro cowered in a corner, nibbling on little cocktail sausages.

Next came Faust and Eliza, closely followed by Lyserg. Ren came last looking slightly misplaced carrying brightly packaged presents.

When everyone was seated, Manta excitedly opened his presents. Faust and Eliza had got him a huge tub of ice cream, Ren had bought him a hammer the same size as Manta himself, (which is still a very small fighting hammer), to test his newly developed shaman powers on while his sister Jun had made him deliver a basket of blueberry muffins. Lyserg gave him a device for his much loved laptop that worked kind of like Lyserg's pendulum. Horohoro gave him a bag of lily pad seeds so he could have Koro Pokkuru live in his garden. Ryu had baked a huge cake, bigger than Manta himself while Yoh gave him a book of new ghost stories, written through Yoh as the greatest ghost story writer was now one himself. Anna, rather cruelly bought him Growth in a bottle: makes even the smallest of people tall.

For Manta's birthday lunch they ordered out. Yoh ordered a triple cheese burger but when the food arrived it seemed Anna conveniently forgot to order his food. While everyone was eating their good food, Yoh was crying in a corner stuck with some tofu from the cupboard.

Afterwards they all went outside for some relaxation and cake, a perfect combination for Yoh, minus burgers. Yoh was just about to take a huge bite from his slice of cake when a blinding energy blast shot past him. When he opened his eyes his cake had been vaporised. Everyone else stood up and gathered their weapons and turned to face where the blast had come from, Yoh just sat there crying over his lost cake.

"Damn I missed." came a voice from behind some bushes.

""How could you miss a head that sized." asked another voice.

Yoh cried more at this comment.

"Reveal yourselves." Shouted Ren

"Why should we." shouted back one of the men.

"If you don't, I will be forced to completely obliterate that entire side of the garden. Anything remaining will have a one way ticket to oblivion." Ren replied.

"Can you even do that." Asked the other man.

"Stay behind the bush and you'll soon find out."

"I suppose we best come out then." said one.

"Agreed." stated the other.

One man walked out either side of the bush. Then another, then another. Soon an impossible amount had stepped from behind the bush.

"Hundreds verses six. Lets even the odds a bit. Stand back and let me handle this. Give the poor bastards a chance." laughed Ren confidently.

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Two distant suns shone down upon the mountain dominated landscape of Gah'lo. Encased within huge stone teeth was a large barren area several miles in diameter. Embedded into the side of the largest mountain was what looked like an ancient temple.

From above it looked like a swarming ants nest. Up close revealed thousands of creatures busying themselves. Ape like men haled crates around full of weapons and armour while little creatures zipping this way and that, yipping excitedly in their high pitch voices. Ranks upon ranks stood awaiting orders, all wearing the highest quality armour and the strongest weapons.

At the front of the army sat an alien who gazed with pride at the warriors before him. His floating chair lifted higher into the air and every person in the clearing became silent.

"Very soon all of the children of the Covenant will be here with us. Once we are all assembled and armed, we will strike the humans where they are most vulnerable."

A huge roar erupted from the army as they savagely beat their breast plates.

The speaker raised his hand and the cheering stopped. "The Gods will is that we destroy the humans. As soon as we are ready, that will be accomplished by our own hands."

A roar even loader than the last echoed over the mountain range across the whole planet. The prophet smiled to himself. The covenant was finally ready to defeat the humans once and for all.

A/N: well like I said, not the best chapter but I hope its not terrible. Like I said, next chapter things start to really kick off. P.S. Yoh is my favourite character and I do feel mean for picking on him and making him look like a cry baby, but it fits his character.