Hey everyone! I'm back with chapter 2 of Pretty in Black. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Ch 1 was more of a prologue. I named the story what I did b/c Rin wears black all the time except when wearing servants clothes.
Sorry it took so long to update. I was correcting something and the chapter got deleted so I had to rewrite it. I hope to keep a steady update while writing this story, so when 1 chapter is done, and published, immediately start on the next chapter. Yup, that will be the routine, and you will review and tell me what you think and what can be improved in the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own SK
Pretty in Black
Chapter 2
Once Rin arrived in Tokyo, she was disgusted at how black smoke poured from trucks and everything moved so fast and averyone was always in a hurry. In her traditional clothes, horse and carriage, many people looked at her funny and Rin did not like being stared at.
While riding down the street, a police officer stopped her. "Excuse me miss, but you will have to move off the road."
What do you mean 'move off the road'? How elso am I supposed to get where I am going?" she said starting to get annoyed that she was being denied passage.
"I mean that you are holding up traffic that needs to get through. If you want I can escort you to the police station and have a horse trailer and trailer brought up for your carriage to take you to wherever you are going."
"No thank you. I am perfectly happy travelling like this. Could you please tell me how to get to Saigan Temple?"
"Yes, but you will have to travel outside the city. I can escort you to a place where you can safely and easily travel without getting in the way of traffic." the policeman said.
"Thank you" Rin said, happy to get out of the city of steel. The man got on his motercycle and brought Rin to a two-lane road leading to Funbari and told her that there was a map showing the rest of the way to the shrine as well as signs pointing in the direction of certian landmarks then he left.
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Finally reaching Saigan Temple, Rin stopped the horses at the cemetary gatesand went inside. While walking through the cemetary, Rin could not help but sense all the ghosts that were there.
Tokyo sure has a lot of restless spirits. Even in the main city the presence of them is over whelming.
She came to a bridge with a marker saying "Headstone Bridge", and on the hill was l lone headstone that looked as if it had been broken and put back together. Coming around to where she could read the name on the headstone, she read:
'Amidamaru'
"Amazing! The grave of the fiend Amidamaru. I would have thought that his spirit would be haunting the place, but I don't sense his spirit on this hill. I certianly did not feel it it in the main cemetary. He must have gone to heaven when he died."
"Actually, he didn't." a voice behind her said. Turning quickly around, Rin saw a boy around her age, with brown hair and some orange things on his head of which Rin had no knowledge of.
"What did you say?" Rin asked.
"I said that Amidamaru never went to heaven when he died. He stayed right here on this hill." the boy said.
"How do you know? Where is his spirit now if it never went to heaven? I could not sense his spirit here. Everywhere else I could feel a spirit's presence, but not here." Rin said.
"You can see ghosts?"
"Yes, is that a problem?"
"No, because I can see them too! I'm a shaman!" he said happily.
What a carefree person. Rin thought. If he is going to compter in the shaman tournament, he won't make it with that carefree and lazy attitude. I don't wan't o give away the reason I'm here and what I am until I find out more about this kid.
"Really? Then you know what happened to Amidamaru?"
"Yeah! Of course I do! He's my spirit ally!" he said pointing behind him with his thumb.
Looking closely behind him, Rin saw a sanurai with white hair, white, red and black robes, red armor with black outlines, and two kantana's, one on each hip, both hilts red and black.
"I thought he moved on." Rin said.
"Nope. He's here and is my best friend. I'm Asakura Yoh."
"I'm...Akari Rin. Pleased to meet you." Rin said taking a small bow.
"Pleased to meet you too. Are you here for the shaman tournament?" Yoh asked.
"The what?" Rin asked playing it dumb.
"The shaman tournament is where shamans battle each other to become the Shaman King." Yoh explained.
Pretending to think about it, Rin half-lied, "Oh yes, the shaman fights. No, I am not participating. I never trained to become a shaman. I'm here to sightsee. Do you know where I can fins an inn in Funbari."
"The only inn in Funbari Hill is the Flame Inn. But it went out of business and now I live there." Said Yoh.
"You live in a giant inn by yourself?" Not that it is a big deal. I live in a giant mansion compound by myself.
"Not alone. There is Amidamaru and Anna, and Manta comes over frequently."
"Oh, well, do you mind if I stay there for a while until I find someplace to stay? I can pay you for any expenses."
"Sure. I don't know what Anna will think, but who cares? She can deal with it."
"Thanks. Meet me at the cemetary gates, we can go on from there."
"Ok, I'll meet you there."
Rin left Yoh on the hill and went to her carriage. "Lord Yoh, I believe that Lady Rin was not telling us the entire truth. I believe that she was a shaman." Amidamaru said.
"Yeah, I noticed that she gave her name, she hesitated. I don't think that that was her real name. So you really think that she was a shaman?"
"Yes. If she is, I could not confirm the main spirits form. It seemed to surround her like a smoke."
"Yeah, well, shaman or no, we don't want to keep her waiting. Besides, I was supposed to make dinner tonight and Anna's gonna kill me."
Going to where Rin was, Yoh was astonished at the carriage and its horses. Rin was already in the drivers seat waiting for him. Yoh climbed into the seat beside her and they started in the direction of the inn.
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Upon arriving, Yoh and Rin got down and Yoh told her that she could keep the carriage and horses in the side yard where there was shelter under the trees.
Following Yoh inside the house, Rin felt very at home in the old inn. It was a two story building and very traditional looking despite the modern appliances such as the TV and air conditioning.
"Anna?" Yoh said cautiously.
"You're late Yoh! You were supposed to make dinner! Manta had to make it!" a girl said.
She was Rin's height, had blonde hair, wore a short black dress, a red bandana around her head, and bathroom sandals like Yoh's only red. "Yoh, who's this?"
"Oh, uh, this is Akari Rin. She needed a place to stay until she foung somewhere elso to stay. She has never been to Funbari Hill before." explained Yoh.
"We arn't a boarding house Yoh. We can't afford to keep everyone you make friends with here. Like Horohoro, and he is as stupid as they come!" Yoh sweatdropped.
"Uh, I can pay you for a room. Yoh did say that this used to be an inn." Rin said.
Anna thought for a minute and said, "Alright, you can stay. But you have to do everything that I say. I'll show you to your room."
"Thank you Miss Anna." Rin said. Grabbing her things, Rin followed Anna to one of the guest rooms.
"You can stay here." Anna said.
"I think you again for your hospitality Miss Anna." Rin said. "I promise to earn my keep in any way I can."
"Dinner is ready, so if you want to change clothes make it quick. Otherwise, Horohoro will eat all that is set out for you with that bottomless stomach of his." Anna said as she left the room.
What a bossy girl. I can't believe that I have to take orders from her and work for her like a servant. I could have paid her for a room. Rin thought changing into a black kimono with silver flowers and put on black house slippers. Tying her hair into a single braid, Rin went downstairs to dinner.
For the rest of the night until they retired to bed, they talked about diffrent things and Rin "learned" about the shaman tournament.
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In the days that followed, Rin found herself staying at Funbari Inn and doing chores for Anna while being bugged by Ryu with him saying that a "beautiful princess should not have to do work."
She enjoyed talking and became fast friends with Horohoro. She loved the conversations she had with him and whole-heartedly agreed on the dangers that human expansion presented to nature. She especially loved his spirit ally Kororo.
Yoh and Horohoro entered the shaman tournament and both recieved an oracle bell from shaman fight overseers Silva and Kalim.
One night, Rin secretly snuck out and challenged a fight official. She passed in 3 minutes and recieved a black oracle bell. Attaching it to her arm and hiding it under her black kimono sleeve, Rin headed beck to the inn. She knew that she would have to tell the truth about herself soon.
The next day, the first shaman fight was announced: Asakura Yoh vs. Horohoro.
OK, you know that Rin is a shaman and that she is now in the fights. But what is her ghost and ability? That is the mystery. Did I get Anna's character Anna-ish enough? I think I did. When writing this chapter I was stressing on how I was going to introduce the other characters, but as I kept writing it just unfolded like a piece of paper. I still have no idea on what Rin's spirit ally is going to be. If anyone has a certian type of spirit that you would like to see Rin have, please give me your ideas on what would fit her character. I was thinking of a black hawk that integrated into a razor sharp fan. So she would be a wind shaman.
I also realized that this story should not be labeled as a "tragedy", more like a general so I will change the genre. There will probably be a tiny smidgen bit of romance in the story. Not a whole lot. I am pretty bad at writing romances.
Please Review!
-Jai Akari