Besarki: Hello again. It's been, what, a week? Quick updates come to those who review :D
Smart Angel: Well... Sadly, we don't own Shaman King. Hiroyuki Takei won't give up the rights. *sigh*
To answer the question asked by Animewitch17, the title, "Kako no Kage" means "Shadows of the Past". We're not keeping this a secret, are we? I don't think so. Are we? Hmmmmmm...
Two chairs sat on either side of Hana's futon, each occupied by the boy's silent and utterly terrified parents.
Yoh sighed as he glanced down at his son's sleeping form. He reached down and brushed the blond hair out of Hana's face.
Across from him, Anna stared at Hana with a half-blank, half-dead expression.
"Anna..." Yoh hedged.
She offered no reply.
"Anna..." He tried calling her again, but her eyes didn't leave Hana's face. He knew what she was thinking. Yoh knew what she feared. "He will be okay Anna." He reached for her hand "He'll be fine, you'll see."
She looked at him and then back at Hana.
"It's my fault," She said, no emotion in her voice.
"Anna, it's not..."
"Yes, it is." She looked up and he could see the pain. "I went too far."
He wished he could deny that, but they both knew she was right. He went for another path. "I'm just as much to blame. I should have run out right after him, but I didn't."
"Don't you dare try to pin the blame on yourself," She scolded. "This time, the fault is entirely mine."
"Anna..." He tried, his face looking more pathetic than it ever had before. For once, he didn't have the perfect thing to say.
"Yoh-kun," Faust droned, announcing his arrival.
"Oh, hello, Faust," Yoh greeted. "Thank you for coming." He lowered his head to stare at Hana.
"Of course." The spirit nodded. "Now, would you mind explaining exactly what happened once more?"
Yoh looked at his wife and then at Faust. Explain what happened? He wasn't sure what to say. They were suppose to be a happy family. A loving family. When did everything change? When did that turned into a dream?
He knew he should have followed Hana. He knew it. But Anna seemed so hurt. Yoh knew Anna better than Hana, he could never guess that the little boy was also hurting. Maybe even more than his wife. He knew Anna had lost it and that she was about to break and needed him. He thought that his son would soon come back, with only his pride damaged. He never thought that...
That maybe he would come so close to losing him.
Yoh swallowed and began the story.
FLASHBACK
He still remembered the sound of the snow falling against the window. Yoh had finally calmed Anna down and he heated their dinner. Even though Anna was calm, she still refused to go look for Hana.
"He will be back soon," Anna said, chewing her food. Yoh let out a sigh.
"I sure hope so... Do you think he'll get sick?"
"He's a shaman, he can handle a bit of snow." She looked down.
Yoh wasn't worried about the snow.
"Yes, but he is still six..." He sighed again. "And... I don't know, with that weird ghost around, I get worried and..."
Anna stopped eating. She had forgotten about that ghost. The Ghost of the Grieving Mother who killed herself after her pregnancy ended in miscarriage. The same ghost that they were looking for earlier that morning, and that the Amidamaru and his friends feared would take the life of a child soon.
The same ghost they didn't find, the same ghost that was still out there.
Her fork fell to the table and she shot up from her chair.
"NO!" She cried.
Yoh whirled to stare questioningly at his wife. "Anna?"
"I forgot about the ghost!" She admitted, more panicked than ever.
Yoh seemed confused. "Can't Hana handle it?"
She grabbed his hand, said, "No, he can't," and dragged him out the door.
In a few seconds they were already outside, searching for Hana. Yoh had grabbed a coat for him and one for Hana. He was a six year old kid, Yoh knew he would be feeling cold.
"You don't think she will go after him, do you?" Yoh asked, now starting to get really worried, seeing how his wife was screaming their son's name and the panic in her eyes.
For a moment, she halted her desperate shouts. She turned to face him. "I don't know," She replied. "I hope not, but I don't know if that's realistic of me to say."
Yoh hated that he had to agree.
"But less talk," She demanded, "and more running."
"You're right," He said, focusing more on the path in front of him and less on the her voice. "We have to find him."
"Before she does," Anna added.
It felt like an eternity, searching for him in those white streets, shouting his name. Hana could be dead by now. She could have gotten to him. Maybe they would never find him. Maybe he would die, never knowing how much he meant to them.
No, they couldn't let that happen. They would find him. He would be under some tree, cold and ranting over bad stuff about them under his breath. They would hug him and kiss him and he would look at them confused, not understanding what was going on.
Yes, think positive. Hana wasn't dead. He was okay.
Of course, all that positive thinking went away when they heard a ghostly voice singing a lullaby...
The two parents could almost feel their hearts stop in their chests.
They were too late. They had failed again.
"HANA!" Yoh shouted.
The ghost paused in her death games to glance up and assess the approaching figures. Her glare told them that she'd give them no warm welcome.
Yoh's eyes flashed to Anna.
"Take out the ghost," He yelled. "I'll get Hana."
Anna could only nod.
He was by the lake, his legs still inside the freezing water. Anna understood what had happened. She had tried to drown him, and he fought. He fought against her, he fought for his life but... But the water was too cold. His small frail body had no protection. He had no energy left, no body heat... Anna knew Hana probably tried to swim back, but fell unconscious...
He was slowly dying... That ghost had tried to kill her son.
She was going to pay.
"Step. Away. From. My. Son." she spoke slowly, giving emphasis to every word, but none more than the last.
The ghost stared at her, uncomprehending. This arrogant woman thought that this little boy was her son? But how could that be? This child belonged to her, the ghost of Funbari lake. She would care for him always, and he would never be alone. They would be a happy family for all of eternity.
The ghost would be a better mother than this mortal woman. She was sure of it.
Anna's eyes burned with hatred for the ghost. How dare she put Hana through this? Sure, to say that Anna was the perfect mother would be hypocritical, but this...
Her fury blazed as she meaningfully approached the wicked woman.
She'd messed up more times than they could count, but she wouldn't let her her track record keep her down. Though she rarely showed it, her family was more important to her than anything else on Earth.
This time, Anna wasn't taking no for an answer.
She ripped her rosary from around her neck and flung it towards the ghost. With amazing precision, it looped around her and rendered her helpless. The spirit struggled, but the attempt only sealed her in further.
Anna quickly yanked her away from the bank, giving Yoh a chance to run in a scoop Hana up from the freezing water.
Yoh ran towards their son. He was wet and so white... Yoh couldn't breath. Hana looked... he looked... dead. No, he couldn't be! His little son couldn't be dead! Yoh felt his pulse... It was so weak... In a few minutes he would really be gone!
Yoh took out his coat and putted around his small son's body, trying to protect him from the cold. He lifted Hana up with no difficulty and looked at his wife. She was still holding the ghost. He knew what she wanted him to do. She would hold her while Yoh ran back home, so they could save Hana.
Words weren't needed. Yoh exchanged a quick glance with his wife and then carried Hana away from the face off, leaving Anna to spar with the ghost alone. She'd be fine. Hana was the one they were worried about.
"Come on, Hana," He coaxed. "Open your eyes."
The blonde did no such thing, and, in that moment, Yoh felt his blood run cold.
He arrived home and ran upstairs, to his and Anna's room. He laid his son down on the futon, got every cover he could find on the house and covered Hana, trying to get him warm. His son didn't move. He looked like a corpse.
Yoh bit his lip. Damn... It was obvious the lack of heat wasn't the only thing wrong with Hana. He was dying. His son was dying in front of his eyes and he couldn't do anything! He didn't even know how to stop it! They needed a doctor! They needed Faust!
He should have asked Anna to call Faust BEFORE she unleashed hell on the ghost.
Yoh sat down by his son side, watching his face. He was dying... He couldn't lose Hana. He just couldn't!
Yoh knew the pain of loss. He'd felt it so many times before, each just as painful as the last. In truth, he didn't know that he could take it again, and especially not with his immediate family.
Deep down, he knew that what had happened to Hana had, without question, been his and Anna's fault. He knew that if he had just gotten up and followed Hana out the door, they could have had a long talk and then this all could have been avoided. But he hadn't, and now he was facing the consequences.
In truth, his family was his world. Nothing on Earth was more important to him than they were. To lose even a part of that would be...unthinkable. He couldn't even imagine, and yet, here, he was about to.
His heart dropped through the floor as he ran his hand over Hana's freezing forehead.
Everything will work out. That's what he tried to tell himself. That everything would work out in the end, that Anna would come back and call Faust and in a few hours Hana would be back to his normal self, yelling at them for not following him.
Somehow it seemed hard to believe.
"How is he?!" Anna demanded, as she finally entered the room. She saw her husband next to the futon where Hana was.
"Call Faust..." He didn't even look at her. His voice was so weak that Anna knew something was terribly wrong.
She stared at Yoh for no more than a minute before she moved away and did as she was told.
Faust arrived only three minutes later.
END FLASHBACK
"And so we've come full circle," Anna concluded with a sigh.
Faust nodded. "I see." He glanced down at Hana, then looked back up at the boy's parents. "So who wants to do this?"
Yoh stood. "I will. You can possess me." He exchanged a wary glance with Anna. The same creeping question drifted through both of their minds.
Did they really want to know what was wrong with their son?
Anna was looking at her husband as he started doing what he could to take care of their son. She stepped aside, giving him more space to work. She heard him murmuring some stuff to himself.
How could she let things get so out of hand? What kind of mother was she? To let her small 6 year old son go out in the snow by himself? What wouldn't she give to trade places with Hana at that moment.
"Kami-sama..." She heard Yoh, or rather, Faust say. Suddenly he started to walk around really fast, bringing some machines close to the bed.
Her heart skipped a beat. He wasn't going to attach those things to Hana, was he?
"What's wrong with him?" Yoh didn't answer, just went on doing what he was doing.
She was on the edge of her seat, and the anticipation was making her nasty. "Faust, answer me before I send your soul to hell."
Faust didn't judge her for her behavior, nor did he blame Yoh for having stiff limbs. He hadn't ever been a parent, and couldn't imagine what this was doing to them, however, he had been a doctor and he knew the pain that came with each hospital visit.
"Please give me a moment, Anna-san," He requested in Yoh's voice.
Faust was doing the best he could. He was a good doctor. He was a great doctor, who saved his wife's life when everyone told he she was going to die from her illness! But the truth was... There was not a lot he could do in that situation. He had seen this case only once before, and it hadn't been nearly as severe as this.
He knew he couldn't save Hana. He knew that. He knew that at every second mattered. The only thing he could do was stop Hana from dying. But that didn't mean save his life. For all he knew Hana may never wake up. His coma was so...
Faust felt Yoh's hands stop. It wasn't a full possession. Yoh still had a bit of control over his body and could hear Faust's every single thought and know everything Faust knew.
And Faust could feel the despair in Yoh's soul. Faust could feel how desperate Yoh was. He could feel the pain.
Yoh was in no condition to continue this in a half-possession.
You can't be serious, Faust. He... He will be okay, right?
Yoh-san, please, let me take full control of the body.
He will be okay, right?! Anna could see tears coming from Yoh's eyes. She couldn't breathe. Something was really wrong. He will survive, won't he?
Not if you don't let me take over! Yon-san, if I don't do something quick...
Just do whatever you need to save him...
And Faust could feel Yoh's body as if it was his own.
Hana's eyes fluttered open only to have a veil of nothingness flood his vision.
Hana groaned. He felt horrible. His neck hurt, his arms ached, and his head was splitting. He tried to remember what had left him like this, but his brain was met with only searing pain.
Maybe he'd go back to sleep. That seemed like a reasonable idea. Sleep had always helped to cure things. All he had to do was close his eyes and--
If you do, you won't wake back up, Someone disagreed.
Hana's eyes flashed open and he was suddenly wide awake, all thoughts of pain gone.
"Who said that?" He demanded.
The voice chuckled slightly, but didn't answer. Hana tried again. "I said--"
"I heard you the first time."
The young shaman glanced in every direction. There was no one there.
Frustrated, and a little bit scared, he yelled, "Show yourself!"
"Quite angry, aren't we?" Asked the voice, still chuckling.
"I said show yourself!" Hana yelled, turning around, as if he expected to find the person there.
"I know. You have to stop repeating yourself, you know that?" The owner of the voice sounded amused. That only made Hana angrier. He hated when people laughed at him.
"If you don't show up I'll..." Damn. What could he do?
"You'll...?" He was chuckling again.
"I'll go to sleep!"
"You shouldn't do that."
"How can I trust you? If you're telling the truth show yourself!" When no answer came, Hana sat down and closed his eyes. He was tired, so it shouldn't be long until he fell asleep.
"Open your eyes!" Snapped the voice.
Hana opened his eyes and saw a young man, a teenager, around 16, wearing a red kimono. He had long brown hair and big brown eyes that seemed much older than his body. His presence calmed Hana a bit at the same time it alarmed him. Hana could feel that the 16 years old with old man's eyes had a great power.
And yet that was something very familiar about him.
"Put your own life in risk, why won't you?" he now sounded a bit angry. "I understand that you have a hard life but to try to kill yourself so I would show myself? You are either an idiot or a very good liar."
"Who are you?" Hana asked, trying to ignore the insults.
"The Shaman King... Or you can call me Hao-sama or Oji-sama." The boy answered with a smile. Hana couldn't help but think that the boy was a bit... What was the word? Full of himself maybe? Well, he was 6, his grades in vocabulary never were the best.
"Ji-chan?" Hana asked confused.
"Oji-sama. You have to learn more respect."
"So that's why you remind me of Tou-chan!" Hana suddenly realized. "You are my uncle!"
"If it took you that long to realize that then you're definitely Yoh's son."
"What am I doing here?"
"Don't you remember? You nearly died."
"WHAT?! No way! I was having dinner with my parents and..." And everything came back to him. The promise they broke, the fight, the snowstorm, the freaky ghost, the frozen lake, the fight against the freaky ghost, and then...
"I DIED!"
"You're not dead yet. But you will be soon unless we do something..." Hao said, looking over his shoulder and then coming close to his nephew.
"What do you mean?" Hana asked, looking at his uncle confused. But his question wasn't answered, his uncle just kept mumbling to himself things as not safe and get out of here.
Hana frowned slightly. He hated being ignored.
"Here is what you need to know," Hao said, finally looking the little blonde boy in the eyes. "I have to send you somewhere you'll be save... Only I'll be able to take you out of there, so no need to worry. I'll be back for you when it's safe".
The next thing Hana saw was a big flash of white light, and then he fell unconscious for the second time that day.
Smart Angel: *Mysterious Background Song* Can you guess what happens next? XD Hopefully not, this way next chapter will be a big surprise! Oh, and if you don't review, we'll tell Hao-sama. The three of us are very close, believe it or not!
Besarki: And that's a wrap for chapter 2, eh? Nothing more to say. Review or Hao will throw you in a black void! XD