Thunder: Enjoy!
AnimexXxGoddess: No, THAT wasn't THE masked boy. He'll appear in this chapter though :D and Team Artiglio have only three members.
Eli: I'll see to it, if I finish this story soon….and by soon I mean next year around this time, I'll start with Luna. But let me tell you that Luna's ending is a cliffy too; I'd have to start Endless Adventures after it. And if that one ever gets done then it would still be a cliffy and I'd have to start Surprise! And afterwards I'd need to start A New Future, A New Life….so as you can see…..if I start one it's all like pulling on a VERY long string. But I promise I'll try….I'm lazy too. *sheepish grin*
SK-fan7: Sorry ^-^'
Oh and by the way….I didn't see Hao as caring there…o.o…oh well, readers are judges…
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King and I don't own the masked boy's idea, it was inspired by willow of fire's story Yoh's Guardian, thank you very much for allowing me to use it!
Chapter 3
A Letter From A Stranger
"WHERE IS HE?" Anna's screams and yells would have literally awakened the dead from their ever-lasting slumber.
"Anna, calm down! I'm sure he's out training, just like you told him to!" Horo Horo tried to make excuses but only got a hard slap that blew him flat to the wall, where he fainted.
"Be reasonable, Anna. Yoh wouldn't be out at this time with no perfectly good reason. He respects you and-" Ren said seriously from where he stood but was cut by another one of Anna's shrieks.
"SHUT UP!" She snapped at Ren and readied her hand to slap him as well. Just before the slap made contact, the doorbell rang. Everyone, Ryu, Faust, Manta, Chocolove, and even Tamao were awake, with all of their respective spirits floating next to them in spirit ball mode, stared at the door then back at Anna, holding their breath in anticipation. Anna finally growled and stomped towards the door.
"Saved by the bell." Ryu whispered to Ren as they all walked after her. Ren simply twitched nervously and went after the others.
Everyone was gathered at the door, Anna being at the very front. They were all staring at something particular, looks of shock and confusion and stifled chuckles were around the air. Ren had enough of that and pushed his way through, surprised to hear faint snores and finally saw a drooling, sleeping Yoh. Everyone was speechless.
"Yoh? Buddy why are you sleeping at the entrance?" Horo Horo exclaimed as he pushed his way through the small crowd, only to get a punch in the face from Anna.
"OW! What did I do?" He asked as he covered his red face.
"Don't shout next to my ear you idiot…" She muttered and proceeded to kick Yoh, who jerked up with a yelp. He looked around slowly, and then watched his fiancé and friends.
"Yo!" He said with his cheerful smile and careless attitude as he raised his hand. Everybody sweat dropped.
"Your training will be doubled." Anna growled in annoyance then turned around and entered the house, stomping and muttering to herself. Yoh only stared at the place where she had left, mouth opening and closing in disbelief.
"But, But…what did I do?" He exclaimed and looked up at his friends, expecting an answer. Most of them shrugged, Manta chuckled and Ren helped Yoh up to his feet.
"You really got her going crazy master." Ryu commented as they went in. Horo Horo then proceeded in telling him what had happened.
"Wow…" Yoh was speechless. His fiancé had made this huge fuss just because he didn't come home in time?
"I'm really sorry you guys." Yoh apologized as they all entered into the living room.
"No need to be sorry. We were all worried about you." Manta said with a reassuring smile and Yoh smiled back.
"Where were you anyway?" Chocolove asked and everyone looked at Yoh expectantly.
"The same." He answered with a shrug. It had become a habit that he was late, so everyone knew what the same means so they all nodded and went back to their beds, everyone except Ren, who stood by the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. Yoh and Ren stared at each other for a while, Ren keeping his suspicious look.
"What is it Ren?" Yoh finally asked with a sheepish grin.
"You usually come back from there with scars…and normally not that energetic." He stated, still eyeing Yoh. Yoh blinked and looked down at himself then frowned.
"You're right…" He said as he touched his chest, where most of the scars would be, but nothing hurt…he looked back up at Ren, a puzzled look on his face.
"I could swear my chest was covered with them, and I'm sure I felt pain…but now…" He told him then trailed off.
"Nothing?" Ren finished for him and Yoh nodded, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion.
"Do you remember how you got here?" He asked but Yoh shook his head no. They both stood there, both deep in their own thoughts.
"Well, no need to break our heads thinking about it." He said with a sheepish grin then he yawned. "Let's get some sleep…while we still can." He finished and then went straight to his sweet bed. Ren soon followed and did the same.
The next few nights went exactly the same and it finally reached a state in which the gang had to go out and search for Yoh under Anna's orders. Everybody was exhausted from lack of sleep and the tournament is about to start again, the first battles are just a few days away and they can't even keep their eyes open! Anna didn't have any problems and still sent everyone on their regular training schedule. Yoh on the other hand, was his same old self, not troubled by anything, but soon enough it was getting out of his hands, to the point that he was sleeping while running, and Manta is a witness of this.
OOOO
"You're not tired yet, ragazzo?" Adrian asked tiredly from his position, leaning on a tree, waving his hand as he spoke like a true Italian. "Poiche I had quite enough of this nonsenso, why do you come back if you know what's waiting for you?" He asked in an almost irritated way. Yoh laughed nervously in response.
"It's not really in my hands…" He said with his sheepish smile and shrugged, sweat trickling down his forehead from all the running he did. Adrian stared at him through his thin mask, eyeing him with different colored eyes.
"That's not the answer I want to udire." He said plainly. Yoh gulped and backed away a few steps then stopped right after he heard two men from the tree branches above his head drop down behind him. He turned around swiftly to meet whom he knew as Miguel, the silent shadow and Lazar, the juggler. Miguel's silver eyes bore into Yoh's as he moved closer while Lazar stood chuckling in his place.
"Na, na, na." He said while stifling his chuckles and shaking his head. "Lieber Yoh, it was a fehler to come here today. I'm in one of my…" He said then trailed off, his laughter barely controlled. Yoh didn't need him to finish his sentence to know that he is in one of his hysterical states. It wasn't long till everything turned black.
OOOO
Yoh woke up after a harsh beating; he remembered pain but now…nothing. He opened his eyes, assuming that he'd see the ceiling of his room but instead he saw the deeply interwoven branches and leaves of the many trees around him. He slowly sat up and looked around himself; there was a neat circle of stones placed right next to him with sticks stacked together in the middle of it, clearly used to light a fire. Then he looked down at himself, there were no scars anymore, not any new ones at least, even the old ones seemed to have healed somehow, but there were a few plasters on some parts of his arms.
He stood up and was surprised to see that what he was lying on was a nice and comfortable makeshift bed of large leaves and soft cut grass, neatly arranged beneath him. Somebody was helping him and whoever he was, he did it with the utmost care. But who was it?
Yoh started looking around, searching in the dark night for any sign of movement. Out of the corners of his eye, he saw a shadow slowly moving closer from between the trees. Yoh took a few steps closer and waved his arm, calling out a loud hello. Yoh saw the person stop abruptly, it was too dark and too far away, to make out any features, just that he is about his size, so probably the same age as well.
"Are you the one who helped me?" Yoh asked as he started walking towards him. The person must have been carrying something in his arms, wood, judging by the sounds it made when it fell to the floor; the person then turned around and started running away.
"Hey wait!" Yoh called and ran after him, a few seconds later he stopped and started panting hard, he hadn't realized just how exhausted he really was, every single muscle in his body was screaming for some sort of relief from the pain. After catching up with his breath, he looked around and found that he had lost track of the boy. He took one long, deep breath and…
"Whoever you are, thank you!" he called out as loud as he could, cupping his mouth to make sure it would reach the boy wherever he was. Then he turned around and started walking back to his house, but then he stumbled over a basket of fruits. He stared at it and blinked a few times before picking it up. He noticed the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from beneath a couple of apples; he pulled it out and opened the small folds. It was written very carefully, with handwriting that was very clear and neat, it read:
Here are some fruits for you; they'll give you some energy. Watch your back from now on and don't let anyone do anything like that to you again.
Take care,
-A Stranger
Yoh smiled happily and helped himself to one of the many fruits in it.
Back in the deep woods, behind a bush and a tree trunk, the boy was hiding. His body hidden behind the tree trunk, only one small eye peeked from behind the thick layers of hair over it, a tentative hand placed on the side of the trunk, hiding his soft, satisfied smile from any viewer. He watched Yoh as he retreated into the darkness and then turned around to leave.
OOOO
"Yoh?" Yoh heard his name being called and he moved faster towards the source. Soon he saw Ren and Chocolove walking and looking in every direction.
"Hey guys! What are you doing out this late?" Yoh asked as he reached them.
"There you are man! We've been looking all over for you that's what!" Choco answered and Yoh's eyebrows furrowed a bit.
"Why?" He asked in confusion and Ren slapped his forehead with the base of his palm.
"Because that's what we've been doing for the past few weeks!" Ren nearly yelled and soon they were walking back home with Yoh telling them of what had happened today.
"Then…that's the basket you're talking about?" Ren started then paused and sighed. "Sorry Yoh, I'm so tired that I can't even concentrate on what you're saying." He told Yoh tiredly. Yoh merely grinned and nodded his head.
"Lately the nights were all about weeping rather than sleeping." He said while tilting his head back and a waterfall of tears started falling from each eye.
"Then let's sweep!" Choco shouted and jumped around, wearing a costume that resembled a broom. Ren smacked him on the head annoyed, causing the afro boy to lose balance and fall, and then Ren proceeded to walk with Yoh at his side.
"That was a bit mean Ren…" Yoh said playfully as he sweat dropped. Ren huffed.
"My nerves are already on their edge, I can't handle silly jokes." He muttered.
"But this one was actually smart and not silly! Sweep rhymes with sleep and weep, I did a good one this time!" Choco kept making out reasons and excuses all the way back to the inn and as a matter of fact, Ren had given up and proceeded in ignoring Choco half the way back.
Thunder: …..no comment, just that it sucks and now I have a headache pounding….if I were Ren….my head would have exploded already….heh ^-^ Okay another few things, Miguel is the guy with the yellow scarf and black poncho. Lazar is the guy with a half mask; he is nicknamed the juggler because if you look into a dictionary, one of the meanings of juggle is to misrepresent: give a false or misleading account of. Just in case someone asks, and because I didn't find a place to say all this inside the story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
*Ragazzo: Boy (Italian)
*Poiche: Because (Italian)
*Nonsenso: Nonsense (Italian)
*Udire: Hear (Italian)
*Liebe: Dear (German)
*Fehler: Mistake (German)
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