Chapter V – Beginnings and Ends
Author: Rain
Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei.

Sunday. October tenth. 17:40.
Ten years after the sacrament of the Shaman King.
Byrth – Pache village.

Two silhouettes were walking in the large streets of Byrth, discussing about the children they were in charge of. One was large and tall, the other thin and small, but they looked alike – as alike two non-related adults could be – and any Shaman crossing their path would have recognized the two as Pache priests. Rutherford was listing the new techniques 'their' children had learned within the course of the last months. And in a way, they were 'theirs' – Reoseb, Seyram, Lip and Rap had no family. Only Opachô, being a former member of the festival of stars, had what he called his family. Chrom listened peacefully as she made hand gestures to emphasize her words, a small smile finding its way on her lips.

"I'm a bit worried for Hana though. Magna and… Namari are not the best parents our lord could find for a child his age."

Finally, she had paused, a look of anguish and what he recognized a second later as fear. Frowning, the elder patted her shoulder, hoping to reassure her: "You always worry for the children, Rutherford. They will be fine, you know – have you not seen the twins lately? Lip and Rap are breathtaking."

She blinked then smiled back, a joke somehow escaping her lips: "You even thought me breathtaking at their age, Chrom, you're just not objective on the topic –

The tall priest was surprised by the sudden interruption, and turned to see what was wrong. Rutherford had suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes staring at something behind him. "What…" Turning, he discovered the house Nichrom was currently staying at before he and his team were sent on yet another mission to track down rebels. Yellow Whip's owner was behind the window, and he understood immediately what was wrong. His little brother was passionately kissing Marion. "Oh." The priest looked back at Rutherford. The young woman was livid, her eyes wide and blank while her arms had fallen back to her sides, as if someone had just cut the strings that held them in place. Sighing, Chrom made a decision. "I think I'm going to have to talk to him. Come with me."

A flash of despair passed in the dark eyes of Rutherford and she stepped back, trying her best not to look so miserable. "Sorry, Chrom, I will not. I already told him he was dead for me, so what he's doing…
- … Hurts you still." The tall man was not fooled by her pretending. Still, he relented, understanding that she maybe had not the strength to face her former friend. Smiling reassuringly, he asked his spirit to go with her and make sure she would come home unharmed. The petite woman had, for a long time, been afraid to walk alone after what happened at the end of the tournament. "Chrom…
- Go home and take care of the twins. I was a fool to think the silence treatment would be enough to change him.
- But…" She tried her best to stop him from stepping inside the house, but he brushed her off with another smile, which soon turned into a frown.

"Don't worry."

Leaving her in his spirit's care, he pushed open the large wooden door, startling the couple as he did so. Nichrom, an annoyed look taking over his features as he recognized the intruder, stepped forward. Marion, despite staying as emotionless as ever, was somehow flustered, a pinkish hue hovering over her cheeks. The younger of the two Paches protested, "Brother, what are you doing?"

Without answering, Chrom walked towards them until he was face-to-face with his sibling, and, giving a stern, cold look to the petite blonde at his side, told her: "Mari-chan, you know I like you, but get out. Now." The blond-haired DollMaster blinked at him. "Now," he repeated, and Marion complied slowly, her hands clutching on Chuck as she went. Chrom waited until the door was closed before talking:

"You're an adult now Nic. I know that. But – it's not because you're an adult that you must be a barbaric fool. What you did to Ruthie – what you still do to her now – it has to stop. Very soon.
- Or else? She was the one to end the relationship we were not even having in the first place.
- So you thought it would be the perfect punishment to go around and make out with random girls?"

Nichrom scowled, protesting: "Marion is not random." That didn't amuse his brother. "But you don't love her."

He frowned, unable to stop himself from looking guilty and confused. "What would you know?
- Don't lie."

They stared at each other, neither of them willing to back down from the silent fight. In the end, Nichrom looked away, his voice growing to a shout: "Fine! I am not in love with Marion. But she is! And I think that's enough. I will not wait forever for that stupid girl who thinks she's better than –"

Smack.

Nichrom blinked, one hand coming to rest on his bruised cheek. Chrom shook his head, and headed back towards the door. At the last second, he added: "You were her best friend."

Nichrom, slightly recovering from his shock, replied harshly: "She was mine, too. And she broke our relationship. She was the one responsible.
- I'm sorry then, if you think so. I guess me dying left you so alone that you became this heartless, pointless guy I have right before my eyes. But, tonight you should think for a while. Not only of what I said, but also what you did. To both Rutherford and Marion. Good-bye, brother."

Sunday. October tenth. 19:56.
Ten years after the sacrament of the Shaman King.
Byrth – King's apartments.

"Mama…"

Hane was sitting on her bed, persisting on taking little blocks and letting them fall on the floor. The constant noise was the only thing that broke through the deafening silence that had appeared after the albino's last sentence. The two adults were staring at each other, faces kept in check as if any emotion given away could signify their downfall. The brown-haired child, unaware of the tension that had risen in the air, began to try and get her mother's attention. Said mother looked away from Hao and stepped back to the child: "Hush, darling. Time to sleep. Tomorrow we'll work a bit, right? We did not do much today."

The child let her last toys fall on the floor, pouting. "Rya sleep with Hane!"

Jeanne blinked, then passed a reassuring hand through her daughter's hair, visibly searching for something to say that the child could understand. "Today Rya is… Elsewhere. Shamash can help you sleep, if you want."

Hane blinked right back, a blank look passing on her features. "Mash is not Rya."

Patiently, Jeanne nodded. "No, he's not Rya."

Hane frowned, as if trying to understand what it was that her mother meant. Said mother tensed up, fearing a tantrum, but the child seemed too tired to do such a thing. Finally, seemingly reaching a conclusion, the brown-haired child said: "… Hane wants Rya, but sleep with Siglen."

Jeanne frowned, which did not go unnoticed. So he wasn't the only one to not know about this curious fellow, mused Hao. Nevertheless, the albino smiled at her daughter, and nodded gently, kneeling up to gather her daughter's pencils. Hane fell back on the mattress, snuggling under the covers while mouthing words neither Jeanne nor Hao understood. After a while, her breaths became regular – sure sign that the child had fallen asleep – and the albino stood. "… You did not say anything. Is that finally enough for you to let us go?" She had turned her head toward him, and her voice was held low, in order not to wake the barely asleep child. For a while she wondered if Hao had heard her. The brown-haired Shaman seemed lost in his thoughts, his furyoku flickering around him unchecked as his dark eyes rested on the young girl. He stared at Hane for a moment before looking at her, keeping his face unreadable as he scanned the albino's face for any trace of emotion. "Are you even sure of what you are saying?"

A bit confused, Jeanne frowned, her eyes narrowing as she shrugged: "About what? The fact that she's not a Shaman? How could one be sure of anything? She could be a genius I would not know. She has never displayed any Hyoi Gattai nor Over Soul, and she never understood when I tried to teach her, so I think she's not a Shaman. But, as I for one can't read her mind, I don't know. Ironic much though, right? The daughter of the two most powerful Shamans happening to be a pure human," she finished with what seemed to be pride, in a very twisted way. He was quick to answer though.

"Stop saying such things if you're not certain." His tone was fairly harsh, in a way she had a hard time analyzing. There was of course a simple reason to what she understood as denial, but for the first time she considered that he maybe did not care about the child at all, which would mean that he'd have no problem killing her off – that she would not allow. But as time passed in silence, with her staring at him and him at her, she began to doubt it. Her stare got harsher, despise and loathing roaming around her crimson irises. Chuckling ironically, she said softly: "Of course, once again, that would be a disaster for you, to have no suitable heir – since that's why you came back to us, I presume…
- You sure are exhausting, Jeanne," he interrupted, in a somewhat annoyed tone. The albino blinked blankly at him before retorting swiftly: "You sure are too, Hao. That's why, if you insist on keeping me here, I ask where I should sleep. Because you don't expect me to sleep with you, right?"

He laughed, and ruffled her hair, not caring when she flinched under his touch. "Still the same as ever. As you want to know dear – no. I don't intend on forcing you in my bed. In fact I was counting on the fact that soon enough, you'll be the one to come at me."

Her crimson eyes narrowed at what he implied, and she was quick to snap, fiery and hardly keeping her voice low: "Keep dreaming. If you don't know, I'll just sleep here with her. I don't want her to wake up alone again -
- Shush. Your room is just across the hallway, you'll be the first to know whether she's awake or not."

And with that, he silenced her. By his tone, she knew any further discussion would only lead to a fight, and she'd enough of it for the day.

Sunday. October tenth. 22:12.
Ten years after the sacrament of the Shaman King.
Byrth – Throne room.

Hao was sitting near the windows, his legs crossed. His coal eyes gazed at Byrth with something like pride, but it didn't stop him from listening to his furious lieutenants. As always, their currently most important issue was the X-Laws – or whatever they called themselves these days. Now that he had Jeanne, he was on his way to destroying this last shard of resistance, but any help would be welcome, all the more if it could entertain him.

"We need to get rid of them," growled Kanna. "I got a report from Boris – they've been attacked. Again. Second time this week, third this month. And they're getting better. Ashiru barely made it, from what I've heard from his team. Do you have any idea of how tiresome it is? We cannot hurt the former X-Laws, but maybe we could do like we did with Marco. Lure them into a trap and get them behind bars. The problem is that they're cautious since we caught their so-called strong leader. 'T will be hard to ensure a capture," stepped in Kanna, chewing absently on a non-lit cigarette.

"I may know a way." The attention that was immediately given to the young woman that had just returned from the X-Laws' headquarters made said woman stop and cower, intimidated. Hao quickly scanned her thoughts, remembering that she was an undercover spy had nearly been discovered and made a run for her life… She was also one of Luchist's apprentices' sister. The two were somewhat weak Shamans compared to Hao's lieutenants, but, hey, 100,000 levels were supposed to be rare for a good reason.

"Go on," allowed Hao, bemused by the way the blond woman that stood behind Kanna was similar to her brother. How tedious she was to the always quick to snap blue-haired witch, he could not help to wonder. The German woman hated hesitations and manners – surely she did not go along very well with that little sketch of a woman…

Luchist took off from there, seeing that Lyanne was struggling to find a polite way to introduce her idea. "Meene. Kanna's little spy there," there, he gestured towards the blond woman, who was still uneasily standing behind Kanna, "Lyanne told us on the way that she's still mourning Marco, and their son is constantly asking for his father. If we made it so that his tracker leaded to a place far away from here, maybe she would come." Hao studied the young woman. Despite her obvious fear of Kanna, she stood her ground quite well. The brown-haired king smiled mysteriously before hearing the voice of another Shaman, who had stood silent since the beginning of the meeting: "But she will know it's a trap."

The chocolate irises of Hao shifted towards the one who just spoke. If Lyanne had no reaction when hearing the Shaman's words, Kanna and Luchist were another story. The former priest's diplomatic smile widened, as always when he was annoyed, and Kanna's frown hardened. Hao's former teammates had some defiance towards the purple-haired Shaman – not that the Shaman King could not understand it. It was only logical, given that they knew who he was, why he was still alive and his real motivation for having accepted Hao's proposal.

"She will not be able to make sure of that, and that's how we'll get her," counterattacked Kanna. "She won't resist the idea that maybe he is dying alone, hiding from us."

The Shaman King toyed with the idea for a while. This way of thinking was more Jeanne's than Meene's; but, at the same time – from what he had ever caught when listening to the Canadian girl… Yes. It would work. He nodded absently, almost dismissing his soldiers, before blinking up and adding: "And if you ever come across Jeanne, don't you ever tell her a word of this, or let her deduce anything. Be it of Marco or our plan. Am I making myself clear enough?"

He was staring at Luchist. The priest nodded and exited the room, followed by Kanna and Lyanne. As Ren did not move, the brown-haired Shaman teased, a smirk forming on his features. "No news of your precious fortune-teller? I think she left you. Maybe she preferred Lyserg – always seemed that way to me."

Amber eyes blinked up to him, narrowing as he spoke, having issues not to snap. "No I didn't find her, and no I don't care.
- Then go with them. Maybe she'll come with the Canadian girl, you never know !" The Tao didn't react, exiting the room by another corridor. Hao let out a short-lived laugh.

"I think this little stunt is coming to an end… Perfect."

Sunday. October tenth. 23:34.
Ten years after the sacrament of the Shaman King.
X-Laws headquarters.

Meene sighed as she took out her long, white mantle and folded it before sinking in one chair of her living room. Noticing a blond head peeking out of the couch, she managed to gather enough voice to say, loud enough so he would understand: "Go to sleep 'Tony."

The blond-haired child was startled, and he rose his head to look at his mother before pouting and pointing to his book. "I just want to finish!
- You'll finish tomorrow," she retorted, "you're only awake now because Tamao and Kevin showed you the sky. Antonio, I'm not joking…
- Mom, you're so mean," replied the child when passing before her to get his good-night kiss. While doing so, she lightly touched his arm.

"Don't you dare use such tricks on me, or think of reading under your covers. It's late, way too late for you, Antonio.
- Okay."

The blondie let out a long sigh before departing to his room. The light tapping of his bare feet against the ground made his mother smile, and she stayed in a sort of dazed state until someone interrupted her rather brutally, breaking into her apartments. "Sorry to bother you Meene –"

Lyserg. The green-headed boy – man, now, he had grown since the first time she'd seen him – seemed distressed, his fists closed tightly and his cheeks a paler shade than she ever remembered seeing on him. Frowning, she made a move to stand, but finally decided against it and only asked, lacking motivation: "What is it Lyserg?"

Surely it was not really important, more like Saati wanted sleeping pills again and the dowser knew she wouldn't agree – but in this case, it would have been Jareth and not Lyserg, as the surgeon was supposed to be in charge of the relation between the princess and the rest of the X-Laws – or that there was yet another fight between two Shamans. That was more likely –

"Someone ran away."

She snapped back to reality, her eyes gaining a new spark of worry. "What?
- One of the healers. Lyanne Triff, she was under my watch and… It was a spy. I believed her to be on our side, but…"

His evident hesitation made her frown, and she interrupted the stuttering young man: "There's something you're not telling me there."

Lyserg blinked up to meet her gaze, an helpless look washing over his features. Taking a moment to reorganize his thoughts, he finally admitted: "I – I sort of liked her. But that made no change for me, I checked again and again to make sure she was 'not' one of his people… But when we got attacked, I had to help, and so I locked her into my private rooms – where there's nothing dangerous for us, of course – and when I returned… She had managed to escape, and the others told me their chambers had been 'visited'." The somewhat harsh look that swan into Meene's olive eyes made him cringe. "I'm so sorry."

"How bad is it?" If her voice was held tight and controlled, Meene was already glancing at the room around them, noticing for the first time the small changes, which she had previously mistaken for Antonio's doings. This woman had stepped in there. She may have seen her private room, still filled with Marco's belongings, exactly how he had left them, she may have touched these – and, worse, that woman may have been close to Antonio, she may have talked to him… An urge to run to the younger's room grew in her stomach, to wake him up, make sure he was alright, and that he had not disappeared as his father had.

Lyserg's hesitation brought her back to reality. "I don't know… The others told me they hadn't much that could interest Hao, but I don't know about you, and…" Another, heavier hesitation stopped him. "She… she might know about the secret."

Meene's voice rose, laced with disbelief and worry.

"She might? Lyserg, seriously. You're telling me Hao might come here to kill them all?"

A discrete knock on the door interrupted them. Lucky was on the threshold, a disapproving look on his face as he stared at Lyserg; however, the look was quickly gone and the older man stepped in, greeting them: "Hello you two. Well, I was arrogant to think I was the only one to have news for our captain this late, wasn't I?"

Meene's outburst had been stopped right as she had seen the other X-Law. Sinking back into her chair, not facing the two men, she passed a hand on her forehead before voicing her thoughts, hoping it wasn't bad news again."Say, Lucky. What's up?"

The man seemed to ponder whether or not saying it directly would do greater damages. Still, he knew the woman wouldn't let him go now that he'd come here, so he spoke, scanning Meene's whole attitude to analyze her reaction. "Marco's tracker moved."

Meene's heart almost ceased to beat as she heard and understood the words. Her olive eyes widened and her head spun around to look at him and find the cruel joke – but there was none. Her mouth opened, as in need of air, and she mouthed several words before simply muttering: "What?"

The way she reacted told Lucky everything he needed to know. He had made a mistake by coming to see here so late in the evening. She was hardly thinking rationally anymore, and it did not help that Lyserg had delivered his news at the same time. Said Lyserg, though, frowned and went to help his older friend: "Wait. A spy runs off from here and Marco does exactly the same from there? I don't believe in coincidences."

Agreeing whole-heartedly, Lucky added: "It's too late to call the others for a reunion, but promise me you won't go looking for him alone, Meen'. Know that it could be – it is surely – a trap. And you are our leader now, okay? So don't do anything stupid. Think of Antonio. Think of Marco. He would scold you for doing this.
- No, Lucky," she absently objected, "if it was my tracker, or really anyone else's, he would have gone and rescued him or her himself, alone, without even telling us, and you know that.
- Yeah," smiled the older, "you're probably right, our four-eyed former boss was incredibly stubborn when he wanted. But you're not Marco. And we won't bear the loss of another captain."

Meene nodded, a pale smile on her lips.

"Don't worry. I can manage."

Hao: *mimicks* 'Don't worry I can manage!' *laughs*

Jeanne: ... *Shamash: Attack!*

Rain: No fighting here kiddos. I've gotta go to bed.

Hao&Jeanne: ... *silence* ... *SoF & Shamash: Attack!"

Rain: I said no fi... OH GOSH *flies*