Author's Note: I have issues with writer's block. It's won't go away! So...yah. This chapter is very, very, very, very, very different from the previous ones. Don't kill me if you don't like it. It's really weird because my writing style keeps changing. My writing style at the beginning, when I wrote the first chapter is totally different than it is now, and I can't right anything decent if I try to write in a style that's not mine anymore. I tried that the last chapter and it was bad. And boring. And a filler. Basically, Keiko is going to seem OOC to you, and I'm going to have to ask you to put up with it. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King. Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei.

Chapter 6:

"What?! Why is he going to become leader?" Horohoro yelled, jabbing his index finger at Yoh.

"I've decided." Ren replied, nonchalantly. "We share the same fate, and that's why we'll need a leader."

Horohoro stare at him in disbelief, sputtering incoherent words.

Ren looked at all of us, before declaring "I guess it's decided then." He turned and walked off, Yoh and the others quickly following.

A small, ironic smile lit up my face as I watched the backs of my new 'group'. I would never be like them. So closely knit-together, so trusting, so…like friends. A bitter chuckle erupted from my throat. Sighing, I gazed at the yellow sky.

Just who am I?

"Keiko?" Yoh called.

I jumped, snapping out of my thoughts.

"You coming?" He asked. I realized they had gained some distance. I nodded, taking one last look at the painted sunset, before running after them.

I couldn't stop a delicate smile from forming on my lips.

"Keru?"

"Yes, master?"

"Can you feel him?"

"He's near."


"Bye, bye Billy!" I yelled, waving my hand frantically as I watched the blue pick-up truck speed off into the distance.

"What now, Leader?" Horohoro asked, turning away from the truck.

Yoh scratched his cheek and grinned. "Yeah, I wonder what…"

Horohoro sighed, sweatdropping.

"The best way would be to go to a place with information." Ren said, ignoring Ryo, who, for some reason, was yelling at the sky.

"Oh," I started. "That makes sense."

Ren glared at me.

I ignored him, shrugging it off. I think I'm getting used to his hostility.

"So, where to?"

"The library?" I asked, taking in the high book shelves, filled to the brim with thick, both old and new books.

Ren nodded. "I'll be using the computer to access information."

"Hm…" I murmured thoughtfully. "I'll be looking at the books."

I watched them approach the front desk, asking the brunette librarian to use the computer. The librarian nodded and led them away.

When they were out of sight, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and sighed. Another library to search through…

Glancing around at the piles of stacked books waiting to be shelved, I felt my spirits sink. This would take all day. At least.

Grimacing, I turned and began to walk towards the section labeled as 'Spiritual/Supernatural'. I doubted that it would be here, after all, it hadn't been in the other hundred libraries I had scanned, but I couldn't afford to miss it.

Anything to get my hands on that book.

I ran my fingers along the spines of the books, feeling the gold embroidered letters and hand woven threads of each unique literary piece under my fingertips. Some were leather, while others were paperback, or hardcover. But none of them were the one I wanted. No—needed.

Reaching the end of the aisle, I frowned in disappointment. Perhaps it was in a different section?

A heavy sigh heaved my chest. I trudged out of the aisle, utterly discouraged. I was about to go find Yoh and the others, when I spotted the Mythology sign. But instead of lifting, my hopes sunk farther into the pit of my stomach, churning pitifully .

I scowled at the bold letters on the sign, silently cursing it for reminding me of the other sections I had yet to check. Still, I trudged over to the newer, unfamiliar aisle and began the same method of trailing my fingers along the spines.

Nothing.

When I bumped into the end of the section, I had found nothing of relevance. I was empty-handed.

Again.

"A new ally?" I asked, sipping my drink. It sizzled and popped on my tongue.

We were standing in the lobby of a motel. Yoh and the others hadn't been able to gather anything relevant on Patch Village. It turned out that the Tao's online databases didn't have a thing.

And somehow, Ryo had picked up some new guy along the way.

I glanced at the boy as I drank. He had lime green hair that spiked out on the sides of his head. His eyes matched his hair, though they held a sorrowful, mourning glint that I could not identify. The boy wore a checkered green poncho, and a white blouse under that. Quite a handsome boy, actually.

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. I took the last sip of my drink and threw it away.

The boy turned to Yoh. "Nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

I swished the last remains of the fizzy soft drink in my mouth, savoring the taste.

Horohoro icily protested. "But we can't just----

"Nice to meet you too." Yoh greeted, smiling warmly. He shook the boy's hand.

I choked, coughing and sputtering. The last sip of my drink spit out of my mouth, staining the carpet. Horohoro patted my back as I struggled to breathe normally.

I shot him a thankful glance, but he wasn't looking at me. Instead he was glaring at Yoh, who was fraternizing with a stranger/possible enemy.

"That's my master." Ryo sniffled. "Not allowing a cute kid to travel alone."

I straightened my back and glanced at Ryo, disbelieving. "I always knew you were gay!" I jabbed my index finger at Ryo, before moving it to the boy. "But him? For a second I thought he was straight!" I crossed my arms against my chest and cocked my head to the side. "Well, now that I think about it, it makes sense. What with the girly face and all. Wow, I think I've just met a stereotype."

I gasped in awe.

"ZOMG!"

Ryo glanced strangely at me. "Gay? Boy? Him?" He sputtered, looking frantically between me and the boy.

"That's a boy." Horohoro stated.

I furrowed my brow at him. "Um. Duh?"

"What? Really?" Ryo exclaimed, looking horrified.

"Seriously?" I mumbled in disbelief. "Then the poor boy's not gay?"

"Guess not." Horohoro wrinkled his nose in disgust.

I giggled as Ryo led the boy to another room, mumbling about checking if he was a boy. I wonder…

We all stared blankly at the door.

. . .

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Ryo bellowed through the door.

I bent over from as I guffawed hysterically. I wiped at the tears in my eyes. "Did he just," I giggled. "just look at his 'male parts'?"

No one had a chance to answer me before Ryo opened the door, and the two stepped back into the room.

"Well, everyone makes mistakes." He chuckled nervously. The boy just smiled at him.

"Anyways, I'm against him joining" Horohoro declared, glaring frostily.

"Me too." I pitched in.

Ren nodded. "I am against it as well."

Yoh glanced worriedly between us all.

"He might back-stab us. He's not trustworthy." Ren stated.

I nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't…do that." The boy murmured, his eyes shadowed by his bangs. "I just want strong allies."He gritted his teeth.

"What?" Horohoro asked.

The boy flung his poncho off, falling into a battle stance. "I'll test you myself." He raised his arm. I squinted at the strange contraption attached to it. Dowsing? "Morphine! Oversoul!"

Yoh, Ren, and Horohoro let out a sharp gasp. I watched as they burst through the glass door, sending it crumbling in tiny shards. The boy's dowsing crystal shot after them in a straight line.

I did not run with them. Instead, I grimaced at the boy, but retreated to the safety of a different room. It never had been one of my goals to get involved in shaman fights. I sighed and pressed my ear against the door.

"Lyserg!" Ryo yelled. So the boy's name is Lyserg, huh. "I thought you needed allies!"

"I do." Lyserg replied. "That's why!"

I did not need to hear anymore. So, I ventured to the other side of the room, where the motel's owner was running down a set of stairs, panting.

"What's going on?" he asked frantically. He must have heard the sound of glass shattering, and the yells of Yoh and the others.

I smiled and strode over to him. "Oh, nothing really. It was just one of my friends that dropped a glass trinket from Italy." I lied smoothly, resting a hand on the man's shoulder.

The man was short and plump. He had a slight mustache the same midnight black as his gelled hair. He was bent over with his hands on his knees.

He lifted his head to look at me. "O-oh." He stuttered. I shot him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry." I said soothingly. "We'll be sure to clean it all up."

A pink flush rose to his cheeks. I fought down the smirk that was forming on my lips.

Men…So gullible.

"No, no!" The man seemed to gain a hold of himself. He straightened up and flattened the wrinkles in his clothes. "I'll send one of the cleaning maids down. It's standard customer service." He cleared his throat.

I inwardly panicked. "No!" The man was startled at my outburst. "I mean, it's proper for we, who made the mess, to clean it up!"

Flustered, I glanced around the room in a hurry. I couldn't allow him to see the mess Yoh had made of his glass doors. My gaze landed on a coffee cup placed on the counter.

The man shook his head. "No, no. We will—

"OOPS!" I exclaimed loudly as I picked up the coffee mug and poured it over my head.

I winced as the scalding hot liquid drenched my body. The brown drops slid down strands of hair that had been tainted caramel by the coffee and dribbled onto the carpeted floor. My clothes were also brown , and they clung to my skin with an added weight dragging them down.

I hoped the clothes weren't as see-through and revealing as it felt like they were.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" I squealed apologetically , pointing at the spot on the carpet that had been unfortunate enough to be under me, when I had thought up the idea of that little 'incident'.

The man stood stock still, shocked. Then, he snapped back into it. "Oh my! We must get you cleaned up!"

I laughed nervously. "Um…yeah. Sure." Whatever makes you forget about what was going on in the other room.

He gestured towards one of the motel rooms with a bathroom in it. "You can temporarily use this room. It has a shower in it. I'll have a maid bring you a towel and a spare set of clothes."

I nodded and smiled gratefully at him. I wondered why he was being so nice. Normally, people aren't so generous unless…

Walking towards the room he had kindly offered to me, I watched him from the corner of my eye. He gaze strayed from my face, down to my chest, where my lacy bra was showing right through the soaked clothing.

I bit back a gag, feeling a slight flush on my cheeks. So that's why, huh? How predictable. Men are so…ugh. I shook my head, revolted.

When I reached the room, I closed the door and dashed over to the window. Peering out, I watched as Lyserg snapped Horohoro's snowboard in half like it was a toothpick. Soon after, Ren's pointy-weapon thing joined it in dead toothpick land.

I grimaced at the scene, but turned away from the window. Whatever kind of fight was going on down there, Yoh would win. He always did. I snorted. Even against me.

Trudging into the bathroom, I shut the door and glanced at myself in the mirror.

I was right. My hair looked much better brown than pink. Of course. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Pink is gross.

Sighing, I peeled the drenched clothes off and dumped them on the tiled floor. Stepping into the warm, sprinkling water, the last remains of an unfortunate coffee spill washed down the drain in a brown swirl.

It was strange how my new travel companions were having an intense battle outside, complete with angsty flashbacks and cheesy speeches, while I was standing here in a shower, relaxing.

I shrugged it off.

It didn't really matter to me what happened to them. After all, I would only be with for a while. After that—well, let's just say there won't be any more of that 'Nice, goofy, air-headed Keiko' they met.

That Keiko never existed. And it never would.

I smirked and bit back a cold cackle.

Naïve men.

End of chapter 6.

Constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

I do not like flames so don't write them.

I love reviews more than chicken pie. which is quite an achievement, if you ask me.

So, please, please, please, please review.