Hi~i! Already back, yes.
Can you blame me? The tournament starts! Hao makes an appearance! Yay!
... *coughs* Ahehm, please enjoy~
(you'll find a little "trivia corner" at the end of this chapter too; today's theme is Tsumizuki!)
EDIT: I realized that I kind of f-cked up years and ages, I beg your pardon. If I'm not wrong Yoh and Hao should be fifteen/sixteen at most at the beginning of the Shaman Fight, not thirteen. My mistake (please tell me if you see that I forgot to change somewhere, I should have corrected everything but you can never be too sure...).
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Warnings: mostly OC!centric, possible OOC, mistakes and stuff.
Lots of coarse language since our protagonist is rather... vocal sometimes (please bear with her, she'll get better... hopefully).
Rated T for language and some themes.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King, but I do own part of the plot and my adorable OC.
«Good morning, everyone! My name's Asakura Karura, eighteen years old and licensed shaman! After dying in what I think it's a parallel world of this one, I've been reborn in Japan (Izumo prefecture, precisely) in a family whose occupation is shamanic stuff since some centuries ago. Fact is, I already know what will happen in the future and I want to help my brothers. To do that I decided to train myself and participate to the Shaman Fight that-»
«Karura-san, is this running commentary really needed...? It will raise suspicion!»
I pouted at the brown haired male at my side. «Why do you always have to spoil the fun, Yoi-chan?»
The young man face-palmed, shaking his head from side to side, cheeks a little red for the nickname; and that is the universal sign of defeat made in Yoichi.
I found it really entertaining to tease him and especially do things that would embarrass him, to be honest; at least we didn't get bored on our way to the Yokocha Air Base, a.k.a. the starting point for the ones that qualified for the first part of the real tournament.
Both Yoichi and me made it of course, but between us he was the one who did best: three wins for him and two for me. The best thing is, you will never imagine who I had to fight: the Great Spirit apparently decided that it would be fun to nearly blow up all my plans to keep a low profile until the beginning of the true tournament.
Namely, I did get two matches against two of Hao's henchmen.
(kind of off-topic: I was happy I didn't get that hypocrite four eyes from the X-Laws to fight against, because in that case I would have gone a bit too far during the match. My violent tendencies had definitely worsened after all the time I spend with Shiho, who was actually at the top on my list of "worst sadists" I knew and/or met.
Not even Reborn out-bested her, that was quite something)
By the way, point is I couldn't- no, rather wouldn't fight against that adorable little thing named Opacho. Seriously who on this planet would? She's just too cute and sweet!
And I may have said those compliments out loud just before the match. And she may have heard as well - if I remembered correctly she's able to read minds too and I didn't used the mind lock Hanemasa suggested me - which was definitely embarrassing ; in any case, she didn't show signs of knowledge (thank the Spirit King).
In the end, I surrendered before the first attack and that was it.
But, well. I made up for that match on the second and third ones, the last being the most memorable: my opponent was Kanna - KANNA of all people! Remember the girl with blue hair, smoker, who uses an armor as a medium and is one of the most ferocious among Hao's followers? Her.
I kind of liked her badass-ness, but she ended up getting her ass handed to her in a matter of minutes. Whoops.
(I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself, but hey: I want to take every inch of fun out of it, I became stronger for a reason after all!)
Tsumizuki had a bit of fun too but no matter how happy she becomes, she won't show herself in public.
Since we found the most comfortable mediums for her and begun to train with it, our relationship had kind of improved: the mental cursing sessions had become simply small bickering and teasing. We also had a sort of truce between us: if she didn't try to possess me too often (she still tries a lot, anyway), I would let her break loose against certain people, the ones I loathed; up until now she had the decency to let her victims alive... even if barely.
«...Karura-san?»
I turned to Yoichi as he called me with an angelic smile. «Mh?»
He sweat-dropped. «You were making that disturbing face again. What were you thinking about?»
«Nothing in particular, I was remembering something...» I trailed off, happily noticing how the young man bought it - or pretended to buy it, either way is fine for me. That's one thing I liked of him: he never pried for information unless it's really important.
"Still not getting married~?"
And you would think that after fifteen years she will give up...
Once we arrived at the meeting point I practically dragged Yoichi to the food stalls: since at home we both had to follow a strict diet - f-cking Shiho for you - I couldn't wait to eat some treats and junk food of sorts. While looking for said stalls (hopefully spotting Karim's and Silva's) I eyed the participants that had already arrived: there were the Booz, the siblings' giant robot that will cause problems later in the plot, the Gandhara and-
Shit, I need to hide.
Fortunately I managed to hide behind a huge monk or something before the leader of the future team Hana could spot me (we didn't exactly part on the best terms after the match, so she may be out for my blood now). Before I could embarrass myself further, though, Yoichi waved at me from a stall that I recognized at Silva's; I run to him without a second thought.
«Oh, welcome!» the man behind the stall greeted me.
I smiled at him. «Hi there! What do you have here?» was my question as I eyed the two stalls one had takoyaki while the other sold choco-bananas.
Grooowwwl~
...well, this is embarrassing. I laughed awkwardly while Yoichi simply smiled.
«Here, your moneybag. Take whatever you want, but... remember to save something for later.»
I rolled my eyes at his mother-hen mode.«Yeees mooommy~»
It was fortunate that I found part-time works to accumulate money in the past years. I may have mental issues on certain themes, but I'm still against thievery.
«Well, may I have...» I counted on my hand. «...seven portions of takoyaki and seven of choco-bananas, please?» I said happily, ignoring Yoichi's sigh besides me - he might have muttered something like "here she goes again", but I'm not sure.
The Patchs were a bit astonished but complied nonetheless, more than happy to have business in my opinion. I watched as they prepared the treats, only taking three portions of each.
«Ah, could you give these to Yoh and his friends, please? They'll be here soon I think.»
Now they looked really confused. However, after a few seconds they both shrug it off - maybe they thought I'm a friend of theirs or something.
It would be funny to see their confused faces when Silva and Karim give them those treats!
Minutes later said teens were confused, of course.
The two officiants met them not much after Karura and Yoichi left and gave them the takoyaki and choco-bananas, which they accepted (Ren was the only one to actually look suspicious, but in the end he gave in too).
There were questions about this mysterious girl that paid for the food from the boys and Ryu went all romantic mode because "maybe they had a shy admirer that wanted to show them her support" - theory that gained the approval from Horo Horo but was soon demolished by the young Tao heir, who said that was more probably a trap or something.
On the other hand, Yoh remembered an appearance similar to the one Silva described among the participants he met and promised himself to ask on the first occasion.
After I paid for everything, I gave Yoichi his share of snacks while we went to a nearby area with a few benches to sit on. It was rather peaceful with the sun shining up there and the light breeze blowing in the air; I relaxed while I took my first bite.
«Is offering food a new tactic of the Asakuras to make their enemies lower the guard?»
Yoichi nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing that voice, while I almost choked on the takoyaki.
Sweet f-cking hell, why does he have to appear like that?!
I composed myself rapidly before looking at the smirking teen, but before I could say anything a high-pitched voice spoke. «It's her, master Hao. The one that Kanna and me have met.»
A genuine smile crept up to my face. «Opacho, it's been a while! How are you?»
The child, obviously throw off a bit by my enthusiasm, backed away and half-hid behind her master. That made me want to hug her even more. However, I kept smiling as I turned my attention to the older boy.
«I'll let you know that I feel offended by your assumption, don't group me up with them. And to answer your question, nope. It's called "spoiling people" and I quite like to do that.» I said with the best honestly-friendly tone I could muster as I reached for the small plastic bag that Silva gave me. «Want some too?»
Between Yoichi's tense expression, Opacho's unsure one and Hao's smiling face I didn't know what was more strange. Thankfully after a few moments of hesitation on the little girl's part, she approached and took the treats. Yay!
«You're just as curious as Opacho said, no doubt they isolated you from their last heir.» Hao commented, looking at the small child's smiling face while she eat. I smiled upon seeing that, not remotely offended by the boy's phrase.
«I take it as a compliment, even though Mikihisa would have called me "bad influence" and not "curious".»
F-ck that man, I added in my mind. Hao chuckled, probably he managed to read this thought since I wasn't protecting my mind from his ability in that precise moment.
«And I heard that you're quite strong too, the both of you.» he continued, eyeing Yoichi and me alike with his trademark smirk.
I could feel my brown haired friend's tension build up inside him - he was not comfortable in Hao's presence nor with the sole idea of being near him since I told him what I remembered from the manga. He barely manage to answer with a shaky «Thanks then...».
And my little brother was enjoying Yoichi's panic. Pff... What a sadist.
«Say, you know who I am, right?» the long haired boy asked addressing no one. I nodded however, eating another takoyaki while he continued. «And you're not afraid of being here with me?»
«Why, firstly if you wanted to attack or kill us you'd already done it. Hence, I don't feel particularly threatened at the moment. Second thing, I like to keep my promises, thank you very much. Last but not least, I'd hate to ruin my meal because of tension and stuff.»
Silence fell again, interrupted only by the sound of the wind blowing. Then, a laugh filled the air - Hao's. «You're the funniest girl I've met this far, I like your guts. Do you want to join me?» And here he goes. «You two are welcomed since you're strong.»
«Mmh, what if I say we'll think about it?»
I almost laughed upon seeing the brunette's shocked and panicked face. «Karura-san!»
«Well, think about it as long as you want. I'm a patient one.» Hao chided in, probably still satisfied enough by my answer. I knew that was a tight rope we were walking on, but Yoichi agreed to stand on a neutral side for the time being: he loathed the X-Laws as much as I did, but he also thought that the first of my little brothers was wrong in what he did too.
Basically we were much into Yoh's same position.
(even if I tended to take Hao's defenses mort of times)
«Ah, Hao!» I called, smirking like him as he turned to us again. «Try to not beat Horo Horo too hard, okay?»
After flashing a curious look at me, he just disappeared in a sea of flames.
The millenary shaman definitely didn't listened to the strange girl's request.
He - or rather, his giant spirit - punched the blue haired boy not so lightly, causing the Tao heir to snap and attack him back. Hao kept smiling, reading the boy's memory and mind to taunt him, before his followers decided to spoil his fun and show up, only to remind him that the plane was going to take off soon.
Psh, the future king already knew that.
He had only one more thing to do: invite his little oblivious brother to join his side.
(Hao already knew that his second half would refuse, yet he was sure that in the long run he would change his ideas; nothing can divide what was once one, after all)
However, there was something else that got him really curious - the meeting with the two earlier that same day. The young male was clearly stronger than her, yet he did show or at least wariness towards him; that was the right reaction, the one the king expected. But the girl, his sister in the flesh... she was the weaker one, yet she acted outwardly friendly towards Opacho and showed no signs of fear of him.
And from what he could sense from them, they carefully kept their minds protected. They knew about his mind-reading ability, he considered, or they both had a protection of some kind; from what he could see, however, one thing was certain: those two had some secrets to hide.
Interesting... Hao's eyes danced with mirth as the shamans gathered to board the Plane.
It looked like his fun had yet to begin.
~ Trivia time ~
Spirit: Tsumizuki
Tsumizuki (real name: Tsumiki Tsukiko) is a 600-year old assassin and the spirit of Karura Asakura. She was born on 6 June, 1386 and died at the age of 26, killed by a group of samurais. She feels a deep hatred for that chaste ever since.
Background
She lived her life as a mercenary and assassin for daimyos, but her greedy and moody nature brought her to kill her own masters once she had enough of them. She didn't have an honor code that kept her from assassinating whoever her employer pointed out either.
The last daimyo she served, though, was smart enough to investigate her past and managed to find out her nasty aptitude. Once she killed a few objective for him, he cornered her into a trap where a group of samurais he deployed finally killed her.
Her ghost lingered in the wooden area where she was assassinated, possessing innocent bystanders or travellers and forcing them to slaughter whoever came across of them. Finally, she was sent to hell by a capable onmyoji and was imprisoned there until Karura's arrival.
Notes on personality
- She doesn't like to show herself, habit she had kept from the time she was an assassin.
- She doesn't really regret what she has done in her life (nor in her afterlife). Her bloodlust has only worsened during her stay in hell.
- Her relationship with her shaman partner is full of ups and downs, quite literally. There are times when the two get along quite well but there are also moments where Tsumizuki tries to force her control over Karura's body to "have fun" (namely, fight and kill people).
