DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King.

Quote: ""To make my big dream come true!" HoroHoro explained as we searched further.

"Dream?" Yoh repeated. "A comedian?"" Oh, Yoh, that's Chocolove's dream! xD

I thought I'd be nice and upload today instead of tomorrow. On Thursday, if I'm not too busy/if I remember, I'm going to upload chapter 10 AND 11 as a one-month-story-anniversary prezzie! XD Yay! (If there was ever SK episodes I dislike, it's episode 10 and 11; I'm getting them out of the way. xD)

Longest chapter yet. I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that 1 U.S. dollar is equal to 10 yen, but I'm not sure. In any case, that's my basis.

Wooooooot! :D Oh, my tree-hugging-Ainu-friend BoroBoro, you were my first SK love back in the day. Though Ren has replaced you, you'll have a special place in my heart, the place I put people with blue hair in. I want your headband.

Normal text and "speaking," thinking, 'sign language and mouthing,' 'telepathy.'

Nine: HoroHoro

It was another day of attempting to avoid spending the day with Yoh; though Manta and I had started joined him on his daily run, I had stayed only five minutes before I gave them a wave and went off down another path. As usual, I saw Yoh frown as I left, but it was quickly replaced with a grin as he waved at my retreating figure and called a goodbye.

My bag slung over my shoulder, I decided to walk down toward the park; it was several streets away and I could've gotten there faster by using a different route, but I could sense a shaman in the area, one that I didn't think I'd sensed before.

It was early morning and the streets weren't especially crowded, and it wasn't long before I saw someone sitting on the street cross-legged in front of a mat of crafts. He looked to be about my age and wore a ski jacket with Ainu markings, shorts, and had a snowboard strapped to his back. The most interesting thing about him, though, was his blue, spiky hair.

I slowed when I neared him, eyeing the crafts before I knelt down to look at them. I wondered if the Ainu knew that he was this close to another shaman.

The boy stared at me for a moment before he grinned broadly. "You want one? I made them myself," he boasted.

I smiled and picked up a bracelet that was made of red, circular beads. It was very pretty; it reminded me of Nix's feathers.

"You like that one?" the boy asked; I could tell he was trying to get me to talk, trying to impress me. I wanted to laugh. Boys. "That's a hundred yen, but I'll give it to you for sixty."

I let out my breathy giggle, and I could tell he was startled by the sound, but to give him his credit, he recovered quickly. I liked this guy already.

"What's your name?" he asked. "I'm Usui HoroHoro."

I saw his confusion mount when I pulled the whiteboard Yoh had bought me out of my bag and wrote on it with practiced speed before showing it to him. 'My name's Tori. I'm mute.'

I could tell this completely blindsided HoroHoro, because he blinked, obviously trying to think of something to say. I grinned in amusement and pulled out a wad of yen that I dropped in front of him and slipped on the bracelet before standing up straight and giving him a wave as I walked away.

I was almost at the crosswalk to cross over to the other street when I heard HoroHoro call my name. I turned and saw him standing beside his mat, holding up the yen in confusion.

"This is a hundred and ten!" he called.

By his expression, I could tell that he would've liked to keep the extra money, but he just couldn't cheat a mute girl.

I smiled and waved before turning back to the crosswalk; I took a glance back to see him grinning from ear to ear.

()()()()()()()()()

It was dark out as I walked back to the house with Yoh and Manta; it was a few days later and I had meet them when they had gone out to get groceries. Manta was carrying his encyclopedia while Yoh carried the groceries; both Yoh and I were licking at our own orders of ice cream that had come from the change from buying the groceries.

Manta pointed this out to Yoh and added that Anna would punish him, but Yoh just laughed and said, "It's okay. You're the one in charge of shopping so you'll be the one who gets punished."

Oh, Yoh's just so nice, I thought as Manta did another one of his little screech-fests. I was about to take another lick of my ice cream when Yoh and I both stopped at the same time. Yoh stopped because he saw a snowman in the summer; I stopped because I saw a shaman.

HoroHoro was slumped against a lamppost, seeming to have fainted from something. He didn't look like he had been hurt, thought.

'I saw this guy earlier,' I signed after I had clapped my hands for attention, then pointed at HoroHoro. 'He was selling stuff.'

"What's wrong with him? Is he sick ?" Manta asked, getting a little closer towards the unconscious HoroHoro. "Maybe we should call an ambulance?"

Yoh knelt down. "Is he lost?" He let out a puff of laughter. "What a hairstyle!"

"You're supposed to worry when I person is down like this!" Manta pointed out to Yoh, far from calm.

Suddenly, we all heard HoroHoro's stomach grumble. Though I had been worried a second before, I wanted to laugh now. HoroHoro was just hungry.

"I see…" Yoh muttered, holding his ice cream bar in his mouth and pulling out something.

A moment later, Yoh had a hunk of raw salmon on a fishing line, and was holding it in front of HoroHoro as if the Ainu were a fish. Immediately, HoroHoro's nose twitched, and a fountain of drool poured out of his mouth.

"Uh…What are you doing, Yoh-kun?" Manta asked; I had to share his unnerved feeling. "And where did you get that fishing rod?"

Yoh chuckled.

Suddenly, HoroHoro's eyes gleamed as he suddenly grabbed at the fish with his mouth; with an exclamation of joy, Yoh pulled on the fishing rod and HoroHoro rose into the air like a hooked fish before falling onto the snowman headfirst.

"What a tough opponent," Yoh noted in calm satisfaction. Manta fell down.

()()()()()()()()

Back at the house, HoroHoro leaned back and patted his extremely overlarge stomach. "I sure ate a lot!" he exclaimed in a particularly overloud voice.

Ryu, Manta, Yoh and I took in the piles and piles of used dishes that had once been full. I'd never seen anyone eat so much, not even Yoh.

"You must've really been hungry," Manta noted; his head could just barely be seen from where I sat next to Yoh but closer to HoroHoro.

"Yeah," HoroHoro agreed without the slightest bit of embarrassment or anything. "I haven't eaten anything recently."

"Why were you lost?" Yoh asked.

"Lost?" HoroHoro repeated, sitting back up. "That is… I…"

Suddenly, there was a soft pfft sound, and just a second before the stink hit me, Yoh warned, "Poisonous gas."

Attempting to be polite, I didn't run headlong for the window like Ryu and Manta, but instead covered my mouth and nose with my shirt. It didn't help, and soon I was twitching on the ground like Yoh.

"Oops! Sorry!" HoroHoro exclaimed, unfazed by his own incredibly deadly stink bomb of a fart. "Can I use your bathroom?"

()()()()()()()()()

Yoh and I recovered quickly once the source of the stench was out of the room, and we waited for HoroHoro to come out of the bathroom.

"Master Yoh," Ryu muttered, "Do you smell something about him?"

"Yeah…," Yoh agreed, eyes wide. "I saw the great spiritual realm." He suddenly jerked back to reality. "Huh? His fart stinks?"

Ryu hung his head in exasperation. "I'm saying he's suspicious! A traveler in this day and age!"

"He's not a bad person," Yoh insisted.

I did my breathy giggle. 'Don't you see?' I asked. 'He's a-'

I was interrupted when HoroHoro suddenly burst from the bathroom, his lower half stark naked. Immediately, I hid my eyes, wanting to let out a yell of shock. I'd seen worse things before, but still, in this lifetime I'd never seen that… I had a feeling I'd be scarred for a while.

"What's wrong?" I heard Manta ask.

"W-what is that?" HoroHoro asked. I felt out with my telepathy and sensed one of the house's spirits rising out of the area where the toilet was. I hated it when they did that.

Manta laughed in a mixture of amusement and nervousness. "That's Tamegoro-san, the family head of the previous owners of this house," he explained. I could hear the smile in his voice. "You can see spirits too?"

()()()()()()()()()()

A little later, after HoroHoro had finished his business, we sat around the table again.

"So…," HoroHoro began. "Sorry for the lack of formality and stuff, but my name's Usui Horokeu, but you can call me HoroHoro," he introduced, jerking his thumb at himself. "You really saved me."

"Horo…," Ryu began.

"…Horo," Manta finished.

Yoh let out an exaggerated puff of laughter. "That's a funny name! If you change it a bit, it'd be BoroBoro!"

HoroHoro's cheeks heated in embarrassment as I gave Yoh a light smack on the shoulder, silently chastising him for laughing.

HoroHoro crossed his arms. "Laugh if you want to." He waited for Yoh and Ryu to quiet down before he asked, "Who are you guys? Well, I know who you are," he added, turning to me for the first time.

When the others looked confused, I signed, 'I bought this off him,' and held up the red bracelet. Since Ryu had joined us, I had (somewhat reluctantly) taught him some sign language with help from Yoh.

Yoh laughed. "Well, that's Tori, and I'm Asakura Yoh."

"Call me Bokotou no Ryu," Ryu introduced himself.

"I'm Oyamada Manta," Manta finished.

HoroHoro stiffened and suddenly pounced at Manta, sending bits of food flying. "Kururu! I wanted to see you! Where did you go? I was so lonely!"

"W-what are you talking about!" Manta screeched.

HoroHoro was suddenly back in his seat. "Sorry. You liked like someone I know, and…my habits took over."

"What kind of habit?" Ryu asked. His question went ignored.

"By the way," Manta added, "from your name and the other name you mentioned, did you come from the Ainu?"

I rolled my eyes and gave a clap; HoroHoro, unused to my mannerisms, was a little startled. 'Look at the designs on his clothes; they're obviously Ainu.'

HoroHoro gave me a look of confusion, and Yoh laughed and translated before turning to me. "Tori, it might help if you wrote for a little while, okay?"

I let out an exaggerated sigh and nodded, rolling my eyes at Manta, who laughed a little bit. So much for trying to keep a distance.

"Well, you're right," HoroHoro continued. "I am a member of the Ainu tribe from the vast plain up north; there, we live with Mother Nature. I have something I have to do in Tokyo, so I hitchhiked and sold crafts for money. After a while, I finally arrived in Tokyo. But I left my stuff alone to go to the bathroom, and when I got back, it was all gone!" Tears streamed down HoroHoro's face.

"So you were stolen from?" Manta asked.

HoroHoro nodded. "I'd heard rumors that Tokyo was dangerous, but I never thought something like this would happen so soon. I looked very hard for my stuff but I couldn't find them. And then I got hungry…"

"And then we found you," Manta concluded,

Yoh was practically crying a river. "You live a hard life too, BoroBoro!"

"Yeah, that's right," HoroHoro agreed. Suddenly, he threw his cup at Yoh, who was knocked over. "Who's BoroBoro?" he asked harshly.

Yoh sat right back up. "Okay! Then you can stay with us until you find your stuff."

HoroHoro leaned forward across the table. "Really?" he asked, excited.

Yoh nodded. "Yeah, this place used to be an inn. There are lots of rooms so stay as long as you like."

HoroHoro was shaking Yoh's hand, splayed across the table. "Thank you, thank you!" he cried in delight.

I felt Anna's presence just a moment before she slid open the door. "No."

"Anna!" Yoh, Manta, and Ryu cried as one, and we all turned to look at her in fright.

Anna's arms were crossed. "We aren't that wealthy to have another person stay here."

Yoh stood. "BoroBoro is in trouble!"

"It's HoroHoro," the Ainu insisted tiredly.

Anna glared, and I knew what was coming. "Well…if you really want to stay, you must obey my orders."

HoroHoro jumped up and held his fist determinedly. "No problem!" he declared.

Anna gave HoroHoro a list of chores, and the others muttered amongst themselves, pitying HoroHoro.

HoroHoro leaned back to Yoh and spoke behind his hand, but I heard every word. "Hey, your other sister seems to have a strict personality."

As Yoh tried to explain, I let out a breath of laughter.

"I'm not his sister, I'm his fiancee," Anna corrected as she left the room.

HoroHoro was frozen and seemed to crack. He got onto all fours on the tea table and hung his head. "I've lost. You have a fiancée and I don't even have a girlfriend."

"Get off the table," Ryu commanded.

"You know, Tori's not my sister either," Yoh added as HoroHoro slowly slipped off the table.

"What? Is she Manta's fiancé?" he asked despairingly.

Manta blushed. "N-no!"

I let out another breathy laugh and stood. 'It's late. I'm heading to bed,' I signed to Yoh. I waved goodnight to them and exited the room after Anna, leaving the boys alone. Something told me that I should let the boys be free of estrogen for the night.

()()()()()()()()()

The next day was bright and sunny, and while Yoh and Manta were cleaning inside the house, I decided to hang around the house and keep an eye on HoroHoro. He hadn't revealed that he was a shaman, but I wanted to see if he would do something when thought he was alone.

Currently, I was sitting on part of the roof while HoroHoro swept the walkway up to the front door. Anna came outside with her bag and passed him, eyeing him coldly before she disappeared around the side of the gate. Excitedly, HoroHoro dropped his broom and hurried to look around the gate after Anna. When he froze, I knew that Anna was right there, looking straight at him.

Anna yelled at him for neglecting his work and grabbed him, throwing him into the other side of the gate before grumbling and walking off. I chuckled to myself.

A little while later, HoroHoro was stretching, grumbling to himself - or, at least he thought it was to himself. "What a violent girl. I don't ever want to have that kind of girl for my girlfriend. Or rather… I don't even have a girlfriend…" He stretched again. "…I want a girlfriend," he muttered. "Tori's cute, but I can't even understand her." I heard a smirk enter his voice. "I'll just get that shorty Manta to teach me some of those hand signals; that'll surprise her."

I blinked in astonishment, finding myself blushing lightly. Other than Ryu that one time, no one had ever complimented me on my looks, and I had to admit that even if HoroHoro thought he was saying this in the confidence that he was alone, I was flattered.

I pushed the feeling away. I couldn't be flattered. It was my duty. If I was attached, I'd interfere with the Tournament battles almost for sure. (I'm such a hypocrite, saying these things when Yoh's already the person I consider my best friend. Jeez.)

HoroHoro was silent for another moment, before his voice turned completely serious. "Well then…" he muttered, turning around so that I could see his eyes were narrowed. He stood silently, listening for something. I reached out with my telepathy, trying to figure out what he was listening for. He walked forward, and I felt a bit of water in the area freeze. So that's what he could do…

"Hey! HoroHoro!" Yoh called loudly, startling him. Yoh was leaning out of the window near me, and he gave me a smile. I smiled back, holding up the rag I had brought with me and pointing to the window to show that I had been out here cleaning it. Yoh's grin widened, and I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Hey!" HoroHoro called angrily. "Don't scare me! I thought she came back!" He suddenly noticed me. "How long've you been out here?"

I shrugged, and he looked a little unnerved.

Yoh chuckled, his arm hanging down outside the window, the other one propping his head up. "Then let's go, too."

"Go?"

"To search for your stuff," Yoh explained.

"O-oh," HoroHoro stuttered.

()()()()()()()()()

A little while later found us - HoroHoro, Yoh, Manta, and I - standing in front of a very confusing-looking map of the town. "Let's start where you lost them," Yoh suggested.

"By the way, why did you come to Tokyo?" Manta asked when we found nothing at the place where I'd first saw HoroHoro.

"To make my big dream come true!" HoroHoro explained as we searched further.

"Dream?" Yoh repeated. "A comedian?"

"What did you say?" HoroHoro exclaimed, outraged. "My dream is something much more bigger than that!"

"Big…dream…" Yoh repeated as we took a break on a bus bench.

It was incredibly hot; Manta was sweating like crazy, while HoroHoro had unzipped his jacket. I half-wished I were a guy just then, then I could get away with doing something like that. I liked the heat, but not the humidity.

"We don't have any leads," Yoh added.

"I didn't expect this to be easy," HoroHoro pointed out.

"Hey, HoroHoro, about that story earlier," Yoh began.

"It's a flower," HoroHoro interrupted.

We looked at him in confusion, and I saw that he was looking at a little violet flower growing out of the sidewalk.

"That's pretty cool that it grows there," Manta said.

"It's pretty," Yoh added.

"Yeah," HoroHoro agreed. "But I feel sorry for it…"

()()()()()()()()()()

The sun was setting, causing the sky to blaze orange again as we sat on a bench overlooking the city.

"Koro Pokkuru?" Yoh repeated in confusion.

Manta flipped through his encyclopedia, but I already knew what Koro Pokkuru were. They were tiny spirits that lived under coltsfoot leaves, and they were deeply rooted in the Ainu culture.

"They lived together with us and we lived in harmony with nature," HoroHoro explained. "They taught us how to live with nature. Humans must live in balance with nature. That's what we were taught. But," he added, throwing out his arm to indicate the city. "Is this balanced? This city of steel? Nature is rapidly vanishing, and the Koro Pokkuru are losing their homes."

HoroHoro hit the side of his fist against the railing that kept people from falling off the cliff. "I think that something has to be done about this. I know humans have their own conditions, but I can't just sit by and watch nature and the Koro Pokkuru be destroyed!"

I smiled sadly, remembering the times before urbanization. Back then, it was more likely that you would die of sickness or exposure, and it was hard to live, but everything had been so much cleaner… I had to admit, though, I liked cities and urbanization and the comfort that came with it, but I missed clean air.

"So you came to Tokyo to start an anti-urbanization movement?" Manta asked.

HoroHoro screeched and kicked the spot next to where Manta sat, almost hitting me. "My dream isn't that, nor is it to become a comedian!" he declared, straightening up but keeping his foot on the bench. "It's something much bigger!"

"I think you'd make a good comedian," Yoh pointed out.

"Shut up already!" HoroHoro trembled and gave Yoh a punch.

"Listen carefully," HoroHoro warned. He pointed his finger into the air. "My dream is to create a vast land filled with coltsfoot!"

Yoh and Manta were silent, starting at HoroHoro as if he was a madman. I had to admit that this was a…unique dream, but I didn't do anything.

"…Tiny…" said Manta.

HoroHoro was suddenly in our faces, tears of frustration streaming down his face. "It's not tiny! It's for nature! For the Koro Pokkuru!"

Suddenly, HoroHoro was sitting on the ground, facing away from us. "It took one minute and forty seconds to explain to these guys…" he murmured despairingly.

Yoh and I put a reassuring hand on his shoulders at the same time, but I wasn't crying like either of them.

"HoroHoro, what a nice guy you are…" Yoh cried, tears streaming down his face.

I heard Manta fall. "But even if you come to Tokyo, that's something you won't be able to do. I think…"

HoroHoro tensed, beads of sweat forming all over him. "Well…um… that's… I doubt you'd understand even if I told you."

()()()()()()()()

The next day was again bright and sunny. Almost perfect, even.

"Ten more minutes," Anna commanded Yoh, who was sitting in the invisible chair.

"That long?" Yoh complained.

I sat on the walkway, my feet brushing the ground as I watched Yoh. I'd already cleaned the bathrooms (needless to say, this was an exhausting feat if you got in there after HoroHoro, it smelled so bad), and tidied up the kitchen. For some reason (probably just to infuriate the boys), Anna didn't have me do anything else. Not that I was complaining.

I should've been out in the city, but I wanted to stick around and see what HoroHoro was being made to do.

Anna was giving him commands left and right; I'd see HoroHoro pass by in the house with towels, then go back past with a mop and bucket, and then would run across the walkway with a towel, scrubbing the boards.

"Faster!" Anna commanded; HoroHoro zoomed past me, nearly crashing into me the first time, and actually crashing into me the second time.

He screamed, and I let out a soundless gasp as we fell off the walkway and I landed on my stomach, HoroHoro managing to land right on top of me, his chin banging right where the mark on my back was. I tried to scream in pain, but all that came out was a high-pitched breath that wasn't very loud.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" HoroHoro cried, jumping up. "Are you okay? I'm sorry!"

I struggled to my hands and knees, blinking back tears as I gasped for breath. If anything spiritual pressed against my mark, it meant instant pain, but thankfully not lasting pain. Still, it took me a moment to get my breath back, and I felt sore everywhere.

HoroHoro touched my shoulder. "Are you okay?" he repeated, eyes wide when I looked at him.

I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I knew it was weak. I sat back on my legs, holding my hands out to show him that I was fine. Last night I taught him a bit of sign language, but it was obvious that he wasn't as quick a learner as Yoh.

"I'm a bit thirsty!" Anna called. "And my shoulder's aching! What's taking so long?"

HoroHoro gave me another concerned look, but I shooed him away with my hands. Anna would hurt him far worse than I felt right now. He gave me another hesitant look before hurrying off to do Anna's bidding.

"You okay?" Manta called.

'I'm fine,' I signed back.

When HoroHoro passed in front of the open door again, Manta called out to him. "HoroHoro, do you need help?"

"I'm staying for free! This…"

Anna interrupted him. "Yes. It is to be expected. You just need to watch Yoh so that he doesn't neglect his training."

As soon as Anna said this, Yoh fell to his knees. Anna suddenly punched him, causing him to fall on his face. "I'm adding five more hours of training."

HoroHoro suddenly let out a breath as he took a drink of tea. Anna grabbed Manta's head and used him as a throwing tool, causing Manta and HoroHoro's heads to bang together painfully, and they both fell to the ground. "Don't make yourself so at home! Get up everyone, we have a ton of things to do!"

We all groaned.

()()()()()()()

When Anna finally let us rest (I had been recruited to help around as well; so much for me thinking that Anna might have a sexist attitude to work in my favor), we all were splayed out across the walkway.

"Jeez, you guys are sure weak," Anna noted, her arms folded. "Tomorrow, Yoh, your training will be increased by fifty percent."

"…She's a demon…"

"What did you say, Manta?"

"U-um, n-n-nothing!"

A moment later, he yowled in pain.

()()()()()()()

That night, HoroHoro was washing the dishes while Anna made us all sit around the table, not letting us help.

"It's dangerous for him to do so much," Ryu pointed out.

"What's wrong, Anna?" Yoh asked. "Why are you being so harsh on HoroHoro? It's not normal."

"Yeah, he came out to Tokyo-"

Anna interrupted Manta. "Don't tell me you believe all that he said."

"What do you mean, Madam?" Ryu asked.

"He's a shaman," Anna pointed out.

Ryu and Manta tensed, but me and Yoh just waited for Anna to continue.

"There are two reasons why a shaman would be in Tokyo at this time. To enter the Shaman Fight in Tokyo, or perhaps…to destroy contestants."

There was sort of a third, but I kept quiet.

"T-then HoroHoro came to destroy Yoh-kun?" Manta asked.

"He could have come to destroy Tori-chan," Ryu added. "Both of them, even!"

Oh, please. HoroHoro, destroy someone? I couldn't see it. If HoroHoro had deadly intentions toward Yoh or me, I'd have sensed it the moment I met him. How could-

I stiffened, feeling the now-familiar presence of kyonshii in the area. What were they doing here?

Yoh noticed my actions and frowned, but I ignored him.

"That son of a…" Ryu trailed off as he jumped up and hurried into the kitchen.

"I knew he was a shaman," Yoh admitted, relaxed again. "You knew too, right Tori?"

I nodded, my senses still on the alert for the kyonshii. Nix appeared on my shoulder, pricking his talons into my skin.

Amidamaru appeared as well. "I felt it, too. HoroHoro is definitely a shaman with his own main spirit. Unfortunately, I couldn't confirm the main spirit's form."

"Even still," Yoh pointed out, "He's a good guy."

"You sure are one unsalvageable easygoing person," Anna sighed.

"M-master!" Ryu called, running back into the room. "He's not here!"

I was caught off-guard. I'd been so focused on keeping alert for the kyonshii that I didn't notice HoroHoro's shamanic energy leaving.

"He's outside!" Amidamaru said.

()()()()()()()()

We all ran after HoroHoro to a clearing in a park to see that he was surrounded by kyonshii. To my surprise, HoroHoro was standing on his snowboard, which was levitating above the ground with oversoul. Already, he was one-step above Yoh.

"That's the kyonshii of the Tao family!" Manta exclaimed.

"I knew it," Anna muttered.

Ryu gripped his wooden sword. "That little… so he was lying!"

I looked at them in disbelief. Did it not look like HoroHoro was being surrounded like prey before being attacked?

Ryu suddenly flew off towards HoroHoro, screaming like a banshee and clutching his sword; HoroHoro turned, but before Ryu could even get close to him, a kyonshii turned and sent Ryu flying backwards. The kyonshii was about to stab Ryu with its claw attachments, but HoroHoro suddenly intercepted the attack with his snowboard, shielding Ryu.

"These guys are my opponents!" HoroHoro insisted. "Stay back!"

After a moment, Yoh grinned. "Let's go, Amidamaru!"

I couldn't find a good enough reason to 'stay back,' and also merged with Nix, whom I could tell wasn't too happy about me wanting to help.

HoroHoro looked at us as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Suddenly, a trio of kyonshii jumped at him, and before he could attack, Yoh slashed at the corpses and they fell backwards.

"You're shamans?" HoroHoro asked in disbelief; somehow, in the fray, he had fallen onto his bottom.

"What? You didn't notice?" Yoh asked.

Deciding to have a little fun at the expense of my throat, I walked forward - luckily, Nix agreed to have a little torture time. "You're so oblivious, HoroHoro."

HoroHoro looked down. "I guess I- Hey!" He looked at me in shock. "W-what? I thought you couldn't speak!"

I laughed; it felt both good and bad to laugh with a voice. "I can't unless I'm united with my spirit, Nix," I explained. "It hurts to do it though, so don't expect me to speak much."

He glared. "Nice surprise, then," he muttered. He turned to his spirit who was on the ground. "This is my main spirit, Kororo. You okay, Kororo?"

The spirit let out a little cry of assent, and I was struck by how cute she was. She was so tiny and adorable, I just wanted to hug her there and then, but not really wasn't the time. "She's cute," I complimented, almost cooing.

"Isn't she?" HoroHoro asked, waving his hand.

"She's cute but…they're coming." Yoh pointed, and HoroHoro turned around and screamed, jumping into the air just a moment before the kyonshii's fist hit the ground right where he had been a second before.

"Let's go!" HoroHoro cried, jumping into the air again and putting Kororo into his snowboard to create oversoul. He flew around on it, and struck a few of the kyonshii back.

I entered the fray as well, extending my staff. A kyonshii flew at me, and I expertly slashed at it, slicing its talisman so that it turned into dust. How easy.

Suddenly, I was blindsided and thrown forwards. I tucked myself into a ball and rolled forward to cushion the blow; when I was on my knees, I turned around to see that HoroHoro was in the air, along with a number of icicles, which he sent at the kyonshii - and also at me.

I just barely managed to dodge one. I had to admit, for this early in the Tournament (well, it hadn't started yet, but still), HoroHoro was powerful. I still wasn't happy that I almost was hit in the crossfire, though. Especially since, when I turned around, I saw that the kyonshii were now trapped in a giant iceberg.

I stalked straight up to HoroHoro and flicked him in the head, much to his surprise. "BoroBoro! You almost hit me!"

"Sorr- Hey! Don't call me that!" he shot back.

I rolled my eyes and allowed Nix to exit my body; the phoenix perched on my shoulder. As everyone gathered together, I gave HoroHoro a smile to show him that there were no hard feelings.

"Sorry that you got involved," HoroHoro apologized. "They're probably the ones that stole my stuff."

Besides HoroHoro, everyone's jaws dropped. These kyonshii weren't after HoroHoro's stuff, they were after Yoh! And maybe myself, but more likely Yoh.

HoroHoro kept talking as if he couldn't see our faces. "You must've heard rumors about it, too. Shaman Fight in Tokyo."

I wanted to flick HoroHoro in the head again and tell him Well, duh! but I kept myself from moving.

"I wanted to enter," HoroHoro continued, "But someone stole my stuff to try and prevent me. I saw those guys while I was looking for suspicious people. I watched those guys around your house without eating or drinking for several days and…" He trailed off before continuing strongly. "I don't know who those guys are, trying to steal my stuff. I can't let my guard down."

"Actually, those guys are the henchmen of the Tao family that have been after me for a while," Yoh corrected, still stunned at HoroHoro's belief. We nodded in unison at HoroHoro.

HoroHoro was frozen.

"I don't think they have anything to do with you, HoroHoro," Manta finished. We nodded again.

HoroHoro dropped his snowboard.

Anna pointed her finger. "In other words, you're the one that got involved." Again, a nod.

HoroHoro fell over. "Then what happened to my stuff?"

()()()()()()()()

HoroHoro clutched his belongings as we stood on the front steps of the police station.

"They removed your stuff saying that it blocked traffic," Anna explained coldly.

"Well…um…things happen," HoroHoro stammered. He laughed nervously and started walking off before stopping and turning around. "Yoh, Tori."

"Hm?" Yoh asked as we both looked at the Ainu.

HoroHoro turned around and gave us a thumbs-up. "Let's meet in the Shaman Fights."

Though I didn't have any chance whatsoever of facing HoroHoro in a Shaman Fight, I smiled and nodded along with Yoh.

We watched HoroHoro walk into the distance, and my smile stayed. HoroHoro was a bit thickheaded, but he was genuinely a good guy. His dream wasn't the most… beneficial to the human race, but it would do at least some good in the world if he were to become the Shaman King. I wished him luck.

He'd probably need it.

()()()()()()()()()

"Whaaaaa?" I wanted to say this along with the others as we stepped into the main room to see HoroHoro gulping down a slice of watermelon, looking perfectly at home and fresh in a yukata after a bath in the onsen.

"You guys are late," he observed.

Everyone besides Anna and I fell down. "What are you doing here?" Anna asked, sounding hostile…

HoroHoro scratched the back of his head. "Well, when I realized that I had no place to go, I thought I might stay here for another two or three days. Oh! The water is nice so you guys should hurry in as well," he added, jerking his thumb towards the general direction of the onsen.

Anna's eyes flashed, and she grabbed Manta's head and threw him at HoroHoro.


Note: It'd be really helpful for those who review (before chap 10 is published) to summarize what you know about Tori so far; it's hard to keep up with everything. Thanks!