10th Star: Unexpected Team-Up

"So…what happens now?" I asked Rutherfor after we left the British Embassy.

"You wait and prepare for the next match in the Preliminary Round," Rutherfor answered, holding my arm. She had caught me just as I was about to fall down the stairs in the mansion, and escorted me out of there leaving Annabelle with her damaged doll.

"What about Annabelle? Is she banned from the tournament for good?"

"No, she can still participate. If you recall, you have to win at least two out of three matches to win the Preliminary Round. So she may have lost this match, but she'll have to make up for it in the next two matches to make it to the next Round of the Shaman King Tournament."

"But I feel like I didn't really win," I said guiltily. "Instead of facing her head-on, I ran away when I feared of using too much Mana which would've caused me to faint putting myself and Hoshi in danger."

"And that's the risk you must face in these upcoming battles," Rutherfor stated, looking directly at me. "If you don't think you're adequate to keep going, all you have to do is give me the Pager and that'll be the end of it."

Looking down at my Pager, I sighed. "I can't stop now. If I don't become the Shaman King, my parents will lose their house for good!"

After that, I leaned against Rutherfor's shoulder as she took us back to the hotel where Uran was waiting. He naturally asked how everything went, but I was too tired to answer so I fell asleep in Rutherfor's arms.

###

The next morning, I woke up in the second hotel bed around noon. Neither Uran or Rutherfor were present, except for Roger who was standing on top of me holding a small knife to my throat. I was about to scream, but Hoshi flew right from the bedside table instead and hovered right in front of Roger with his points slightly expanded looking sharper than usual.

"I'm not here to hurt your Shaman, Shikigami," Roger said calmly. "I just want to talk. Meet me in the hotel lobby downstairs in five minutes."

Then Roger jumped off me and climbed in through an air vent near the floor which had been forced open from the inside. Though I was extremely afraid, I still got out of bed with Hoshi flying into my pocket. I forced him to stay in resting mode as I left the hotel room and went down into the lobby where Annabelle was sitting holding Roger.

"I didn't think you would show up," Annabelle remarked snidely. "You're a lot more braver than I expected, based on how things went down last night."

Hiding my fear, I frowned and said, "What do you want?"

"Like I said, to talk," Annabelle insisted as she sat up from her chair. "But also to inform you of another match that's coming up soon."

"Okay, but what does it got to do with me?"

"Unlike the other matches in the Preliminary Round which are one-on-one fights, this one is unusual," Annabelle began as she walked out through the hotel doors forcing me to follow. "Because of the unique power these two Shamans have, they've requested that they both participate in the fights together. Now from the Patch's perspective, it would seem unfair for one Shaman to fight against these two in a two-on-one battle. So they're making an exception by having any matches with these two Shamans be two-on-two, meaning they'll be facing against two randomly picked Shamans instead of one and we're the first ones to be chosen."

"No way!" I checked my Pager, and sure enough it said, 'Shizu Rakugaki and Annabelle Lee: your combined match with Maju and Mint Mendoza will take place at the Showa Memorial Park three weeks from now at 5 PM.'

Just then, Uran and Rutherfor showed up and basically confirmed what Annabelle told me based on what they heard from Goldva. As for why Annabelle knew about the upcoming match before me, it was because she had overheard two Patch Officiants talking about the Mendozas just as they were passing by the British Embassy in the body of Roger the doll.

"They said the Mendozas are very powerful Shamans with the ability to control the Gods themselves," Annabelle stated, and turned to Rutherfor. "Is this true?"

"Yes," Rutherfor nodded. "Uran will go into more detail once you start training with him."

"Training?" Annabelle cringed in response. "I spent four years training in Tibet! I don't need more of it."

"Then how do you plan to fight two shamans that can control Gods with a soul-possessed doll?" Uran asked. When Annabelle didn't answer, he turned to me. "Shizu's your best shot at winning, because she's an Onmyoji."

"Yes, I know that, but all she can do is summon one paper star," Annabelle pointed. "How is that going to help me?"

"Hoshi is not a paper star!" I snapped, feeling like I was being ignored. "He's a Shikigami; a nature spirit that I can control."

"Exactly," Uran concurred, and looked back at Annabelle. "You see, there are certain spirits that are more powerful than others. The God Spirits are the strongest, with Nature Spirits being the second-highest, while Human Spirits are generally the weakest."

"So you're saying I'm weak?" Taken aback, Annabelle ran off before anyone could stop her.

"You could have phrased that a little more differently," Rutherfor suggested, making Uran look down in embarrassment. "I'll try talking to her later when she's cooled down."

Then Rutherfor left, so Uran and I went back into the hotel. I explained to him what happened this morning, and he apologized for leaving me unguarded.

"It's not your job to guard me," I reminded him. "You're just supposed to teach me what I should have learned years ago."

"There's no point in blaming yourself, or your parents for that matter," Uran said, putting a big hand on my tiny shoulder. "You won against Annabelle, which is an accomplishment in of itself, and now you need to grow stronger for the battles ahead."

Nodding in agreement, I put my hand against the pocket that held Hoshi.

To be continued…