Disclaimer: I do not own shaman king.
'thoughts'
"talk"
XxX
A small knock on Yoh's door woke him from his sleep early the next morning. Glancing down at the chain still firmly attached to his ankle, Yoh let out a sigh. He had hoped that it was just a dream, that he'd have woken up and found that he was late for school yet again with Horohoro already halfway to the school building. Unfortunately, the little chain connecting him to the bed was a very big reminder of reality.
The knock came once more before the door slowly creaked open. His eyes lazily glanced over to the door, not surprised when he saw Hao enter. He watched quietly as Hao walked over to the edge of the bed, scooting a bit back as Hao took a seat on the edge of the mattress. He slowly reached up and felt the area of his neck where the two holes once were, swallowing his nervousness when he felt that they had fully healed.
"Why are you here?" Yoh asked, sounding slightly braver than he was.
"I told you I was going to mark you fully when I didn't have to worry about you passing out. Well, now that the wound has healed, you won't pass out so easily." Hao stated.
"What is a full mark?" Yoh asked, trying to hide his curiosity.
Hao smirked as he reached down and tapped the chain around Yoh's ankle, causing it to unlock. "You'll find out later. I'll explain a few things on the way though." Hao said with a smile.
"On the way?" Yoh said questioningly.
Hao didn't give a reply, but merely grabbed his hand and started walking towards the door. Yoh nearly tripped as he was suddenly pulled off the bed and had to walk at a faster pace to keep up with Hao. They went past so many twists and turns that Yoh wasn't sure if they were up or down anymore. The biggest change of scenery that he could see was when it went from grey castle walls to an outdoor garden.
The garden was huge. Nature as far as he could see, fenced in by an assortment of trees. There were so many flowers as well as a ton of other plant life. The air collected these many different scents and spread them around, bringing forth a calming, yet enticing scent. There were several birds flying around, filling the sky with dozens of colors, almost like a rainbow of avians.
A number of other critters were scattered around, but there was one main thing that stood out... A huge hedge maze. The only animals that went near the strange maze were the crows. The leaves appeared to be a bit out of season, being shades of red and orange when they should have been a bright green. The walls were as high as a house, making it impossible to see over the top. The flowers growing by the maze were all either black roses or red snapdragons.
"Hao... Why are we here?" Yoh asked nervously.
"Well, it's kind of a tradition. A ritual, more like. You go in the maze and I wait ten minutes before going in after you. If I catch you before you reach the end, I'm going to fully mark you. If that happens, I'll also tell you about the full mark. However, if you get to the end before I catch you, the exit will lead you to the forest where you can try to escape." Hao explained.
"If I loose, I get caught and If you loose, I escape... Doesn't that sound a bit risky for both of us?" Yoh asked.
"That's the point. It won't work if there isn't something on the line for both of us. That way, neither one of us wants to lose." Hao replied simply.
"...Did my ten minutes already start?" Yoh asked curiously.
"No, it starts the moment you enter. Oh, and I've got one piece of advice for you before you go. Stay out of the center of the maze. If you do enter, I will catch you." Hao said with a smirk.
"Why would you tell me that?" Yoh asked as he walked through the entrance.
"It's a rule. I have to tell you. Now, good luck." Hao called as the hedge started to close the gap. "You'll need it."
XxX
Pirika tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the others to show up. She knew that she was four hours early, but she had expected at least one of them to be there by now. Luckily, Amidamaru showed up before she had the chance to consider leaving without anyone. He slowly walked over to her, followed by Jeanne, Lyserg, and Mikihisa.
"You're early, Pirika-san." Amidamaru commented.
"Good, you're all here. I'm not waiting until noon. The longer I wait, the longer those three stay at risk. We're leaving now." Pirika ordered.
The four of them glanced at each other uncertainly before slowly nodding in agreement and following Pirika out of camp. After they reached the edge of the territory, they started following Amidmaru to to the enemy castle. Amidamau and Jeanne were both running a little slower from having to carry someone, but they still managed to keep a good run.
A wave of tension filled the air as they crossed into vampire territory. Every bird seemed to be tracking their movements and the trees only seemed to slow them down. The sky was covered in dark clouds, thunder roared as they came near a clearing. Blood. Everyone's eyes widened as that unmistakable scent reached their noses. Quickly, they burst into the clearing, fearing yet needing to know what they would find.
A wave of sadness filled Jeanne when she saw the bodies of Venstar and Meene lying in the field before them. Mikihisa called that he had found Lilirara dead a moment later. Among the three of them, it appeared as though Lilirara had died first, her scent has the most faded among them. Pirika and Lyserg worked on identifying all the blood while Mikihisa, Jeanne and Amidamaru buried Lilirara, Venstar, and Meene.
"Um, Mikihisa, come over here." Pirika said quietly.
"What is it?" Mikihisa asked worriedly, glancing down at the drops of blood on the ground before returning his gaze to Pirika.
"The blood, it's Yoh's. It carries his scent." Pirika said regretfully.
"No. He's not-?" Mikihisa began.
"No. It's not a fatal amount. There isn't the scent of vampire blood mixed in, meaning that he wasn't turned either, but he was bitten. He's probably out of it, judging by the amount of blood loss. The vampire might not feed again until Yoh has healed, which means that we still have some time to save him." Lyserg explained.
"The castle is just ahead." Amidamaru stated. "Lets hurry."
Lyserg and Mikihisa both hopped on Amidamaru's back before everyone took off in the direction of the castle. The castle was only a few minutes away from their position, so they arrived in little time at all. Pirika and Amidamaru got ready to ram down the door while Jeanne and Lyserg attempted to calm them down. One thing Lyserg found strange was that despite the fact that they were all arguing in front of the door, no one had come out of the castle to attack. While Jeanne was still talking to Pirika and Amidamaru, Lyserg walked over to the door and knocked.
"I'm coming~" A voice called.
Everyone glanced at one another in confusion for a second before looking at Lyserg and then to the door.
"Why did you knock?" Pirika asked.
"The place seemed empty and I wanted to know if someone was here." Lyserg replied.
A moment later, a woman dressed in Chinese style clothing opened the door.
"Oh." She said while pointing at Amidamaru. "You're that werewolf from before. I have to say, I didn't expect you to come to this not-so-little castle." Jun said cheerfully.
"You're a vampire? Then where's my brother? Where are the others?" Pirika snapped.
"The werewolf queen herself came? That's unexpected. Oh, right, your brother. Horohoro is currently at my house playing with my little brother. As for the others... Yoh is resting at my house, he passed out for some reason, and the other guy is adjusting to his new life as a vampire." Jun replied.
"You changed that human into a vampire?" Lyserg asked slowly.
"Not me personally, someone else did. I feel sorry for him though, the poor dear is terrified of blood. It's certainly going to be a hassle to prevent him from starving." Jun said with a sigh.
"Show us where they all are." Jeanne growled.
"I'm afraid I can't. That would be directly disobeying an order from the king." Jun said apologetically.
"You have a king?"Amidamaru gasped.
"Is it really that surprising? Yes, we have a king. Anyone who disobeys him is killed, so I have no intention of going against his orders." Jun said.
"Then bring them here." Lyserg said.
"I can't do that either, but I can call the main castle to see if someone else will bring them over." Jun suggested as she walked back into the castle. "You can come in while you wait, I'm the only one here."
Amidamaru entered the castle first and began looking around for any traps while Jun walked over to the phone. Once Amidamaru was sure that there were no traps and no one else inside the castle, he motioned everyone else to come in. They all took a seat on a rather large couch as Jun reentered the living room while dialing a number on a cellphone.
"It's already noon? Wow, I didn't expect it to be this late... Ah! I think someone answered."
XxX
Me: Hm...
Hao: Still thinking about the next chapter?
Me: Yup. Still trying to decide if I like how I did it so far or if I need to change it.
Hao: Decide soon, will you? The chapter is almost done and I'm getting impatient. *Creates fireball in hand*
Me: Alright, I'll update soon.
Hao: Please review.