Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

Author's note: Because I was inspired by your reviews, I was able to write another chapter (I know it's short but it's still an update!). The idea just came to me when I woke up earlier this morning and since I was too lazy then to boot up my PC, I had to quickly write it on a piece of paper while the idea is still there. Yeah, I'm kinda weird like that. Hahaha. Anyway, you know the drill!


~o0o~

"I cannot believe how insensitive that idiot could get." Ren drops the call and slams the handset back to its place.

Jeanne drapes her arms over her husband's shoulder and spoke "I know you're upset darling, but if you don't calm down, you might suffer from a heart attack."

Ren sighs. "I'm still trying to make sense of what that son of a gun had almost done."
"If you ask me, I think he's genuinely worried for his wife's welfare."
"That I can understand. But him leaving them wouldn't make any difference."
"That too." She concurred.
"Anna is not gonna be happy with the phone bill as well."
"So, are you going there to help sort things out?"
"Nope. He has to fix this on his own. I certainly hope Anna would punish him severely for that impertinent move. Sometimes, I still wonder how he and I became friends. We're so... different, you know."
"Not so different, darling." Jeanne winked at him and left.

Ren's forehead creased; he didn't know what his wife meant.


~o0o~

Anna was on her way home from the grocery store when she was blocked by three thugs.

"I'm not in the mood boys," She warned. "Walk away or suffer the consequences."
"Whoa, did she just call us 'boys'?"
"She did. Miss, we don't want any trouble. Just give us your money and we'll be out of your hair."
"Seriously, you're messing with the wrong person." She wasn't lying when she said she was having a bad day.
"Wow, she's really feisty." said the full bearded thug.
"We did ask nicely though." The other burly guy spoke.

They started to advance towards her but were thwarted by an invisible force.

"What the hell was that?" The third man was spooked after somewhat colliding with a brick wall that wasn't really there.
"I don't know," mentioned the burly man.

Wait, on second thought, this is just what I needed. A distraction. Anna thought.

She continues her 'assault' on the three muggers using her guardian spirits Zenki and Kouki. The itako figured that these men do not have any shamanic abilities thus they could not see the two gigantic creatures.

"Hate to say I told you so," She mocked.

But she had to admire these guys' confidence - they are still trying to get to her. They are not giving up that easily. One thug had a gun; he pulled the trigger and shot Anna point blank out of desperation.

Clank.

The bullet dropped on the ground, again foiled by an unseen force. But this wasn't the work of her guardians.

"I hate humans." His eyes were enraged as he held harusame protectively over Anna.

This had left the itako puzzled; she has never seen this side of him before. He's on the offensive onslaught even before she could say anything. However, when he saw the blood, he stopped, horrified of his actions.


~o0o~

1995. Izumo.

"Yoh Asakura!" The bully named Dokugamushi called out. "I know what you did at the train station."

What a pain in the ass. Yoh thought. He didn't want to mingle with his classmates; they had always made fun of him but he had incredible patience (or a very effective distraction) that he managed to ignore them.

Bob is his favorite singer and he always had his music on wherever he goes with the headphones he 'got' from Mikihisa; that's his secret for tuning out impertinent stuff coming out of his classmates' mouths.

Dokugamushi just knew what buttons to push. He snatched Yoh's headphones and dissed his favorite singer.

"What the hell is this? The lyrics are so bad!"

If they were only sheep, it'd be alright. But they're always so desperate to reject anything they don't understand. That is why...I hate them.

These thoughts flooded Yoh's mind; with the calmness gone and rationality pushed aside, he called on his leaf sprites and ordered them to attack subconsciously, along with a murderous stare.

One of the leaf sprites jarred the bully's face. Blood started dripping out and this made Yoh snap out of his temporary insanity.

Oh no! Go away Ko-oni!


~o0o~

He looks down on them for a few seconds, somehow making sure they're still alive. He's relieved to find out they were.

"Sorry." He said, his back turned from Anna.

The itako didn't know which he was being apologetic for: the ridiculous stunt he pulled a few hours ago; or for almost killing these lowlifes... or maybe both.

She approached him nonetheless and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look at me, Yoh."

He faces her but kept his eyes on a downward glance, his body shaking a bit.

"I didn't mean to... that bullet could've..." He stammered.
"Look at me." She held his chin and forced his eyes on her. "I won't lie to you. You've inflicted them pain... a little too excessive for a normal human being to handle. But you did the right thing."
"Sure, almost killing them is the right thing."
"That's not what I meant. You were able to completely take over your rage and stop yourself from doing something you'd regret for the rest of your life. Not all shamans can do that."

This pacified him a bit. He's learning to trust her - he needed to trust her more than ever.

"What if I..."
"You wouldn't. Trust me."
"I should tie them up..." He offered.
"No need. I don't think they'd be going anywhere for a while. We'd let the cops handle them as soon as I make this phone call."
"Does this mean, I'm pardoned?"
"I'll think about it." She teased. "Let's go home."


~o0o~

On the way home...

"Just out of curiosity, how did you find me?"
"How... let me think..." He paused. "I went looking for you at the store but I didn't find you there so I figured you must be on your way back and that you must've taken a longer route because you were... or was, angry at me."
"Sounds believable." She smirked.
"I kinda felt like you needed me...my help."
"Yeah, sure." She said in a rather sarcastic tone.
"Anna..." He whined. "I'm being serious here."
"Just so you know, Yoh. I am still upset with you."


A/N: Flashback part was taken from SK Zero Chapter 1.