DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King.

sorry if any of the format is off; FFnet screwed up again. Not much to say; I can't wait till Silva appears in chapter 13 I think.

Eleven: Harusame

"Tokagero?" one of Ryu's friends repeated. "What are you saying, Ryu-san?"

Anna smirked. "What a stupid name."

"What did you say?" Ryu/Tokagero asked, his grip on Manta tightening and causing him to squirm, his muffled voice panicked.

"Manta!" Yoh called.

"Tokagero," Anna began. "You led the group of thieves who wreaked havoc here six hundred years ago."

Ryu grinned, his shoulders moving with his chuckles. "So you knew?" he asked, Tokagero's form leering at us from over Ryu's head. "Then you should know why I came." Ryu pointed the cloth-wrapped object. "Amidamaru! It's to kill you with this sword!"

Amidamaru and Yoh gaped, while I narrowed my eyes.

"It's probably just a wooden sword," Anna scoffed calmly.

Ryu lowered his hand, sniggering. "Unfortunately, this is a real sword. It's not a very good sword though."

Manta suddenly started writhing, struggling to speak against the tape over his mouth. Just the sight started to make my blood boil.

"All of this," Ryu and Tokagero continued, pointing the still veiled weapon, "is to get my revenge, Amidamaru, for killing me six hundred years ago!"

Amidamaru was silent for a moment. "Who are you?"

Ryu fell over, then jumped back up; if the situation wasn't so serious, it might have been comical. "Wait a minute!" he cried. "Don't tell me you forgot! I'm the great thief, Lord Tokagero!"

"Is that true, Amidamaru?" Yoh asked curiously.

"How can I remember? I've killed so many people," Amidamaru pointed out. "I can't remember them all."

If Amidamaru hadn't been a samurai, I might've found it sad that he couldn't remember the names of the people he'd killed.

Anna was smirking. "I'm guessing that you're weak," she said to Tokagero.

"What?" he asked.

"How are you going to kill Amidamaru's spirit?" Anna asked.

Ryu and Tokagero smiled. "Simple." He pointed again. "I'm going to kill him when he merges with that kid over there."

Yoh hit his palm with his fist. "I see."

"This isn't the time to be agreeing with him, Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru chastised disbelievingly.

"Hurry up and merge, damn it!" Ryu swore. He nudged Manta's cheek with the end of the cloth-covered weapon. "Don't you care about him?"

"It doesn't matter, really," Anna said flatly.

We all looked at her, aghast. Manta started flailing wildly, but he couldn't get out of Ryu's grip.

"Yoh is the man who will become the Shaman King," Anna explained like she was talking to a misbehaving child. "I can't let him be killed by the likes of you."

"The likes of me?" Ryu repeated. "Who do you think you are?"

"I am the one who will become the wife of the Shaman King," Anna said determinedly.

"Anna…" Yoh sounded stunned.

"I see, I see." Ryu dropped Manta to the ground like one would a mistreated doll. "Then let me get rid of him for you!" He undid the tie of the cloth, and Yoh ran forward and merged with Amidamaru; Anna threw Yoh a wooden sword, and he jumped into the air.

Manta squirmed, and somehow the tape covering his mouth came off. "That sword is Harusame!" he screeched.

"Haru…" Yoh began.

"…same?" Amidamaru finished.

Yoh's wooden sword and Ryu's sheathed weapon met; after a moment, the sheath cracked and fell off, revealing a strong katana.

"This is Harusame!" Amidamaru exclaimed as he and Yoh struggled against Tokagero and Ryu.

"That's right." Ryu was smirking. "This is Harusame. The sword you used to kill me. I won't be satisfied with just killing you. I have to make you suffer."

"You…just for that…" Amidamaru seemed almost speechless in anger.

"That's right, I stole it," Tokagero continued. "A samurai getting killed by his own sword… I get excited just thinking about it."

"Just for that, you stole Harusame?" Amidamaru asked, outraged.

"Besides, there aren't many masterpieces like this," Tokagero persisted. "I didn't even budge after taking your attack."

"Harusame isn't just a masterpiece," Amidamaru declared; if a spirit could be, he sounded almost breathless. "Harusame is… Harusame is…"

"Amidamaru?" Yoh tried to get his spirit back on track.

Noticing the split-second distraction, Ryu brought back his arm and slashed with Harusame, sending Yoh flying backwards, his trademark orange headphones falling off and breaking.

"Yoh-kun!" Manta screamed.

My mouth was agape. Even if I was merged with Nix, I didn't think I could scream if I wanted to.

"Ryu-san killed him!" someone yelled from Ryu's group.

Yoh fell headfirst towards the ground, but he caught himself with his hands and pushed, getting to his feet. There was a slight slash in his shirt, but no visible wounds on him.

"It's impressive how you were able to dodge from the position," Ryu said. "That's Amidamaru's, all right. Well then," he went on, "we're back to where we started." He lowered Harusame and pointed it at Manta's neck. "Hurry up and let me kill you, Amidamaru, or I can't be held responsible for what's going to happen to him."

"Damn you," Amidamaru hissed.

"Manta!" Yoh called.

I stared, speechless. Slowly, as not to attract attention, I pulled Nix into my body and merged with him.

"There are three ways to save Manta," Anna stated. Her posture suggested that she didn't really care what was happening. "First, as Tokagero wants, you let him kill you." Out of the question. "Or damage the body he has possessed until it can't move. If he is immobilized, he will leave Ryu's body and Manta will be saved. On the other hand, Ryu might die." Yoh would never do that to Ryu. "And the last option… Break his weapon, Harusame."

Was I included anywhere in this? I didn't have my extendable staff with me, but I could at least help somehow… I made to take a step forward, but Anna suddenly glared at me. In that instant, I knew that she wouldn't let me help until the situation was at its worst possible point; someone becoming mortally wounded or dead. This was Yoh's fight, not mine.

I'd have to start thinking that way once the Tournament started.

"Harusame?" Amidamaru asked in disbelief.

"He will lose his only means of attack and we can easily save Manta," Anna explained.

"But Harusame is…" Amidamaru trailed off, as if losing himself in thought. "You're telling me to break Harusame?"

"In your current state," Anna continued, "the last option is impossible. Harusame is a masterpiece that can cut through stone. In order to break it, a full-force attack must be exerted on it. If there is even a little bit of uncertainty in your heart, your attack will be easily repelled. And you'll be definitely hit by a counterattack."

"Now." Tokagero brought the attention back to himself and Ryu. "Hurry up and decide. Either you die, or he dies." He put the sword in front of Manta's nose. "I'm counting to three. One… Two…"

"Manta!" Yoh called.

I couldn't stand it anymore. Just as Ryu called 'three' and lifted his sword, I dashed forward, only to find that Ryu's friends had also hurried forward to restrain Ryu. I grasped Manta and jumped away back towards the house, breathing out a sigh of relief that Manta was safe.

"What the?" Manta cried, looking at men who held Ryu still.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Ryu shook them off, and they fell to the ground.

"Ryu's friends are fighting him!" Manta exclaimed. "They shouldn't be able to see Tokagero, but…"

"We couldn't stand it anymore." Our attention was caught by Muscle Punch, who was being helped into the yard by Ball Boy. By the looks of it, he had been hurt in the leg. "The fact that our Ryu-san is acting like trash."

At the sounds of greetings from his friends, Muscle Punch went on. "Hey, sorry to make you guys worry. You okay, Manta?"

By now I was untying him. He let out a sort of grunt of assent.

Muscle Punch hung his head. "We too, understand. That the Ryu-san right now isn't normal."

That's an understatement, I thought as Ryu turned around to face him. "You know what will happen if you disobey me, right? I'll kill you!"

"Enough already, Ryu-san!" one of his friends called. "What could possibly make you want to kill someone?"

"It's true that you were violent and hated by people," another added, "but you were kind to us."

"Have you forgotten about the beginning of junior high?" someone else continued. "You talked to me, even though I was new!"

"On the night of the festival, you helped me when I was surrounded by yakuzas!"

"That's right! When I ran away, Ryu-san gave me a cooked sweet potato by the riverbank road!"

"On that cold night, you treated me to meat buns! I can't forget it!"

"Ryu-san's voice when he said that he would find the Best Place for us in society!" Muscle Punch added.

"Ryu-san!" they all chorused. "We're friends, right?"

This kind of intervention might have worked if Ryu wasn't possessed. I could see that right away as Tokagero raised Ryu's head. "Friends?" he asked. He repeated the word over and over. "That word makes me sick!" He began slashing at Ryu's group, though he was too far away to do any damage.

"Stop it, Tokagero!" Amidamaru commanded. "You don't have a hostage anymore. Stop your useless resistance!"

Tokagero chuckled, turning around. "You're right. Then how about this?" Suddenly, he pointed Harusame at Ryu's chest. "If you move, I'll kill him!"

"He took Ryu as his hostage!" Manta cried.

"He's your friend, right?" Tokagero asked, using Ryu to speak. "Is it right to abandon your friend?"

Yoh and Amidamaru tensed. Personally, I would have been sad if Ryu was killed, but I could get over it… I didn't know if the others could, though.

"If you value his life," Ryu continued, "put down your weapon and walk over here."

Yoh did nothing.

"Didn't you hear me?" Ryu asked. "I told you to put down your weapon!"

Because of Nix's keen hearing, I could make out Yoh's whisper from where I knelt next to Manta. "Are you sure about this, Amidamaru?"

"I have no more doubts," Amidamaru vowed.

Yoh's eyes narrowed.

"You…you don't care about your friend?" Ryu asked.

Yoh and Amidamaru spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping. "Bokotou no Ryu has taught me… how important friends are. And he's reminded me that in order to save friends, there are times when one must make sacrifices."

Yoh suddenly took a ready stance, and Ryu's eyes widened.

"Shinkuu… Buttagiri!" Yoh and Amidamaru slashed out, and Harusame broke in Ryu's hands before sending him flying into the air and landing on his back.

Ryu looked at where half of Harusame's blade was impaled into the ground. "Impossible! Harusame is broken?" He sat up to look at Yoh and Amidamaru. "Impossible! This can't be! Wasn't Harusame a precious gift from his friend? How could he break it just to save a kid?"

"It's true. Harusame was a precious sword. But that sword was created by Mosuke with his father's knife to save others." In the light of the torches, I saw a slight gleam trickle out of Amidamaru's eye. "That is why I will throw away any object, no matter how important it may be, even if it is Harusame!"

A drizzle started to come down from the clouds, becoming more insistent as it doused the light of the torches. Soon we were becoming soaked, but just as soon as it had sprung up, the rain stopped.

Amidamaru exited Yoh's body, and Yoh spoke. "Your plan has failed. Will you give up and enter the afterlife?"

"Give up…" Ryu repeated. "And enter the afterlife?"

"That's right," Yoh answered.

There was a slight pause. "I can't do that," Ryu answered.

"Tokagero!" Yoh exclaimed.

"The name Tokagero…" Ryu and Tokagero continued. "Was given by my mother to survive no matter what!" They both stood with Ryu's body. "I did many evil things to live. He backed up slowly. "Tricking people. Hurting people. That's why… I can't lose to people who help each other!" He stopped moving. "To those who babble about how important friends are!"

"Tokagero!" Amidamaru called as Ryu suddenly leaned down to pick up the broken half of Harusame on the ground. When his hand was within mere inches of the blade, however, he stopped.

Ryu's body was twitching. "W-what's going on?" He fell down onto the ground, spread-eagled. "My body…has no strength left."

"Two souls in one body puts a lot of stress on it," Anna pointed out calmly. "Because of your forced entry, and the fact that Ryu hasn't gone through proper shaman training. His body couldn't handle it." Anna pulled off her beads. "It's over. Enter the afterli-"

Yoh put his arm out. He looked at Ryu and Tokagero with a look I'd seen before; friendly concern.

Had I said before that Yoh was completely insane?

"Hey," Yoh said. "Do you really want a friend?"

We all looked at him, speechless. Amidamaru said his master's name, but Yoh didn't respond.

Tokagero laughed. "Don't kid me. Are you telling me to help everyone?"

"We aren't helping everyone!" Muscle Punch shouted. "We're helping each other towards a common goal. That's what friends are for. Didn't you say that, Ryu-san?"

"Live no matter what, eh?" Yoh asked, walking slowly up to Ryu's twitching body. "Wasn't there a way to live with your friends?"

Tokagero's expression changed.

"It might be too late, but…" Yoh extended his hand. "I'll be your friend."

Tokagero smiled. "Are you serious?"

Yoh was grinning. "Yeah."

Tokagero huffed in disbelief. "You're all talk."

"Oh, is that so?" Yoh asked. He closed his eyes in thought, then smiled and opened them. "Then how about I lend this body to you?"

"What?" everyone else cried, including me, my throat rasping as I stood up fully. Yoh was serious?

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, angry.

"Are you going to merge with Tokagero?" Manta yelled in incredulity. "If you do that…"

"I might kill you the second I take control of you," Tokagero warned, his mouth turning into a grin.

Yoh paused a second in thought, then beamed. "So be it."

Amidamaru appeared in front of Yoh, his arms spread out protectively. "This isn't right!"

"Amidamaru…" Yoh breathed.

"Why must Yoh-dono become a victim?" Amidamaru asked angrily to Tokagero. "Especially to your kind?"

"Don't worry," Yoh soothed, pulling out his mortuary tablet and sealing Amidamaru inside in a gust of wind. "Now then. Whenever you're ready, Tokagero."

"All right," Tokagero sneered. Ryu's body convulsed as Tokagero prepared to exit it. "As you wish, I'll merge with you!"

He jumped out of Ryu's body and into Yoh's, causing Yoh to fall backwards and drop Amidamaru's tablet.

"Yoh!" Anna called out as we gazed at Yoh's spread-eagled body.

My fist was shaking as I tried to keep control of myself. Worse things would happen to Yoh in the Shaman Fights. If I did anything now, I'd never be able to watch the matches without bias.

Yoh's hand twitched, and he sat up stiffly. His eyes were narrowed crazily, and he was grinning Tokagero's grin as he laughed. I couldn't remember seeing even Hao look like that. "He's such an idiot," Tokagero said through Yoh's mouth.

He stood and walked forward. "Lending me his body just to get killed." He leaned down and picked up the broken half of Harusame, holding it to Yoh's throat. "Where should I start?"

Anna fell to her knees. "It can't be…" she breathed, looking lost. "He really gave his body to Tokagero…"

"Yoh-kun!" Manta called.

I couldn't say anything. Guilt was nearly wracking my body. I had to help Yoh…

"Useless! Useless!" Yoh's body snarled. "I'm in complete control of his body! I can't believe his kindness."

"What was he thinking?" Anna continued. Tears spilled from her eyes. "That idiot…"

"Anna-san." Manta's voice rose in pitch as he saw her cry. He started screaming. "What should I do?"

I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't take this. I had to run forward and snatch that blade from him. I was just about to dart forward when Yoh's hand suddenly lowered from his neck.

"Damn it," Tokagero swore. "I can't believe this…"

A teardrop fell. Tokagero's eyes and nose were streaming with tears and snot. His voice was shaking. "How could he? He knew that he could've been killed. Yet he was still able to do such a kind thing…"

"He believed that you were his friend," Amidamaru explained, finally able to emerge from his tablet.

"Friend?" Tokagero repeated.

"Because he believed that you were his friend," Amidamaru went on, head bowed. "He trusted you and was able to entrust you with his body. While you were alive, you were always worried about survival. You had no time to be at peace. What you really needed was a place of peace. In other words, you needed friends."

"My god…" Tokagero whispered, lowering his head in shame. "That means the second I merged with him… I had already lost!"

"Amazing!" Manta's eyes were wide. "Yoh-kun was able to plan that far?"

"Of course not," Anna and I said at the same time. My voice was far lower than hers, though, so Manta looked at Anna, who was blazing with anger. "He just selfishly thought of it like that. He's even kind when he's about to die! How dare he make a fool of me! Starting tonight I will add the Special Menu of training!"

Tears streamed down Manta's face in fright and he turned away from her.

With that, the threat was gone, and Ryu's friends ran up to him. Yoh sat on the ground and smiled up at Tokagero. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," Tokagero said. He gazed at Ryu and his friends. "Friends aren't bad. Right?"

I couldn't quite agree with him. Friends were bad for my job. Once the Shaman Fights started, I'd have to completely abandon any attachments to the contestants. Aiding the Shaman King was something both he or she and I were supposed to do without bias.

This was going to be hard.