Disclaimer: I. do. not. own. Shaman. King. OKAY?

Chapter 11: Tokyo Bay in sight

/In Tokyo, Li's P.O.V.

Li was sitting in the living room when he saw the hawk. It was sitting on the railing, looking expectantly at him. He opened it and the hawk swept in.

"I have a letter for Hao and Tamao Asakura. Are they home?" The spirit asked.

"I'm here." Hao stepped out of the next room. The hawk placed the letter in his hand.

"It's from your daughter." Hao's eyes snapped open.

"Sophia wrote to us?"

The hawk bobbed his head up and down, nodding yes in a bird-like fashion. "I don't mean to be rude, but master Dillon is expecting me. I hope to see you again soon." With that the spirit flew back out the window.

Tamao and Shinigami appeared from the kitchen at the mention of Sophia, and Yoh, Lyserg, Horohoro and Ren careened down the stairs right behind them.

"A letter from Sophia?" Yoh demanded, peering over his twin's shoulder. Sure enough, the letter was composed of Sophia's somewhat clumsy, large printing:

Hi mom, dad, uncle Yoh and Aunt Shinigami;

You're probably wondering where we are right now. All I can tell you is that we're in the pacific ocean, heading for Tokyo Bay. There are a lot of Shaman my age on the five dingies I helped make, among them being Hana, Athena, Deep Blue, Minty, Drake, and some new friends: Tatiana onee-chan, Bly, Cynthia, Seria, and Dillon-kun, who's messenger hawk brought you this letter. We were kidnapped by thugs from a forced-labor place called Aegolius, which is on an island North-east or something like that from Tokyo. We'll explain in detail when we get home. There are a lot lot of other shaman escapees with us, and we're heading for home. Yes, we're being chased by those thugs, but don't worry. Four of the Great Spirits are on our side. Deep Blue said he can protect us alone with the Spirit of Water, but I think he's just bragging. No matter, I'll still help him. You can expect us back by Easter at the latest.

I love you,

Sophia.

"Back by Easter?" Ren was flabbergasted. "All of them? Athena?"

Li stood in his tiptoes and read the letter again. He had seen Sophia's printing before, and he was sure it was her.

"I'm going to Tokyo Bay." Shinigami announced, and before anyone could say anything, she and Tamao vanished out the door.

/Sophia's P.O.V.

Sophia sat next to Tatiana and Cynthia at the oars, paddling onwards. "This is hard!" She said to no one in particular.

"Yes it is." Cynthia admitted. "It takes a while to get used to it."

"I wish Deep Blue could recharge his mana faster." Sophia complained. "We'd be moving faster with giant waves carrying us. Do you know how many miles are left?"

"I wish I did." Tatiana replied honestly. Then Deep Blue appeared from the cabin.

"I'm ready!" He announced cheerfully. Immediately the oras were pulled on deck and the kids all scuttled around and tied themselves to the masts.

"Guys! We've got company!" Joseph yelled. Several motorboats were right behind them. And who should be manning the lead one but the blond girl from a few days ago.

Seria let out a loud hiss of exasperation, from her post between Sophia and Hana. "WILL YOU GIVE IT UP, YOU STUPID CREEPS?"

"Come on, Deep Blue. Work your magic." Athena and Minty said the same thing at the same time.

Deep Blue smirked. "With…pleasure." The spirit of water appeared in its giant form, and the water churned furiously. Deep Blue raised his arms upwards and yelled, "Water arise!" the waves suddenly doubled in size and churned violently. Then, one wave -much larger than the others, around 120 feet- surged up from below the ships. Deep Blue pulled his arms back, his eyes narrowing. "Hold on tight!" The wave began to move faster and faster, heading out and away from their pursuers. Then it broke. Sophia gripped her stomach as they hurtled forward and dizzying speed. She felt sick as a dog.

"That fast enough?" Deep Blue yelled.

"Sure!"

"Obviously!"

"Faster!" Another shaman yelled over the others.

"Okay!" Deep Blue yelled back.

"Wait! WHAA!" Sophia shrieked as another 120 footer picked up the ships and practically threw them forward. She hung onto Hana for dear life as this process repeated itself five more times.

"It's like a roller coaster out of control!" Cynthia shrieked in delight. "Keep doing it, Deep Blue!"

"How is that fun? I'm gonna throw up!" Tatiana and Sophia's protests were ignored, and a 200-footer formed. For a moment, everything seemed to be frozen in time. Sophia spat out three mouthfuls of sea water and stared. The reason they weren't moving is because Deep Blue was making the wave bigger. Now, at 300 feet above sea level, she could see remarkably far out.

Deep Blue smirked. "See that?" On the sunset-streaked horizon, there were several other boats, all headed for port.

Bly broke the silence. "Tokyo Bay."

Deep Blue turned around and looked at his fellow shaman. "Well? Shall we go?"

An uncontrollable smile appeared on Athena's face. "Yes. Yes, Deep Blue! Give all the mana you've got left!"

"Bigger! Faster!" Seria screamed happily.

"GO GO GO!" Sophia cried. Home. Home, so close. After more than a year away, it was like standing on the boarder to heaven.

The giant wave broke. For a second Sophia thought she'd cough up her insides. They were moving with such momentum, such speed, she was surprised they didn't flip their ships. It was almost like hitting mach five, except this wasn't a space ship or a supersonic jet or a racecar. This was Deep Blue's power. If Sophia hadn't been hyper about getting home, or clutching her gut from the speed, she would have been greatly impressed.

Finally, the speed died down. Sophia unclasped herself and fell the deck, trying very hard not to retch. Her arms felt like jelly and she didn't have the power to stand up. So she just lay there for a few minuets.

"Gagh…you know everything I said about roller coasters being too fast for me? I take it all back." Hana wheezed.

"That was so awesome." Cynthia panted.

"I don't know if 'awesome' is the term I would use." Tatiana said, slowly getting up and pulling Sophia to her feet. They were drifting now, but that went unnoticed. Sophia, Tatiana, Hana, Athena, Deep Blue, Minty, Drake, Bly, Cynthia, Seria, Chibi, and Dillon were lined up against the bow. There it was. Tokyo Bay. As they docked, greeted by a group of bewildered observers, she spotted someone important.

Sophia saw her. She was standing near the docks, a cloak wrapped around her to break the spring breeze. But that face, pink hair and eyes, were clearly visible now that the water was out of her eyes.

"Mommy…" Out of all the emotions going wild in her mind, one broke through. Joy. "MOMMY!" Sophia raced down the plank, across the docks and into her mother's waiting arms. "Mommy, mommy." Sophia started to cry.

"My little girl." Tamao was crying too. She ran her fingers through her daughter's messy, soaked hair, holding her tight, as if she feared if she let go Sophia would be dragged away again.

"I missed you." Sophia whimpered, pressing her face into Tamao's shoulder.

"So did I." Tamao uttered softly. "I thought about you every day. I thought…I thought I'd never see you again."

"Hana!" Shinigami's cry of joy got Sophia to look up. Her cousin had found his mother in the crowd, and the stage was set for another tearful reunion.

"Hana too?" Tamao brushed away her tears and moved to meet her nephew. They were quickly joined by Athena, Deep Blue, Minty and Drake. Tatiana hung back, watching. Sophia looked up.

"Mommy, there's someone I want you to meet." She took Tatiana's wrist and lead her back to her family. Tamao straightened up.

"Who's this?"

"This is Tatiana onee-chan." Sophia announced. "She was my roommate in Aegolius. She looked after me and helped me believe we'd escape. If she hadn't been there for me, I would have curled up in a corner and stayed there. She's an orphan."

Tatiana blinked and looked up. Tamao smiled softly and pulled her into her arms. "Thank you."

"It's nothing." Tatiana said modestly, ducking her head. "I knew she'd do the same for me."

"Athena!" Athena turned around and looked up at Bly, who had approached the group. "The sea workers are setting up an overnight shelter for kids waiting to get picked up, because it's getting late. Whoever is waiting for a family to pick them up or awaiting a flight to China or Britain should head there."

"I'm good." Seria said. "My parents are on a business trip that lasts until next week, and Shinigami-sama is letting me crash at your place, if you don't mind."

"Of course not." Shinigami glanced at Bly, Cynthia and Dillon. "I'm sure Lyserg wouldn't mind making some extra curry for you guys."

"CURRY!" Cynthia jumped. "CURRY CURRY CURRY! I LOVE CURRY!"

"Thanks miss." Dillon said quietly.

"That's very gracious of you." Bly added. "I'd love to spend the night."

"Let's go." Tamao said with a smile, and the group walked down the road to the Asakura compound.

/Anna's P.O.V.

Anna bit her lip in anger as she watched Hana, Shinigami, Tamao, Sophia and their friends head back to the Asakura compound. Somehow, Hana and his friends had evaded all the traps, gotten past all the guards, and sailed straight home. Skench had underestimated those children, and now he was going to pay for it. They were definitely going to fill in their parents on what happened in Aegolius, and then it wouldn't be long before the supreme court heard about it. Hana's defiant expression replayed itself in her mind. She hated the boy and the half demon more than ever.

"This isn't over, Shinigami Asakura…I'm not done with you or your son yet."

Asakura Compound

Sophia sat nestled in her father's arms, happily munching on a ginger snap and purring like a kitten. She was back in her living room, the familiar smell of home in the air. The meter on her happiness bar was, on a scale of 1 to 10, around twenty and going up. Hana was sitting with his father and mother, having a HUGE glass of milk. Athena sat between Li and Bly, devouring the cookies she had been offered. Deep Blue and Minty were eating ice-cream on the couch. Seria appeared from the kitchen with a ginger snap and plunked down next to Hana. Dillon was sitting by the fire, draining the ENTIRE container of apple juice.

Hao tightened his grip on his daughter and looked around the room. "What happened?"

"Mmmm?" Drake looked up with a mouthful of food and eyed their parents questioningly.

"After you got snatched." Ren elaborated. "When those thugs took you to Aegolius or whatever it was called."

Athena and Bly exchanged a glance. "Where should we start?" She asked.

"I know." Bly said, and he murmured something under his breath. Athena smiled at him and threw her arm around his shoulder. Bly smiled.

"OKAY. Starts when they dragged me out of the van and took me inside. The general, Skench, gave us and god-alone-knows-how-many-kids a huge speech that went something like this…blah blah blah…"

Athena went through the whole story. Whenever she stopped for breath, Minty or Sophia would jump in and continue. They told them about the Flecks, how long they had to work, the food they ate, escaping, meeting Bly, Cynthia and the other runaways, navigating the canyon, the beach battle, building the dingys, and the giant waves that carried them home.

Deep Blue concluded the story with a question. "When are we going to fill in our law suit?"

"Very soon." Hao promised, his voice icy and dead serious. Sophia nodded, nuzzling her father's shoulder. Her father was not to be messed with when he was angry at someone.

"If I EVER get my hands on Skench, I will KILL him!" Ren spat angrily. Yoh didn't speak up, but his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Excuse me." A soft voice broke in. Everyone turned around and saw Tamao and Tatiana walk into the room. "I have an annoucment to make." Tamao said.

"What is it, Tamao?" Horohoro asked. (almost forgot he was there!)

"I'd like you all to meet Tatiana Asakura. I've adopted her into our family." Tamao replied, smiling.

Sophia let out a squeal of delight and pounced on her sister and gave her a big Wookie hug. "Yay!"

Tatiana smiled awkwardly. "Sophia-chan, you're crushing me…"

"Sorry." Sophia pulled her to her feet.

"I knew you were up to something when you two went into the kitchen." Hao said, smiling at his adopted daughter. "Welcome home."

Tatiana smiled weakly. "Thank you so much…" They had a big family hug.

"Now, bed time for all of you!" Shinigami ordered. "All of you should get some rest. Tomorrow I'm taking you lot to the theaters, so get some rest!"

"HORRAY!" The children filed upstairs.

"What are we going to see?" Seria asked, grabbing onto Hana's arm to squeeze up the stairs and into the grand bedroom upstairs.

"An American Tale." Hana replied. "It's old, but the remake got great reviews, and I figured it fit our former situation."

"Sweet."

"I've watched that movie." Dillon added. "It's very climatic."

"I can't wait for tomorrow!" Sophia declared. "So let's go to sleep…IF that's possible."

"Good point." The kids all chose beds and flopped down on them. "Good night everyone." Tatiana said.

"Night."

"Night."

"Night." Sophia drew in the smell of her bed, and looked around her room. She snuggled her stuffed kitten. "Miss me, Fluffy?" She put her head in her pillow and closed her eyes.

/Author's note: Wow, foreshadowing for the sequel. The next chapter is the last, so please REVIEW! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!