Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King…Hiroyuki Takei does...but I wish I did. That would be kick azz.
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The seasons quickly passed and autumn was setting in. It was time to go into town to gather supplies for the winter. I had promised my mother that I would go this year. Kiemi had agreed to come with me to make sure I stuck to the business at hand since I had a tendency to get off track in past years.
"Remember, you promised your mother that you would go into town to get the supplies," Kiemi said to me, "Don't tell me you changed your mind."
"It's not that I changed my mind, exactly," I tried to explain to her.
"Oh, I see," Kiemi said with a laugh, "You just didn't want to do it at all."
"Exactly!" I exclaimed whole heartedly.
"Well, Mr. Asakura, We're already in town so stop complaining and help me with the supplies," Kiemi said as she looked around for the things we needed to get.
"Who said I was complaining?" I asked playfully, "Besides, we have all day to gather the supplies."
"It usually takes all day to gather the supplies," my lovely Chinese maiden pointed out to me.
"Perhaps when you go, but I have my ways around all that," I said proudly, "So, what do you say we take a look around for a while before we start?"
But there came no answers. When I heard no response, I turned around only to find that she was gone.
"Kiemi?" I called, worry beginning to set in, "Kiemi, where did you go?"
Rushing through the streets, there was no sign of her anywhere in the town. By the time I started asking people if they had seen her I was beyond worry.
"Kiemi," I continued to call, "If this is a joke, it isn't funny."
"I'm afraid this isn't a joke, boy" a voice snickered behind me.
At the sound, I turned around to face the speaker only to find myself looking into the eyes of Jin Hu.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I got into a defensive stance.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jin Hu asked arrogantly.
"Where's Kiemi?" I asked as the realization hit me, "What did you do to her?"
"She is fine, don't worry" Jin Hu replied calmly, "She will be freed once we get what we want."
"We?" I said, "I should've known Shing would be apart of this."
"Of course he's apart of this," Jin Hu said with a hint of anger, "He still owes me."
"What do you want?" I more demanded than asked, feeling helpless at the situation.
-#-#-#-
"He wants my business?" Mei Tao asked after I had given her the message Jin Hu and sent.
"That is what he said, and until you do, they're going to keep Kiemi," I repeated as my mother tended to my wounds.
Jin Hu felt that a message wasn't enough. It wasn't until I was surrounded by his followers that I took the time to look at my surroundings. Before then, my entire being was focused on getting Kiemi back safely.
"We have to find her," I added as the gash in my shoulder was being cleaned.
"We aren't going to do a thing," my father corrected me, "You are going to bed to heal while the rest of us think if something."
And before she traps you even further into her web, my father mentally added.
"No, I won't rest until she's back," I protested, ignoring my father's mental comment.
"What good will you be in the condition that you are in?" my father pointed out.
"I don't care what condition I'm in as long as Kiemi's safe," I shouted.
"He's right Han, all that matters now is the safety of my daughter," Mei interrupted, "Even if that means I will lose my business."
"But Mei," my father protested.
"Nothing is more important than my daughter, Han," Mei interrupted again, "I would give my own life for her."
"If that is what you want," my father said, though I knew he was thinking otherwise.
I knew that girl would bring us nothing but trouble, I heard my father think.
What does he have against her?, I thought once again, What is the reason for his bitterness towards her?
"Where did Jin Hu say to meet him, Hao?" Mei asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"In the forest road where it splits in two," I replied.
"Then we must prepare," Mei said with all determination in her voice.
-#-#-#-
"I can't just sit here and do nothing," I said to my mother.
My father and Mei Tao had left to meet with Jin Hu and Shing. The both of them had agreed that I was to stay home and rest from my wounds. But all the waiting was driving me insane. I knew before they left that there would be no rest for me, not as long as I knew that Kiemi was in danger.
"I know how you feel, my son, but your father is right," my mother said, "You would be no good to her in your condition."
"My condition doesn't matter," I snapped, to which my mother flinched, "I mean no disrespect mother, but I love her and I fear for her."
"I know you do, Hao," she said sympathetically with a sigh, "So, go find her."
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"Go find her," my mother repeated, "Go find the one you love."
"But what about what father said?" I asked.
"I will explain everything to your father," my mother replied, "Now, go find Kiemi and make sure she's safe."
"…Thank you, mother," I said as I rushed out of the house.
I was about to jump on Fenikkusu, one of my father's horses, when I noticed a bird flying strangely in the air. It looked like it was greatly injured. It was when I saw the feather patterns that I knew who it was.
"Cheung!" I exclaimed as he practically flew into the ground.
He was brutally battered and would not last much longer. It was then that I noticed a note attached to his leg.
My dearest Hao,
I do not have much time. I know what Jin Hu has told you but do not trust him. I overheard him and my father say that they will kill my mother and take me with them back to China. They want nothing to do with the business. They only want to be part of the Tao family and my mother is the only one that stands in their way. I do not know what to do. I only hope that Cheung is able to get this to you after what my father did to him. Please, hurry, Hao!
Kiemi Tao
"Thank you, Cheung," I said to my now dead friend, "I will never forget what you have done."
After taking some time to give Cheung a proper burial, I was off to save Kiemi. Time was against me. My father and Mei Tao had long set out on their journey and there was no telling what was in store for them when they would arrive at the meeting place.
"Please, let it not be too late," I said to myself as I rode off into the forest.
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TBC
