Besarki: HOORAY! WE BROKE 100 REVIEWS! COOKIES FOR ALL! But still, YOU GUYS DIDN'T FILL THE QUOTA FOR LAST CHAPTER! RUDE!
If it's not filled for the chapter (which I won't be telling you when that is) before the Yoh chapter, then I just won't publish it! WAHAHAHA! Oh, next chapter is the last Yoh-Anna conversation so the quota has to be filled for that one too. DO IT OR BESARKI WILL GO BERSERK! It's what I do best. :)
BACK TO THE STUFF THAT ACTUALLY MATTERS!
OHMYGOD! The Yoh chapter is only bzzt chapters away! Wooooo! The excitement is overwhelming. And guess who else is in the Yoh chapter? HA! I'm not telling. You know if you were nice and reviewed. OTHERWISE YOU WAIT, MUNCHIES! Hehehe. I'm just being mean. Ignore me!
Okay, so earlier today, I was reading over what I have for this story so far, and I've come to notice that it reads more like a geography or history lesson than a fanfic. Some people like the facts, and like the way this is written, but I'm sure the vast majority do not. I won't include facts or anything in this chapter, and I really don't have much to say about the US so I probably won't be saying much there either. I'm going to college to be a teacher. Can you tell?
Oh, so like, no one got that last line last chapter, so here's something for reference:
Each character has his or her own text effects added when he or she is speaking telepathically. They are...
Yoh - Bold and Italics
Anna - Italics
Hao - Underline and Italics
(Hana) - Bold, Italics, and (Parentheses)
Hopefully that helps. So, if you still don't get it, that last line from chapter 13 was Hana. Don't fret if you're like WHAT?! It'll be explained this chapter.
redderthanblue: EXTRA SHINY COOKIE FOR YOU! Another Filipino. Not surprised. You guys are everywhere. YOU WON'T ESCAPE THE FILIPINOS! THEY'LL EAT YOUR BRAINS FOR BREAKFAST! ...That was really weird. Forgive me. Anyway, I'm glad that I didn't disappoint! Hee hee. I love hearing that. AND I'M GLAD TO MAKE YOUR DAY! HERE! I'LL MAKE IT AGAIN! Woo!
*Struts off singing A World Without Danger* Props to anyone who knows what that song is or what it's the theme song for. Hahaha.
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I bought a one-way ticket
'Cause I knew I'd never see the ground
Unless I was aboard a jet plane and we were going down
When I wiped the tears from my eyes
The warm water took me by surprise
And I woke up beside the ocean and I realized
I must be in California
~West Coast Friendship, Owl City
(I must be in California...or Portugal. Same difference ;) )
When I awoke the following morning, my head was pounding. I hadn't slept well, though I could only barely remember why.
I had a dream. I was staring at a tall man with long brown hair and a gentle, yet sinister smile. The man looked familiar, but I couldn't say from where. He wore a long cloak, similar to the one Kaa-san wore sometimes, but without the hood, and strange-looking boots with foreign characters. He wore a lot of jewelery--every single piece depicting stars.
Familiar as he was, I couldn't ignore the intense and dangerous aura I felt radiating off him.
After a moment, he took a step towards me, and I quickly backed away. He didn't seem surprised by this. In fact, my reaction almost seemed to amuse him.
"It's nice to finally meet you," He had said. His grin split into something much more villainous.
Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished. I was alone--the only thing there in the silent and limitless white void.
But that didn't last long.
Something unseen ripped and pierced at the fabric as if the void had merely been a large and fragile white screen.
Darkness overtook, and soon even I disappeared. There was nothing, just black for the longest time. However, while there was nothing to see, there was definitely something to hear.
Two people were talking, though I couldn't see them no matter how hard I looked. They were just voices, it seemed, but I knew them. A man and a woman. I recognized them both, but, in my sleepy state, couldn't give them faces.
They talked casually like they had done this many times before. My name came up, and so did Kaa-san's, but at the time, that didn't mean anything to me. Neither did the name of that one video game that I had played once back home.
I gripped my head and scrunched my eyes. A double whammy--a super weird dream followed by a spliting headache. Was there no escape?
"It's about time you woke up," Someone commented. My right eye opened slowly, only to freeze at a squint. The sun was brutal today.
Even with my slit-eye vision, though, I could see what was occurring around me.
For the first time in a while, I was the last one up. Kaa-san and Naka stood a little in front of me, and Matamune stood a bit off reading the message on the wooden sign in front of him aloud.
"Bem Vindo a Portugal?" I pronounced slowly, trying to copy what Matamune had just read, but undoubtedly butchering it terribly.
"That was close, Hana," He praised, sounding pleasantly surprised. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at me. I wasn't sure if that should offend me.
"What did I just say?" I half muttered, half-moaned.
"Welcome to Portugal," He replied. "In essence, at least."
"Oh..." My eyes slid back closed then quickly flew right back open. "WE'RE IN PORTUGAL?!"
Kaa-san rolled her eyes. "Yes, Hana. You seemed content to sleep the day away so we just left without waking you." The way she said that made it sound like they had left me behind, not carried me with them.
"Oh..." I said once more. My head rolled up then I fell over backwards. "We're in Portugal!"
"We've already established that."
"Oh..."
I could sleep for few more minutes, I guess. If they were just going to carry me, what was the harm, right?
Right!
Right.
Right...
...
---0---0---0---0---0---
Someone was mumbling...really loud. Urg. Hadn't anyone taught them manners? Be quiet when people are sleeping!
Obviously, this didn't apply to them.
"We'll be fine, Matamune."
"Yes, I'm sure, but..."
"Really. We'll be fine. Plus, even if something bad happened, we've got this guy with us. Hehehehe."
"Ah. I see, I apologize for not realizing this earlier."
"It's alright."
"Very well, then. What time shall I return, Yoh-kun?"
...Yoh-kun? TOU-SAN?! WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?! AND IF HE'S HERE, WHY AM I STILL SLEEPING?!
"Okay. I will see you there," Matamune apparently agreed...to something. The sound of rocks being moved around was heard and then all went silent.
Helloooo? Hana? I know you're awake.
It was him. There was no doubt about it.
"...Tou-san...?" I forced my eyes to open as I slowly sat up. Sitting across from me on a broken tree branch was a very familiar looking bird with that same old grin.
Well, good morning! He chimed. Er...afternoon. Good afternoon!
"Huh? Wait...what? Hang on, what are you doing here?"
He frowned, confused. Visiting you, of course.
"Just because...?" If he was going to come by this much, why not just stay with us? Kaa-san would be thrilled.
Well...I guess. Is there something wrong?
I swished my hands and shook my head. "N-No, but..."
A sudden motion in the tree beside us caught my attention. My jaw dropped.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" I screamed. I nearly fell off the log that I hadn't realized I was sitting on.
Sitting around idly was a second bird, this one more frightening to look at than Tou-san. It looked like an owl, but it had these really strange arches over its eyes, like demonic eyebrows, and the most malicious eyes I had ever seen! Its feathers were brown with specks of white. Its beak looked like a sharpened stone--something an Ainu would own. I couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through my body. I didn't know it was possible for a bird to look evil, but did this one ever...
Tou-san glanced up at the owl. His face creased with a frown and he whistled a low sigh.
He won't hurt you, so just try to ignore him.
The other bird coughed a laugh. I didn't like his smile.
"Okay," I said, though I wasn't sure that even I could trust those words. The owl grinned at me. I shuddered.
Tou-san jumped off his roost and flew up to the other bird. He landed beside it then attacked it with his talons. It laughed in response, but lifted from the branch and dove toward the ground. Just as it neared the ground, it suddenly changed into a grinning grey wolf. He flashed his teeth at me once more than turned tail and bolted.
I thought my eyes were going to fall out.
Tou-san sighed and returned to sit on the log beside me. (AN: Bad wording, but sit beside me on the log sounds funny)
Sorry about him.
"H-He just--!!!" I couldn't form a coherent sentence to save my life at that point.
Yeah. He does that.
"Can you do that?!" I asked, enthusiastically. Tou-san was the Shaman King, and the Shaman King could do anything, right?
Sure.
I knew it! My excitement overflowed. "Then do it! Change into something else!"
He laughed. Like what?
"Anything!" I exclaimed.
Tou-san grinned then instantly morphed into a happily smiling dog. He barked and licked my hand.
"NO WAY! Turn into something else!"
Hana...hahaha. Fine. A second later, he was a humongous lion. I used to be afraid of lions when I was really little, but seemed silly now. Especially since this lion was my father.
"THAT'S SO COOL!" That was an extreme understatement. It wasn't just cool, it was infinitely awesome!
Ever ridden a horse?
My face immediately fell. "Huh?"
He suddenly lunged forward, grabbed me, and threw me high in the air. "WAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed bloody murder as I flew up then plummeted down.
When I hit the ground, I noticed that it was oddly soft for a patch of dried mud and old grass. When I looked up, I felt like an idiot for not realizing earlier.
I was Tou-san's back, and he was a horse.
He chuckled as he looked over his shoulder at me. Anna hates it when I do stuff like this.
I was tempted to say, "I can see why," but, for the sake of his feelings, I held my tongue.
He shot forward like a bullet from a gun. I gripped his mane for dear life. Since when did horses run this fast?!
"Where are we going?" I yelled, being extra loud to combat the whipping wind.
I don't know! He replied, laughing like an idiot.
"What?!"
Just hold on!
"I'm working on it!" Was he crazy?! How could he not know where he was running to while he was running? "What about Kaa-san? She'll be mad if--" That's when realization finally struck me. Where was Kaa-san?
Hahaha! Just realizing now?
"S-Shut up!" I blushed, utterly embarrassed.
Hehehe. Don't worry. I've done that before, too. Everyone does that, really.
"Kaa-san doesn't."
Oh, yes she does. She's just better at hiding it!
"Really?"
Yeah.
"But speaking of which," I started, bringing it up again, "where is she?"
Don't worry! We have a meeting place.
"Is that where we're going?"
Yup!
"Then why did you just say that you didn't know where you were going?"
'Cause I had forgotten before! But don't worry, I remember now!
For some reason, that really didn't sound too good.
Relax, kid! I know exactly where I'm going!
"That's what I'm afraid of," I muttered.
He laughed like a maniac as he towed us across the last of the European landscape.
---0---0---0---0---0---
Anna will be here soon, Tou-san told me as he sat on my head, a leaf-obsessed wigeon once more.
"Okay," I said quietly, staring out at the huge blue ocean. She probably hitched a ride from that other shape-changer.
Kaa-san had estimated that it would take us several days to cross Portugal, but here I stood, at the edge of the country at the end of only the very first day.
It's true that Tou-san had run like a psycho who had just discovered his feet, but to cross in one day...that was really something.
A cool breeze blew past us, making me shiver.
There's a storm brewing, He told me in the gravest voice I had ever heard from him. I would tell you to stick around and wait it out, but you shouldn't stay here much longer.
"Why not?" I asked, sounding only half-interested.
He leaned over my face and grinned.
Guess.
"Hao's lackeys?"
Bingo. He chuckled. I don't know which one, and he or she may be less dangerous than the storm, but you can run from a storm. You can't run from a psychotic worshiper.
"Guess not."
Ha. Oh...I think I hear my brother.
"You have a brother?" I questioned, confused. Since when did he have a brother...since when did I have an uncle?!
Sure! He was that bird/wolf from earlier. You know--Hao.
I stared at him speechless for several seconds, and then I started screaming. "...YOU AND HAO ARE BROTHERS?! ...HAO'S MY UNCLE?!"
Where have you been, Hana? Hehehe. Everyone knows that!
"I didn't..."
Hehehehe. Oh... His head whipped up and he whirled around. Whoops! Gotta go, Hana! Watch out for that storm!
"Wait!"
Byeeee! And then he lifted off and flew out to sea.
I stared after him like an idiot. "Thanks a lot, Tou-san," I muttered. Always leaving without answering my questions...
"Hana?" Came my mother's voice. I turned around toward it, and sure enough, there she was.
"Hi, Kaa-san," I greeted dully. She smirked.
"Yoh leave in a hurry again?" She guessed.
"Yeah," I admitted. Kaa-san knew everything.
She placed her hand gently on my shoulder. "Don't let it bother you. You know Yoh. He'll be back."
"Yeah," That reminder made me grin. He'd be back.
Eventually.
Besarki: Kind of outlandish, but I wanted it to be really cute since this is the last time Yoh will be visiting. Aww. That's kinda sad. Ha. The other bird--Hao, if you STILL didn't realize that--was a Eurasian Eagle Owl. Those things look seriously scary. Look it up.
Let me clear something up: when Hana wakes up for the second time, he hears two voices. They are both shown as if they are spoken aloud. They are not. Because Hana is half-asleep, he can't differentiate and therefore, it seems like both are speaking vocally. Once he wakes up, he sees that one of them was Yoh, and since his mouth isn't moving when he speaks, the format changes back to the way it normally is. That's kinda confusing, but it you read it over a few times, you'll get it.
Much thanks to Smart Angel for the Portuguese. Talk to everyone soon. FILL THE QUOTA! And no, I won't tell you what it is :D