Sadly I don't own shaman king; only my oc's and part of the plot. Dang .

Expect some violence, swearing, and funny.

Chapter 14 – home at england

It had been three days since Shinji left, and Hao was sulking. He didn't like how she was gone for so long, and he was beginning to get suspicious. She said she would be back, had promised him just before she left, but then it wouldn't be the first time someone had lied to him, or tried to at least. But now that she had gained the ability to block her mind from his it would be a lot harder for him to tell if she was or not. And what if for some reason or another she was unable to get back? What if she was hurt? Or trapped somewhere? He had expected her back by now. So where was she? It annoyed him that he didn't know, and everyone in camp had gotten wind of his foul mood. It was like a dark ominous cloud floated above his head, and only Opacho had the guts to go speak to him while he was like that.

"Hao-sama?" she asked, her curiosity finally getting the better of her as she watched him silently glare into the fire. He didn't look towards her as he answered.

"Yes Opacho?"

"Why is Hao-sama not happy?"

He looked up, dragging his gaze from the flames to the concerned little girl, a slightly bemused look crossing his face. He hadn't realized that everyone knew he was mad, so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn't really paid attention to anyone else's, but looking around the camp he could see the uncertain looks he was getting from some of his followers.

"What makes you think I'm mad Opacho?" he asked.

"Hao-sama's heart is unsure. Opacho is worried." She answered. It always amazed him how honest she was, and not because she was afraid of him either. A small smile came to his lips. Only one other person did that, and he had no idea where she was. The smile dropped with that thought.

"I'm all right Opacho, there's just something on my mind right now. That's all." He said, knowing that the other people in the camp were listening in.

She didn't seem all that convinced, and for a little girl she was actually pretty smart despite her innocent mind, but she nodded and didn't press the matter any further.

Hao sighed inwardly, drawing his gaze back to the fire and returning to his thoughts.

In England

"Well...were here." Shinji said, her hands casually placed in the pockets of her jeans as she stared up at the great stone building before. The house had been in her family for generations; built in the eleventh century and refurbished over the ages making it one of the oldest buildings in London, and a place that shinji had called home during many lifetimes.

"It hasn't changed much." Nindie noticed.

"It never does." Shinji mused, as the two ascended the mass of stone steps that led to the grand oak door of the main entrance. The place was the size of a fort, and built like one, and yet the front door was always left open, as if daring people to enter. The wood should have been heavy and tricky to push, yet it opened without as much as a creek, allowing shinji inside without much difficulty. It was black inside. Not a single light lit or curtain undrawn, so the moonlight could not even penetrate the suffocating darkness. "Well," she said, listening to her own voice eco around the halls, "this is a warm welcome."

"You don't suppose they've moved do you?" Nindie asked, floating around, curiously inspecting their surroundings.

"I really doubt that."

Suddenly, the lights lit around them with a burst of flame, and a dark shadow swept into the room.

"We have been anticipating your arrival mistress," the cloaked figure said in near whisper, their face downcast to hide their face in the darkness of their hood, "Please, this way, master awaits."

Shinji and Nindie sent each other a side glance, before nodding slightly and following the figure up the great staircase and through a series of halls. The person walked briskly, and their cloak both masked their face and gender, neither girl had any idea who it was, and they kept their guard up. They knew the current master of the manner was a very mysterious person and it was very like them to have a hooded doorman or woman, but they had been tricked more than once by the people of the house, and although it was as much their home as the others, the mansion was no longer in their control and not all family members had agreed with their activity. The current head of the house hold hadn't done anything to try and restrict their movement or their participation in the shaman tournament like he had with some of the others, in fact quit the opposite, he had encouraged it. Although for what reason they weren't sure of, and it would be more than unusual to say it was out of the kindness of his heart. He was the kind of person that manipulated everything around him to make things the way he wants, and everything has to meet to his standards. Shinji didn't know how he would take her sudden 'truce' with Hao, but she was almost certain that he knew. He always knew everything.

They stopped outside of a large wooden door at the end of the hall which the mysterious person held open for them, gesturing for them to go inside. Shinji sent one final look to Nindie, before stepping into the extreme darkness of the room.