DISCLAIMER: Shaman King is not mine!

Wooooooot! Happy Holidays! As a special treat, this chapter, and, if you want, you can head on over to my dA account (link's in my profile) and see a couple pics of Tori (no color, sorry, I suck at it XD). I uploaded them... Two days ago, yeah. They're sort-of spoilers, but I didn't explain any of them in the descriptions :3 Much.

Oh, what else did I want to talk about... I knew there was something, and I told myself to write it down, but I didn't. Oh well. I got a calligraphy kit for Christmas. Borders giftcard (ooh... I can get more Fruits Basket even though I already read it online...), GameStop giftcards (I no longer have to pay out of my own pocket when Pokemon Black & White comes out! :D And even then I'll have some left over for when I get the 3DS!). Got a Deathly Hallows shirt ("OBLIVIATE!" it says, mwahaha), a BIG chest of hardcover Harry Potter books, and pens I wanted to draw with :D Plus a little manikin, although 7 heads high is a bit tall for a manga figure... Never mind Tori, as she's not as tall as an adult, being only 14 .

Plus I got clothes. But who cares about clothes? Certainly not me. Usually.

I need to figure out something for Ren-sama's birthday. Last year it was my first SK fic (don'tgetmestartedonthat), but I don't know what to do this year... Maybe a parody of my first two SK fics. I'll have to get crackin', though, his birthday's in a week o.o Plus I need to get going writin' faster for this, or update only once a week... I'm slowly starting to run out of the chapters I haven't edited, my updated chapters are starting to catch up to my in-writing ones... if that makes sense. If I get done the chapter I'm writing RIGHTNOW (39) done before Tuesday, I'll upload 29 that day; if not, I'll upload Friday. Conditions permitting, of course.

If you haven't figured out that I'm just babbling to may or may not get more words, well... I don't know.

Normal text and "speaking," thought, 'signing/mouthing,' 'telepathy.'

Stupid basic filler episode... I don't care about Lyserg's parents... Or those three frickin' goons...

Twenty-Eight: The Diethels

At the hospital, a nurse patched up my arm (apparently, there was still a small sliver of glass in it, but no biggie). When she was finished, she took another look at Yoh, Ryu, HoroHoro and Ren across the room (the latter two had already been attended to and were bickering to each other), then back at me.

"What happened to you three?" she asked, in English. She obviously didn't know any Japanese, or else she would've known that HoroHoro was commenting on her body at that precise moment.

I blinked, then signed, 'Those two got into a scuffle.'

The nurse stared at me for a moment. "Oh… so, you're deaf?"

Ah. How other people could feel so awkward. Good thing I was used to this.

I shook my head, then pointed at my throat and mouthed a bit.

"Er…" The nurse looked incredibly uncomfortable; shouldn't she have learned at least a little bit of stuff about other languages? Maybe she was new and couldn't handle pressure well. In either case, I didn't really care.

"She's mute," Ren called over in English, obviously irritated. "Baka," I heard him add. I almost snorted in laughter at this for some reason.

"Oh." Her face went a little red. "Well. Um, you all are set. Just go out to the reception area to pay."

"Thank you," Yoh replied, his obvious accent seeming to unnerve the nurse a little more. I stood up from the bench and followed the others out the door and left the nurse behind.

"That nurse looked a lot like Aoya Imori, didn't she?" HoroHoro asked. Instead of his usual headband, his head was wrapped in bandages that looked to be more for show than anything else.

"Be quiet," Ren snapped, wrapping his own roll of bandages around his arm with a scowl on his face. "Can't you stay quiet for even a second?"

We came into the reception area and saw Lyserg stand up from where he had been sitting on a bench with Morphine.

"Lyserg," Ryu began, "They are all okay."

"There was nothing wrong with me to begin with," Ren grumbled.

I rolled my eyes. Says the guy who's wrapping a bandage on his arm.

"You're trying to hard," HoroHoro pointed out. "You're spear's in pieces."

Ren's tongari twitched a few times in succession. "What did you say? Compared to your snowboard, it's…"

"I'm really sorry," Lyserg apologized, bowing his head. "I will pay for all the medical expenses." He held out a blank check to Yoh. "Please write any amount you wish on here and use it."

Oh, hell, I'd take that (not that I really needed money, but the Patch always could use a little extra). I bet HoroHoro would too.

"Trying to buy your way out, huh?" Ren grunted, arms crossed. He was not amused.

"Please use it to repair your weapons," Lyserg added. "Well then…" He turned around and began walking away.

"Lyserg."

The green-haired boy stopped at Yoh's voice, but did not turn around.

"I told you I would listen to your reasons," Yoh said, very friendly.

Lyserg looked back at us - more at Yoh, actually.

()()()()()()()()()()

We sat in a diner booth - somehow, I ended up sitting between Ryu and Ren. I ignored them both and sipped on my hot chocolate (okay, so it wasn't winter yet - big whoop. I liked my hot chocolate - plus, it didn't seem that they had any good tea) and waited for Lyserg to speak.

The English boy looked at his teacup, eyes downcast. "My father, Liam Diethel, was the world's number one detective and an expert of dowsing," he said slowly. "He was… my role model. When I was six, I was crazy about finding the key that my father hid. If I could find it, I would be one step closer to my father. That's what I believed." He paused for a moment. "I managed to find the key hidden in Big Ben; I freed Morphine from her cage and went to show my parents that I was a dowser. But when I got back… Everything was on fire. Someone had killed my mother and father.

"After I had inherited the oversoul, I finally found out that he was Hao, and I learned that he was going to participate in the Shaman Fight. I met one of the ten Priests, Brumu-san, in Tokyo, and got my Oracle Bell like I was stealing it. But still… I was uneasy. Hao's allies increased in number. That's why, to ensure that I could defeat him, I needed allies as well."

By this time, Lyserg was biting the edge of his thumbnail in thought. I weighed his explanation in my mind; it was sad that he grew up without his parents, but living for revenge wasn't the way. Especially if you wanted revenge against Hao. There was no way Lyserg would win, especially at his level. Maybe, if he got strong enough allies, he'd stand at least a chance of surviving for a little while against Hao, but Hao was ruthless. The only one who had a chance of defeating Hao was his twin, Yoh, but certainly not at the level that Yoh was at now could he do it.

Tears were streaming down HoroHoro's and Ryu's faces as they sobbed at Lyserg's story. I, too, was somewhat touched, but the idea of revenge was still mostly foreign to me, even though I supposed that I had wanted to get revenge on Ren for killing Chrom (and for almost killing me and Yoh multiple times), even though I wasn't incredibly close to the priest. Only one slap to Ren was enough to make me rethink, though; revenge wasn't my style. Though, I hardly knew what my style was. Ugh, sometimes I think my opinions are so fickle.

Maybe I had a grudge problem, but I didn't completely trust Lyserg yet - I didn't know if I ever would. I knew I'd never trust him like the others, at least.

"I never thought that you had such a tragic past," Ryu cried, holding an arm over his face.

"Yeah," HoroHoro agreed. "Compared to your past, our stories are…" He reached over in an attempt to give Lyserg a hug or something, but the English boy stood suddenly and HoroHoro fell onto the seat sideways.

"But I was mistaken," Lyserg murmured, staring despairingly at the table. "There's no way someone as weak as me could have any allies. I have to become strong first."

Yoh stood as well, his usually calm demeanor suddenly concerned; it looked odd on his face, but it wasn't like concern was foreign to him. "Hey. That's not true."

"You don't have to force him to join us." Ren was suddenly standing up and pointing the tip of his Kwan Dao (which was broken in half) at Lyserg. His arm was right in front of my face, and for some reason, this transfixed me more than the fact that he was basically threatening Lyserg right then and there.

"Any more and it would be a waste of time," Ren finished before stalking away swiftly outside the diner.

"Oi, Ren!" Yoh slid out of the booth and followed the Chinese shaman out.

I blinked after them, wondering if I should leave too. Follow them, figure out what they were thinking. I shook myself mentally, telling myself for probably the thousandth time that I was not the decision-maker in this group; I shouldn't even be part of the decisions. My opinions never mattered, anyways, after having entire lives of being nothing but neutral.

I glanced back at my cup and then finished off the last of my hot chocolate. I stared at the cup for a moment longer, not caring that the entire table was silent for a moment. I stood up almost suddenly and signed, 'I'll be right back,' then went to the bathroom.

Though I disliked water that wasn't nearly-boiling to be on my skin, I splashed a bit from the sink onto my face. I felt like I was in some kind of funk, and I needed to snap out of it, whatever it was. I looked at myself in the mirror, staring at the blue eyes. They suddenly narrowed in emotional overload. When had I last looked at myself, and known what I was doing, what I wanted, what I felt? Had I ever done it?

I shook myself violently, and splashed more water on my face before drying it with a paper towel. I left the bathroom, walking straight past HoroHoro and Ryu (who didn't seem to notice me at all; I think HoroHoro might've been chasing Kororo around for some reason, but I didn't care) and out into the street. I needed some air.

I took a moment to look around and decide where to go. I blinked when I noticed Yoh a little ways away, leaning against a tree like he could easily take a nap. Seeing him somehow reminded me that I hadn't seen Lyserg inside… I sighed. I needed a break from everything. Ignoring Yoh (who I think opened one eye at me) I walked away from the diner and from him.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Somehow, after an immeasurable amount of time went by, my wanderings brought me to a large chain-link fence surrounding an empty field. I frowned at the shamanic energy in the area, recognizing Lyserg's aura and three others. Maybe I'd unconsciously followed their energies here, like a dog would a scent or something.

…I seriously just compared myself to a dog. I must really be in a funk.

There were a lot of bushes on the inside of the fence; I scuttled over towards them and peered through the fence to watch.

Lyserg was facing off against three goons I vaguely recognized from the Shaman Fight in Tokyo; one muscled-up man, a gangly guy with an afro, and a senior citizen with some weird scepter-thing.

The senior held out a card, and in a flash, his spirit hid him and the other two behind two different shields of invisible cards. This didn't perturb Lyserg, however; the dowser focused for a moment, then shot out his pendulum, oversouling Morphine into it. Easily, the pendulum broke the shield protecting afro-guy and muscle-man.

Lyserg's pendulum wire went slack.

The two men grinned as they held up the cage that trapped Morphine.

"T-that's Morphine's cage!" Lyserg stuttered, taken aback. "How?" He stiffened. "Could it be…Hao?"

"He's been aware of your weakness for a long time," the old man said, walking up behind him.

"Without your spirit, we won't even need our oversouls to defeat you," muscle-man snickered as he and afro-guy stalked up.

I watched as one of them knocked Lyserg to the ground; the dowser barely resisted at all. My fingers clenched around the wire of the fence. Apparently, Milly had come with him, but the trio had trussed her up and left her to hang from a tree. Something told me that maybe I should help, but a very dark side of me said that Lyserg deserved this for trying to hurt us. I knew Lyserg had his reasons, and that I really should come out and help, but I just couldn't bring myself to move.

"What's the matter with you?"

Startled, I whipped my head around to see Ren standing behind me, his eyes hard and unreadable.

"I thought you'd have gotten over your little anger issues," he continued, stalking forward. "Guess I was wrong."

I could only stare as he easily leapt over the fence, and hurried forward to rescue Lyserg from the trio, who were arguing amongst themselves over who got to finish the dowser off. As if Lyserg were as light as a feather, Ren lifted him and hurried away from the bickering, oblivious men to place the English boy on the ground. There was no thought process going on in my mind; I only saw Ren's determined eyes as he stood and faced the men.

"Don't!" Lyserg pleaded, weakly pushing himself up. "I destroyed your medium. You can't oversoul right now."

"So what?" Ren asked. He smirked. "It's been a while since I've done this. Bason!"

My eyes widened as I watched Ren perform a simple unity with his spirit. Hyoi Gattai… that couldn't beat an oversoul. What was Ren doing?

"The leader said he would make you one of us," I heard Ren say to Lyserg as he glared at the opponents. With that, the Tao jumped straight into the air, kicking one of the men straight in the face and managing to dodge the oversoul counterattack.

Ren was at a disadvantage here. He and Lyserg were in trouble. I grabbed the fence with both hands as if I was going to scale it, then stopped myself. It was against my rules to attack those men, but I could go shield Lyserg. Neither sounded like a good choice to me (okay, so I'll admit, I didn't like Lyserg! Okay!); what I really wanted to do was help Ren to fight against them. But I couldn't…

…unless it was in self-defense.

I could tell that Nix was completely opposed to the idea, but I oversouled him anyways. I lifted off with my wings and hopped over the fence. I blinked in surprise when I saw that HoroHoro had appeared, united with Kororo.

Before I could see if anyone else had come, the old man yelled and had his oversoul shoot out cards like razors at HoroHoro and Ren, who pitifully shielded their faces against the attack. Quickly, I jumped in between them and the man and folded my wings in front of myself to protect against the onslaught.

The man stopped his attack and glared at me. "Young lady, I believe it would be best if you left before we're forced to hurt you."

I raised an eyebrow but didn't respond otherwise.

After being prompted by HoroHoro, Lyserg dashed past me towards Morphine's cage, but tripped at the attack from muscle-man, who then stood over him threateningly. I made a sort of jerking motion towards him, but stopped myself, mentally cursing the frustration I felt against my rules.

"Morphine!" Lyserg cried as the man swung his oversoul-anchor in preparation to strike. However, before he could, Ryu appeared out of nowhere and knocked the man onto the ground with his oversoul.

"What are you guys going to do?" Yoh stepped out of the bushes, his oversoul on as well. His eyes were as calm as ever, but he was smirking a bit. "We still have our mediums."

"We can't turn back now!" The old man's clown oversoul shot out more aura-encased cards, which Ryu easily cut to shreds before causing the man to fall to the ground.

"Who would've thought that you would come first, Ren?" Ryu noted.

A pang of guilt shot through me, and I was one hundred percent sure that Ren was thinking the same thing that I was; that I could have easily been the first one here to help. However, Ren said nothing about it.

Yoh smiled. "I figured as much. Ren isn't cold-hearted."

"I just couldn't stand watching them, that's all," Ren growled, hands on his hips.

"Sure, sure," Yoh laughed.

Ren blushed and scowled while HoroHoro grinned. I lowered my eyes for a moment.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" the afro-man suddenly shouted. "You're letting your guard down!" He held up his medium. "I'll squash all of you with Jump!"

A giant, Loch Ness Monster-esque spirit was suddenly hurting down towards us, its fat, splayed fins ready to squish us like bugs.

"It's huge!" HoroHoro yelled.

"It's no big deal!" Ryu scoffed.

"Wait!" Lyserg called. "Everyone, let me do it!"

"What the hell did you say?" afro-man demanded. I followed his gaze to where Morphine's open cage sat, then looked up to see that Lyserg's Big Ben Wire was aimed directly at the Loch Ness Monster oversoul. Afro-man's jaw dropped.

Lyserg yelled, and his oversoul stabbed into the Loch Ness Monster, squishing it to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

()()()()()()()()()()()

A little while later, at sunset, we all regrouped under a lamppost at a bench. Lyserg held out a map on his lap, the crystal of his pendulum pointing towards northern Arizona. Morphine sat on his arm.

"I'm not absolutely positive," Lyserg pointed out, "but many contestants are headed in this direction. I can only assume that they know the whereabouts of the village."

Actually, Patch Village was more southeast than where Lyserg's pendulum was pointing, but I wasn't going to correct him.

"In other words, we should head in that direction as well," HoroHoro clarified, peering at the map.

"Hai," Lyserg agreed.

"All right," Yoh called cheerily. "Then let's head in that direction at a nice, slow pace."

Lyserg stood. "But Hao and the others should be there as well. At this rate, I'll drag you guys into the fight against Hao."

I blinked, just barely managing to hide an eye roll. This group already had two things that Hao wanted: me and Yoh. In Hao's world, Lyserg was probably just a minor little nuisance. A bug easily squashed. Or burned.

I turned and followed the others as we started walking away. I felt guilty about not helping Lyserg before, but I still didn't really like him all that much. I could deal with him, though.

I frowned. Maybe Ren was right. Maybe I did have anger issues.

Or just issues in general.