Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

Chapter 38

Tell Me It's A Lie

Moon woke up to the sound of humming, she felt arms hugging her, she felt her body resting against someone else's, someone rocking from left to right while humming a lullaby. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up; it was Shira, smiling down at her. The room was bathed in sunshine.

"Just a bad dream." She murmured as she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

Moon woke up, remembered waking up a few times earlier, each time feeling a certain amount of pain. She would always hear a distant ruckus. Sometimes she felt someone next to her, either holding her hand, gently caressing her cheek or stroking her hair. But in each time, she would have no strength to do anything. This time though, she mustered up some strength to actually open her eyes. She frowned; the ceiling looked different from before. She looked left and right, realization dawned upon her a few moments later. She wasn't in her room, in fact, she wasn't even in her own house. Pictures of what she thought was a nightmare played through her mind, that's when she realized that it wasn't a nightmare at all. The soft yellow curtains prevented the light from entering, she tried to get up but an unbearable pain flowed through her body, a soft moan escaped her lips. She tried to turn around but it was no use. Her back ached, how long has she been asleep in this position? She sighed and closed her eyes, and then suddenly she heard the room's door being opened.

"Are you awake yet, Moon?" She heard Shira say with a sigh.

"SHIRA!" Moon tried to shout with excitement, but her mouth was so dry, it came out as a croak. But that didn't seem to bother her at all; the big happy grin was still on her face. She tried to sit up but only managed to lean on her elbows. Shira quickly knelt beside the bed with a smile plastered on her face.

"You finally woke up!" She exclaimed and then hugged her tightly. Moon giggled at the feeling, she ignored the pain, she was too happy.

"You must be thirsty and hungry too. I'll go and get you something to…" She said and attempted to stand up but was stopped my Moon holding onto her arm.

"How long have I been asleep?" Moon asked confused a little. Shira smiled at her kindly.

"Three days." She told her. Moon stared at her for a few moments until the information was registered in her mind.

"And…where am I? I mean…where are we?" She asked.

"We're in Adam and Yura's house."

"What about our house?" Shira knelt down beside her again.

"It burned down baby, remember?" Moon frowned at this.

"What do you mean by burned down?" She asked slowly, uncertain to what the answer would be. The events were still fuzzy in her mind, a fast blur of pictures that made no sense. Shira held her close in a hug, gently rubbing her back.

"Nothing's left of it Moon, nothing but the remaining ashes. The place crashed down when that big monster came out."

"But how did it burn down?" Moon asked after a while.

"I don't know and right now, I don't really care. All that matters to me is that you're okay." Shira told her softly, stood up and went out the room. Moon didn't know what she was feeling right now, too many emotions clashing inside her at the same time that it left her emotionless. She finally sat up, seeing the many bandages tied around her torso. Something felt wrong, amiss. Even if she was in Yura's house, something felt so wrong. But it was just a feeling, so she simply ignored it. Shira soon came with a tray with food and water, Moon thanked her with a cheerful smile and dug in, realizing how hungry she was. Shira sat beside her all the time, just watching and talking from time to time.

The days passed as well, Moon's injuries only seemed deep, but they were merely scratches and scrapes. The only reason for her exhaustion was the amount of power she had used up that night. Then life turned back to normal, Moon training with both Yura and Sarah, Adam and Shira constantly arguing and then everyone goes and minds his own business. Moon still wondered why David hadn't talked to her ever since, but she figured that it was because of everything going exactly as planned. Part of the riddle had been solved, but there were three more parts to figure out.

A Friend will die, your thoughts will collide. But who would that friend be? And what does it mean with thoughts will collide? The second part was The giant living underneath, he will soon be freed, the wrath will be unleashed. She wasn't really sure if that part has already been fulfilled or not. The giant is clearly the monster that had appeared the other night. It was big but…somehow; something inside her told her that this was only a portion of him, a tiny piece of his big puzzle. Of course! If you put it that way, she had channeled the dark powers and sent it towards him, the gladiator, therefore making him stronger, probably bigger. Es, that wasn't his real size. Then there was the third part, The black rose will arise, the dead thorns will sting, will you be the queen? Well, it was understandable, more or less. The rose and thorns that had appeared then, it went along with it. But there had to be something more behind it. Then there was that repeated question, On the inside, are you dead or alive? Fortunately, that was the one thing she had completely figured out, she had to stay alive inside. This meant that she has to keep her spirit alive, not her body. She has to somehow withstand what's ahead and not fall into depression or whatever negative emotions there are.

"What are you so deep in thought with?" Sarah asked playfully. Moon smiled at her, she had completely forgotten that she was still at school.

"Nothing important." She replied, sounding cheerful. Sarah sat down beside her on the steps in a lazy manner.

"Come on, you're fifteen for god's sake, this is the time to have fun! Go to parties, listen to music, and play around, just simply doing stuff that you enjoy. Why can't you do any of that?" Sarah asked. Moon shrugged.

"I guess I don't have time for them."

"You're too serious and down to earth sometimes, you know?" Sarah replied tonelessly. Moon laughed slightly.

"I think you forgot one thing though."

"Really? What?" Sarah asked looking at her.

"I hang out with my friends and do many things that normal teenagers can't do." She told her with a grin on her face.

"You got that right." Sarah said with a laugh. Then Moon laughed as well.

OOOO

Back at Yura's house,

"I want that pen!" Moon shouted as she ran across the hall.

"Come and get it then!" Yura teased and stuck out his tongue. Then he dashed away. Moon gritted her teeth and ran after him.

Adam and Shira were sitting peacefully on the living room's couch. Shira idly flipping through channels and Adam reading the newspaper. All of a sudden, a white figure crossed by followed by another blue figure. The speed in which they were running with startled both of the grown ups. They both looked around and finally found Yura holding up a pen as high as he could while Moon had him pinned on the wall and was standing on her toes with an arm outstretched, trying to grab the pen away. Then a loud thud was heard in that far corner of the room, a few shouts and wails, and then Moon stood up with a victorious, smug look on her face along with a satisfied smirk and a pen held in her hand as she headed towards the door.

"What in the world was that about?" Adam asked with curiosity when Moon was right in front of them.

"I was writing my essay when Yura snuck behind me and snatched my pen away. I don't write any essay except with this pen, it's my lucky pen." She explained. Adam blinked at her then turned to look at Yura.

"And you did this because?"

"Ugh, ow. Because she's been no fun the last couple of days, I thought this would cheer her up." Yura answered as he sat up, nursing his now sore cheek. "I guess it did the trick."

"By the cost of being beaten up by a girl." Moon told him teasingly and stuck out her tongue. Then she lightly skipped her way back up to her room. Yura sighed exasperatedly.

"I can't believe I lost to a girl!"

"Huh, that's what you get when you mess with Moon, and she is not any normal girl." Shira said while shaking her head with a smirk.

"Yura if you let yourself be beaten that badly then I suggest that you train a bit more."

"Heh, look who's talking! You're the one who always drags him into those stupid healing lessons of yours." Shira said with a crazily amused grin on her face.

"They're not stupid." Adam snapped at her.

"Oh yes they are. Compare your son to Moon, Moon refused the healing lessons but did great progress in combat while your son is the complete opposite."

"Um, I'm still here." Yura reminded them as he waved his hand.

"She is the one with no talent, proves how you've taught her. Healing requires lots of concentration and an ability to control the amount of power you're letting out."

"What are you trying to say? That I've taught her wrong?"

"Precisely." Adam replied with a nod and a smile.

"WHAT?" Shira yelled in his face. Yura sighed, here they go again, ignoring everyone and fighting over things. He slowly walked out of the room and unconsciously headed towards Moon's room, lost in deep thought. The part where you control the exact amount of foryoku needed, Moon needed that more than anything now, but he was probably the only one who knew that. It was then that he knocked at her door and went in.

"Hey." He said in a low voice. Moon turned around and smiled at him.

"How's that swollen cheek?" She asked with an impish grin, but her eyes held a twinge of regret. He smiled at her.

"Still swelling." He answered with a chuckle.

"Sorry." She whispered.

"It's okay." He assured her and walked further in.

"You know what you need?" He asked with a start.

"No, what?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Stability." He answered in a serious tone.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"You need to learn how to keep your powers stable; you must be the one in charge, not the other way around. You need to let out an amount of power that is just enough to feed what you're doing. Do you understand me Moon?" He asked seriously, but still kept his careless attitude. Moon blinked at him, it somehow made sense and she had already thought of the problem, but couldn't find a solution to it. Somehow, Yura seemed to know everything, he would always know what to do and when to do it, even though she hasn't spoken a word about it. That part of him made her wonder whether she really knew him, but she never let the questions lurking in her mind to go out.

"So what am I to do?" She asked seriously after a moment, her tone completely changing. He smiled at her.

"I'll handle that. But not right away, just give me some time and I'll be sure to teach you." He replied to her question with an easy smile on his face. Moon looked at him skeptically for a moment.

"You can trust me." He added. Moon blushed slightly, smiled at him a thankful smile and shook her head inwardly. Of course she trusted Yura!

OOOO

Nighttime, Shira just entered the room she shared with Moon. Moon was sitting on her bed hugging her knees and staring into space.

"Hey!" Shira said with a grin as she roughly rubbed Moon's arm, making her giggle. She sat right behind her, arms hugging Moon fondly.

"What is my dear Moon thinking about?" She asked softly.

"Many things." Moon answered after a moment.

"Like what things?" She asked as she rested her chin on Moon's shoulder.

"Like that time…when I accidentally called you mother." Moon slowly stated.

"Ah, that?" Shira asked with a faint smile, remembering the incident.

"It wasn't entirely an accident, I mean, I see you as a mother sometimes…but I look at you as a sister more than a mother." Moon explained as she curled up against Shira.

"That's understandable, though you wouldn't talk to me till two days passed." Shira added. Moon smiled weakly and yawned.

"You seem tired." Shira remarked with a chuckle. Moon nodded her head and closed her eyes, resting her head on Shira's shoulder. Shira only smiled and held her close.

OOOO

"So you want me to teach you the basics of teaching it?" Adam asked his son, still not convinced.

"Yeah dad, that way I can teach it to her." Yura repeated for the fourth time.

"But if I couldn't let the idea sink in, why do you think you can?" His father retorted. Yura sighed and crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh.

"Everyone has their own way of teaching, and their own way of learning too. Your way of teaching is way too hard, since I caught up on the idea, I can simplify it to her and thus, teach her." Yura explained.

After a few more minutes, Adam finally agreed to Yura's suggestion and started teaching him.

Next morning,

"Alright! We'll start today; Yura Arisawa's special training program has officially begun! Get ready for some hard training, alright?" Yura announced excitedly.

"YOU GOT IT!" Moon and Sarah cheered happily in unison.

Thunder: I hope you all liked it, I know it's not much…I didn't even end it as I've planned but…on the other hand, I really hate it when I write too much, I didn't quite re-check the whole thing so if you find anything wrong tell me. Just let me know what you think!

Please review!