I don't know what came over me. I was trying to finish the last chapter of my fic and suddenly i found myseft writing this.
Oh well, come with me, join me on this wild ride.
Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei. Let's support Shaman King in any way we can!
Beyond the End of the World
Since he could remember, strange images sometimes assaulted him in his dreams. There were so vivid he would think they were memories, but there were too fantastic, too out of this world, like they were taken from some fictional work.
He tried to tell his parents once about those dreams, but they just thought it was his imagination, a side effect of watching too much television. And for a while he believed them, because, what else could It be? Such things as shamans and ghost didn't really exist, right?
He heard stories, of course, ghost tales were abundant and were an interesting topic for some people, but the things he saw in his dreams were too different. Fighting alongside ghost? Participating in a big tournament to decide God? All those were too unrealistic, and if he were less lazy, maybe he'd write it all down and publish a novel, or maybe sell those ideas to some company to make a movie.
However, there were always something holding him back. He didn't know what it was, and for a long time he just let it be, coming to a certain peace with those dreams…but everything changed when he was ten years old, and that unknown blonde woman started appearing in his dreams.
He remembered waking up gasping for breath, blinking his eyes through the haze of his tears and feeling a deep sadness crushing his soul. He felt so overwhelming that he run to his parents' room and cried helplessly in her mother's embrace. His parents were very worried at seeing him in such state and tried to give him some comfort, but they couldn't comprehend the grief he was feeling. How could they, when not even himself could understand it? Soon, he fell sleep in his mother's arms, too exhausted after that emotional explosion.
It was the first time he could clearly see a person in those dreams, even though he was sure there were other people involved, their images always came to him in a blur. With this woman, things were different, and the feeling of despair in his heart every time he dreamed about her only intensified with the years. He didn't have another breakdown like that one, but the sorrow kept echoing in his soul every waking moment since that day.
After that episode, his parents took him to a psychologic, too concerned with the way the dreams were affecting his mood and his health. When that didn't work, they tried another means, ending with him having to take some pills before going to bed to get a dreamless sleep.
He tried not to think too much about her, too scared of those feelings, but the emptiness he felt was worse. And so, he stopped taking the meds and started pretending, hiding his desolation behind a goofy smile. He managed to fool his family and his friends, living each day like a doll whose string were pulled mechanically.
"YOH!" A familiar yell snapped him out of his thoughts, forcing him to look down to the person standing before him.
"What is it, Manta?" He asked, hiding a yawn behind his hand.
"I've been calling you for the past ten minutes."
"I don't even know why you keep trying, he's a hopeless case." The person sitting next to him said with some humor. "Always falling sleep in our study sessions."
"You're one to talk, Horohoro." Remarked another one, turning the page of the book he was reading. "You never pay attention to the lectures because you keep dozing off."
"Ren is right, you know?" Stated Manta with a little sweat drop, already used to their bickering.
"It's not my fault those lectures are so boring. What do I need organic chemistry for, anyway?" Horohoro complained loudly. Everybody ignored him, having heard those words more times than they could count.
"Yoh, I need you to stay awake; the exams are around the corner…"
Yoh was looking at his little friend, half listening about how important those exams were to their future and how his grades were falling dangerous close to below the minimum required to graduate. When he saw an opening, he just laughed a little and made some joke like it was expected of him, hiding again the broken pieces of his being from their view.
"Don't worry, Manta." He decided to tell him when he saw him growing exasperate by his nonchalant attitude. "Everything will work out."
He didn't know why; those words always gave him strength to survive another day. It was the whole reason he kept going, because he firmly believed everything would work out one way or another.
After parting from his friends, Yoh took the familiar road to the cemetery, expecting a day like any other, where he just laid in the grass and watched the stars until dinner time. However, when he took a turn in the last street before the cemetery, he bumped into someone.
"I'm sor…" He started to apologize with some embarrassment, but when he looked at the person he bumped with, the word died on his lips.
It was her; he was sure of it. The beautiful woman that haunted his dreams. She was real, and she was standing in front of him.
A sudden headache threatened to split his skull open, forcing him to hold his head in his hands and find somewhere to support himself. His soul was screaming and the rush of emotion that came to him was swallow him whole. In the midst of that, he felt like something finally clicked into place and the relieve was so powerful his heart started singing in joy.
A warm feeling spread through his body and the pain started fading away, letting him open his eyes to see the blonde woman standing before him.
"I found you."
Since she was a small child, she realized that those images that keep haunting her dreams were unusual. On one side, they seem too realistic, like an old memory trying to resurface; on the other hand, the feelings that came to her in those dreams were too raw. It scared her at first, the deep loneliness and the painful sorrow that filled her heart after waking up to one of those dreams.
She didn't talk about those images with her mother, knowing how busy she was everyday, working alone to support their little family. Because of that, she didn't want to trouble her about those strange dreams she kept having. And so, she kept silent, burying those scenes and feelings, hoping they would stop tormenting her someday.
She had it controlled after some time, but the New Year's Eve when she was ten years old, everything changed. She didn't think those dreams could get worse, but they did. When that mysterious dark brown-haired man started appearing, the feelings he brought with him left her overwhelmed by the weight of it all. Until that moment, all the faces were a blur, but this one person was crystal clear, and for some reason, the smile she could always see in his face filled her days with inexplicable anguish.
After so many years hiding her emotions behind a cold façade to keep her mother from worry, she grew so used to it that everybody called her the Ice Queen. It didn't matter to her, it was better if they think she was an unfeeling ogre than to show how broken she was inside, how she kept longing for a man that could very well be a figment of her imagination.
"Earth calling to Anna."
"I'm here, Jeanne. What do you need from me?" She asked, turning her head from the glass that let her see the busy street, to look at the person sitting in front of her.
"I was asking what kind of presents you think I should buy for the guys back home." Explained her friend with some patience, already used to her changing moods.
"I'm sure they'll like whatever you brought them." She replied. "Just pick something off the nearest store."
"But Anna! It's not everyday we come to Tokyo, there is so much to see!"
"I'm feel like you just want an excuse for sightseeing."
"Coming for the competition is important, but having the chance to explore this big city…"
Anna let her rambling, content with letting her friend take over the conversation. Jeanne has grown so much since she first met her back in Aomori all those year ago in an interchange program. Now she was here for some swimming competition, and she managed to convince her mother to let Anna come to Tokyo with her because she seemed more and more depressed everyday that passed.
Anna didn't show it, but she was glad to be in Tokyo. With the passing years, she felt a pull that little by little got stronger, like someone was calling insistently for her. Could it be that in this place, she'd find the missing piece of her heart?
Waking every day, missing someone she didn't know, and not being able to see that peaceful smile left her in a state of perpetual desolation. If she were another person, maybe she'd crumble under that emotional torture, but underneath it all there was a slime of hope.
"Everything will work out."
Those words that echoed in her mind were like an anchor. They were what truly gave her the strength to keep going, to whatever fate await her in Tokyo.
After a while, Jeanne had to leave for some meeting with her team, promising they would meet later in the hotel. Anna was left alone inside the cafeteria, free to let her mind wander once again to the man that keep cycling her dreams. With a little sigh, she finally took her things and got out, thinking that some fresh air would help cool her head.
She was absentmindedly walking on the street, not giving too much thought to the things around her, and that was how she ended bumping into someone without realizing, when she turned around a corner.
She was going to admonishment that person, neverminded that she was partly responsible because she was lost in thought, but when saw the person she bumped into, her whole body froze in place.
A rush of images and emotions came to her mind at once; the abandonment, the resentment, and the hatred, all coming together to create a monster born of the deepest circle of hell, threatening to engulf her in despair, but then, a flickering light of hope started appearing in the form of a boy.
An unknown emotion made its way to her heart, getting more and more stronger, embracing her in warm and comfort. It was so powerful that the monster of her visions fell, and this foolish and brave boy stood before her bathed in blood, extending his hand in invitation.
And when her hands connected with his, the darkness that cling to her for so long finally receded, letting her see the light of a bright day. And when she saw how that boy grown into this man, she couldn't control the tears that pooled in her eyes, letting only a thought take precedence about everything else.
"I found you."
"The World is ending, Yoh. The clash of the Gods was too powerful."
"What about you, Nii-chan?" The sorrowful smile he got in return made him painfully aware of the impending doom approaching.
"This is my parting gift for both of you," His older brother told him, having come to terms with his fate. "At least one of us deserve to be happy…"
Everything started fading in a blinding light, deafening the voice of his brother.
"I'm sure that not matter what, you will find each other again."
Years later, when he reminisced about those last moments with his brother and his sacrifice, Yoh would sit on the floor, holding his knees close, and letting the flood of tears out.
Anna would find him, always, and would embrace him without a word, knowing the root of his pain and silently offering her support. And then, both of them would lie down in their room, with their little Hana between them, snoring peacefully, ignorant of the turmoil in his parents' hearts.
And Yoh would smile, in spite of the pain in his heart, because this life that his bother gifted him, although lacking the excitement of his previous' life, was free of the shackles of duty, free of the weight of the world he had to carry on his shoulders for so long that kept apart his family.
One look at his wife and his son, lying beside him, always managed to soothe his soul. And that was something he wouldn't change for anything.
"Everything will work out."
He always believed those words and would keep believing in them, because he knew deep in his heart, that someday he'd also find his brother, because Hao was too stubborn to just disappear like that.
"Everything will work out."
Thanks for reading until this point, odd ride that it was lol
Until another time, have a great day!