Chapter 5: Shaman Azumak
Gohan was happily snoozing away in the land of nod when suddenly the cocoon of bedsheets covering him was abruptly ripped off. If that wasn't bad enough, the icy draughts that followed gave him a rather rude awakening. (A/N: Get your mind out of the gutter, you lot- Gohan WASN'T in the buff!)
"Rise and shine, Gohan! We've got a big day ahead of us!" grinned Neroh.
"What time is it?" he asked, yawning and stretching his muscles, and not even bothering to open his eyes.
"Hmm… judging by the suns, it's about 5am."
"What?!? That's the middle of the night, as far as I'm concerned! Goodnight!" he then curled into a ball and fell asleep again.
Neroh put her hands on her hips and tutted. God, what a lazy bugger! She gave him a quick jab in the side, which caused him to yelp in shock, and he fell out of the bed and landed in a crumpled heap on the other side.
"Alright, alright! I'm getting up!" he muttered from somewhere on the floor. He got up and dusted himself off, and was startled when he saw Neroh. She looked like a Saiyan! Her hair had been dyed black and she was in the process of making her tail brown. Gohan stared questioningly at her.
"What? I have to do this if I'm to get into Okri-nama City without anyone finding out who I really am!" said the half-breed female.
"Are you ashamed of who you are, having to dye your hair?" asked Gohan, getting himself ready and unintentionally sounding rude.
"Gohan, you have NO idea what I would have to put up with…" she muttered as she finished washing the loose dye particles out of her tail and using the energy from her hand to act as a kind of hairdryer. She then grabbed a home-made rucksack, slung it over her shoulder and walked outside, ready to take off. "I've packed something for you to eat on the journey there, seeing as you got up so late!"
Gohan just scowled at her- he had only known her for two days and she was already being bossy!
God, if she turns out to be exactly like my mother, I'll kill myself! It's bad enough that I know one female with a mean temper…
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Neroh's tune had changed when the city of Okri-nama came into view after the two-and-a-half hours she and Gohan spent flying.
"Ah, it's been so long since I've been here!" said Neroh cheerfully.
Gohan was surprised at the sight of the city. Okri-nama seemed… pretty basic. He was expecting it to be like the cities back home, with huge skyscrapers, thousands of shops and streets bustling with people. Well, the streets WERE busy, but the place looked more like an overgrown village!
"This… is a 'city'?" he questioned, with a little chuckle heard in his voice.
Neroh ignored his sardonic comment as they touched down in the square and Gohan saw pure Kagi-jins for the first time. They had jade colored hair, just like Neroh, but they looked completely different from her. Eyes were yellow, and tails were hairless and jade colored. At the end of the tail was a cerulean blue arrowhead-shaped tip. They also had only four digits on each hand instead of five.
"Ah, so that's why you dye your hair and tail, because you hardly look like a Kagi-jin!" exclaimed Gohan. Neroh almost had a heart attack.
"Shh! Keep your voice down, will ya?" she hissed, her face flushing as she hurried to clamp her hands over his mouth. "Are you trying to get me found out? Kagi-jins have exceptional hearing!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know! Can you let go of me now? Your suffocating me!" he squeaked as he pried her hands off his face. She had covered his nose as well as his mouth! Neroh cooled down and pulled him away from the square.
"Just… try not to say anything unless it's important, right?" she muttered. "Oh and another thing- don't say my name at all when you're speaking to me, ok? Everyone on Reikagia knows the name Nerohtyrakoshi, but they'll know what you mean when you even say 'Neroh'!" Gohan nodded slowly. He felt guilty that he almost gave away her true identity. She took him on a tour in Okri-nama until they were standing outside an old and run-down building, at the far edge of the city.
"This is where you'll get your suppressant band," she said. "Yours will be different to mine because of the different lunar energies that need to be suppressed."
They entered the building, and it was like a witch doctors' hut on the inside, with all the trinkets, herbs, voodoo dolls and suchlike scattered all over the place. Aromatic herbs were being boiled inside a cauldron in the centre and tribal panpipe music was heard coming from the back. They walked to the far end and saw an ancient shaman, muttering incantations while fingering different colored stones on a necklace. Gohan noticed that the shaman looked somewhat strange compared to the other Kagi-jins; his hair had turned silvery, probably through age, and his eyes were odd-colored. One was yellow, and the other red.
"My, he's a weird looking Kagi-jin, and a very old one at that!" he muttered to Neroh.
"He's the shaman I told you about, the one that sealed Artek in Tak Xenath, remember? His name is Azumak, but everyone just calls him Azu. And give him a break- he IS 2000 years old, after all!" Gohan stared at her in disbelief.
"You've GOT to be kidding me… how's he so old?"
"He's immortal." Replied Neroh. She smirked as she saw Gohan's jaw drop to the floor.
"See that?" she said, pointing to the ring on Azu's middle finger that had a strange blue aura surrounding it. "Legends say it is the key to Azu's immortality. No one knows where the ring came from and how he got it- it's a total mystery."
"Hasn't anyone tried to take it off him, and use it for themselves?"
"It's impossible to remove that ring. A strong force seems to hold it on. Believe me, I failed miserably when he asked me to take the ring off of him! He and the ring are one- two powers eternally joined. Anyway, enough talking- let's go get your band!"
The two adolescents walked over to where Azumak was chanting. He sensed the two, and he ceased his murmurs and smiled at them with broken and yellowed teeth.
"Welcome, my children," he drawled, beckoning them over. "How may I be of service to you?"
"My friend here needs a suppressant band," said Neroh.
He squinted at Gohan. "Yes, yes. A Saiyan suppressant band, I presume."
"That's right," she said.
"And in exchange for this band you will give me…?" he asked.
Neroh searched her pockets and her rucksack until finally, she was forced to give up her silver bracelet encrusted with small semiprecious jewels. He held Neroh's bracelet up between thumb and forefinger and inspected it closely through his odd eyes.
"Ah, yes. That will do. Be patient, my children, while I go and get the band." He got up from where he was sitting and shuffled away to a small room where all the suppressant bands were kept. Gohan turned to Neroh.
"Why did you give him that? Don't you have any money?" he whispered.
She cocked her head to one side. "Money? What's money?"
"You… don't… know?"
"Not until you tell me what it is."
A sweatdrop appeared on Gohan's forehead. "Well… uh… money, it… it comes in the form of printed paper and metal disks. Um… people on Earth use it to exchange for goods, like what you did with your bracelet, and-"
"-Why would anyone want to trade their stock for little bits of paper and metal disks? A pretty pointless and crappy way of dealing goods, if you ask me… " Butted in the half Kagi-jin.
"I hadn't finished!" he snapped. Neroh's hands flew to her mouth. Gohan could just about make out the words 'I'm sorry' from underneath them. "Never mind- it looks like you're getting on fine and dandy without money…"
At that point Azumak had returned with the band. Unlike Neroh's, which had a two lime green jewels fixed inside the band, this one had two white jewels.
"There! One Saiyan suppressant band." He said as he held it out to Gohan.
"Thank you." Said the demi-Saiyan.
Azu looked over to Neroh.
"And what about you, young lady? Are you getting one?"
"No, no, I've got one already," she beamed.
The old shaman stroked his rough, wrinkled chin for a few minutes.
"I can recall the faces of every customer I have served, but I don't remember trading you one, my dearie," he said with a tone that struck fear deep into Neroh's heart. "Unless…!"
Azu stretched his hands out in front of him and muttered a spell in Ancient Kagi-jin tongue. Before Neroh knew what had happened, she was stuck fast where she stood. She couldn't move at all! Azu grabbed hold of her tail, causing her to cry out in pain.
"What have you done to her?" shouted Gohan.
"Never you mind, lad; this is between me and Miss."
"Let go of her right now!" Gohan tried to move to save her, but he too had been paralysed.
Neroh watched in horror as Azu rubbed a small patch of her fur the other way, revealing the jade skin beneath. He smirked broadly, then released the two of the paralysis spell after he had let go of her tail.
"Just as I had thought- young Nerohtyrakoshi."
Neroh looked down at the floor, too ashamed to look Azu in the eye.
"You know that you are not allowed to be here-"
"-I know! I was just showing my friend- my only friend- around, that's all! I thought no one would have recognised me…"
Azumak sighed slowly.
"Well, I won't tell anyone that you were here. To tell you the truth, I thought it was wrong that you got banished to the Forest of Eternal Shadow, but the people of this planet are too stubborn! I too knew how strong Artek was."
"Really? You won't tell anyone I was here?"
"Not a word will be said."
"Oh, thank you Azu, thank you!" beamed Neroh. She looked over to Gohan.
"Let's go home."
"Wait a minute," called the old shaman. "There's something that you must know."
"What is it?" queried Neroh.
"I have sensed a terrible energy growing within the bowels of Reikagia. I fear that Artek is going to make his presence known sometime soon."
"But how? Artek can't escape the Flames Beneath unless something happens to you, right?"
"That's true, but it has been eight years since he was sealed away. He will have accumulated enough energy now, and he'll need something to happen that will set him free. I'm afraid I don't know what that something is, so I cannot prevent it. I just hope you have been training for this situation."
"Why should I bloody bother? Everybody knew that Artek kicked my ass the last time! What's gonna stop him from doing it again?"
"Nothing if you keep that attitude! He may be strong, but a true warrior fights with a clear conscience, and a willing heart! If you keep that in mind, you are sure to beat him. I know you will. You'll do this planet proud yet, Nerohtyrakoshi!"
"Thanks, Azu. We'd best be off, Gohan."
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As they flew back home, Gohan studied his suppressant band with great enthusiasm. He asked Neroh one or two questions about it, and told her about his battle with Cell when he was a kid and how Azu was right about that 'true warrior' thing, but she was far away and dreaming. She knew that it was going to take more than just blind faith to beat a terrifying power like Artek…