Chronicles of the Killer Angels

by Nes Mikel

AU fic. What if Manta aspired to become a Shaman in the beginning? This is the story of him and his friends, the chronicle of the Killer Angels. Discontinued.

2. Shaman X Shaman

"Chronicles of the Killer Angels"

By Nes Mikel

Acknowledgment;

Standard Disclaimers apply. You know what I'm talking about. Note that this fanfic is based on the manga, not on the anime, so some parts might be different from what you know from the story of the Shaman King or somewhat differently translated. I have never seen the anime, but I do own 25 volumes of Hiroyuki Takei Sensei's manga. Own, as in, purchase, by the way. Don't sue me. Please.

"He who overcomes will be dressed in white, and I will not take his name from the book of life; and I will give witness to his name before my Father, and before his Angels." - Revelations 3:5

Chapter II; "Shaman X Shaman"

The more I did research on Shamans, the more I became interested. Yoh initially looked at me as if I was insane when I told him that I wanted to become a Shaman like him, but he simply shrugged my request to train under him off.

"I can't really help you much. I mean, I'm still training to become a fully qualified Shaman myself." he replied.

Sure, that disappointed me initially. But I wasn't going to give up that easily. I decided to stick to Yoh and take up his offer of becoming friends with him. That way, I figured, I watch what he does as a Shaman and learn from him the ways of the Shaman.

It was a success.

In just a few days of becoming friends with Yoh, I became witness to many things Yoh did as a Shaman. He made Amidamaru, a spirit of a deceased samurai from 600 years ago, his friend, just like he made friends with me. Initially Amidamaru refused the offer, but after finding out the true reasons on why he hasn't gone to the afterlife yet, Amidamaru became Yoh's spirit, a mochirei.

As a mochirei, Amidamaru was constantly together with Yoh, forging a bond of friendship so important that it made them inseparable. Together, they helped a obsessed earth-bound spirit of a board painter, assisted a delinquent who had lost his dream of becoming a boxer after his teacher's untimely death, and saved a few children from a burning building… the list goes on.

Truly, the things they did together were simply amazing. And each time they showed me what they were capable of, the more I was inspired to become a Shaman like Yoh.

That was good and all, but from what I observed from seeing Yoh and Amidamaru, there was one major problem preventing me from becoming a Shaman.

I didn't have a mochirei, a spirit of my own.

It was true that during the course of adventures I've shared with Yoh thus far, I've met many ghosts and became familiar with them. But being familiar with them was not enough. It was like searching for a dead person to practically be your best friend, and friends were one of the many things I didn't have very much of. And when it came to ghosts, I was totally hopeless. I've tried to talk to some spirits in the Funbarigaoka Graveyard to see if they were interested in being my mochirei, but every time I tried I remembered Yoh's words.

"Mochirei can't be any ghosts, Manta." Yoh had told me. "They have to be ghosts who you could associate with, ghosts you can be conformable with, and above all, be friends with. All Shamans have different mochirei, and every one of them has to be important to them."

Unfortunately, there weren't any ghosts in that graveyard that fitted that description. There was one ghost – a kamikaze pilot – who I gradually became a good friend of, but if he were to become my mochirei, I was afraid I'd inherit his suicidal tendencies. Even if that were not the case, if he fused his spirit with me I was afraid he'd kill himself in some reckless charge for honor… and since he is one possessing my body, I'd be the one to die. That didn't sound too appealing, so I gave up, and decided to just keep it as friends. When I told Yoh about this, he made a joke saying that if I died, he'd let me become his mochirei. I naturally didn't laugh at that joke.

But Yoh, coming from a long line of Shamans – the famous Japanese Shaman family, the Asakuras – he had no problem getting aquatinted with various ghosts and acquiring various mochirei. He was born with the ability to see ghosts from the beginning, and was raised in a family full of Shamans. Of course he could communicate with ghosts easily. Add that to his happy-go-lucky attitude of pretty much everything, so that meant he pretty much asked every ghost he came across to be his mochirei. The trouble was, of course, that most of the time he was successful. That was why in addition to Amidamaru, he acquired the many other ghosts, like:

Suzuki – Was the top of his class in marks at his time. Really good at tests. Committed suicide 5 years ago.

Kobayashi – Ex-Captain of the Track Team. Died in an automobile accident.

Ashida – Prodigy of the Visual Arts Club. Killed himself when he stayed up for 15 days straight trying to finish a painting.

Noriko – Pianist. Died of a fever just before she was about give her master presentation.

Using these ghosts, he made school life such a breeze to him it made me want to tear my hair apart. True, he was using his natural talent as a Shaman, which he was entitled to use… but using those ghosts in school to upgrade his grades was simply cheating! It was as if all the knowledge I acquired from studying so hard was useless if Yoh could do such a thing!

Nevertheless, I also learned from Yoh that Shamans have to endure hardships too. As a Shaman, it was his responsibility to not only help people, but also he needs to help ghosts as well. And, in the process of doing just that there was always the possibility of a Shaman to suffer injuries or a fate even worse than simple injury.

But, I was determined to become a Shaman, so although I was afraid of the bad possibilities that might come with it, I kept on reasearching more and more about Shamans and their relationships with their mochirei. Yoh and Amidamaru were great help in that regard.

But the more I learned about Shamans, the possibility of me becoming a Shaman seemed farther and farther away. It was true that I've cleared the prerequisite of a Shaman – the ability to see ghosts. The next phase was more difficult – the presence of strong spiritual power. Without spiritual power, I could not make a ghost fuse my spirit with me in order to trace the ghost's movements into this world, and apparently I only had little amounts.

I have tried several times to fuse my spirit with the ghosts in the Funbarigaoka Graveyard with Yoh's help, but I was unsuccessful. The only other way I could fuse my spirit with other ghosts (according to Yoh) was involuntary possession of my body. However, this meant that only ghosts with strong regret in this world (which, also according to Yoh, were typically evil) could ever possess my body. Worse still, if that particular type of ghost possessed my body long enough, I'd die. Things were not looking up at all.

I was pondering over that very problem as I sat in the middle of the Funbarigaoka Graveyard. After that incident with Bokuto no Ryu, I decided to come here every night after I was out from cram school. I familiarized myself with ghosts in the graveyard, trying to get into the spirit of the Shamans who were constantly together with ghosts so I don't have to freak out every time Amidamaru suddenly pops out besides Yoh. Besides, if one day I did acquire a mochirei, what kind of Shaman would I be if I was scared of my own mochirei every time it pops out of thin air?

In addition, I was also training myself in strength and endurance so I could possibly one day have enough spiritual power to fuse myself with ghost. Yoh did say that it was possible to increase one's spiritual power from physical training, but from the looks of his face when he told me that, I was willing to bet that he was not sure. But, I decided what the heck. What did I have to lose from anyway?

After a couple of rounds of running around the graveyard, I looked up at the sky, seeing the stars shine brightly. Looking at the stars like this, I found, was somewhat comforting.

"I bet Yoh feels like this when he looks at the stars…" I mumbled to myself.

Stars. It seemed that just by looking them, all the worry seemed to disappear. How ironic, I thought, that I was running in order to train myself. The running I once loathed above all else, the running I once hated with a passion. But I believed it was worth it, if it were to contribute to my goal. It was one goal that I never had been so passionate about before, and I intended to pursue my goal as far as I could possibly could. Yoh was my objective, but above all else, he was a good friend of mine.

My watch beeped. It was time to go. It was getting late, and much as I hated to think about it, I still had real life to think about. Mother was getting increasingly worried lately on how I've been arriving late at home these days, and I couldn't afford to be late again when one training session resulted in the local police searching for me. I still remember the look on her face when I was brought back home. I shuddered. I hastily gathered up the books that were lying on the ground. After carefully brushing off the dirt on the books and my dictionary I got up to leave when a voice suddenly called out to me.

"Hey, you there… why are you in such a hurry?"

It startled me for sure. Wondering if it was Yoh calling me again, I searched for the source of the voice. It didn't take long. It was a boy, but it was definitely not Yoh. He didn't look that much older nor younger than Yoh or I, and was about as tall as Yoh. He wore short black pants, black shoes, and a crisp, clean gray uniform complete with a necktie of a school I didn't recognize. But what was interesting was his hairstyle. The hair on the top of his head was pointy. He was standing on top of the shrine in the graveyard, staring at the sky with a determined look on the face.

Who was he? What was he doing at this hour at this place all by himself?

"…So, there are other people like Yoh-kun in this world…" I commented to myself.

My watch beeped again. Damn, I'm going to miss the train again if I don't hurry! Ignoring the boy atop the shrine, I ran past him trying to reach the exit, but he called to me again.

"Don't you think that Tokyo has no stars?" he said. "Stars are like the guideposts that lead us mankind. People who cannot see the movements of the stars will lose their path are doomed to extinction. You see stars, but are you like the other peasants who do not see the true meanings behind them?"

"Me, a peasant?" I rebutted. "You sure don't have manners… and besides, what do you mean that there are no stars? This is the best place in this town to watch stars!"

"Heh, you can't call these real stars." he continued to speak. "I thought you would understand…"

Suddenly, he disappeared atop the shrine. I rubbed my eyes. Did he just vanish? Where did he go?

"After all, you too, are a Shaman in training…" a voice behind me suddenly spoke up. I quickly spun my head around. It was him! H-How did he get around behind me so fast?

"Shaman? W-Who are you…?"

"Heh, heh… don't be so scared." he said, sneering. "I don't intend to harm you. I just needed to ask you a favor."

"….A favor?"

"Yes… tell your friend, the headphone-boy this…"

"T-To Yoh-kun?"

He flashed one of those smiles you instantly knew was full of evil. "My name is Ren." he said. "I am the one who will have your ghost of the samurai."

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the mysterious boy. It was definitely a ghost, as it had no feet. But the figure was also definitely scary, even more so than that Bokutou no Ryu. Its appearance resembled that of an ancient Chinese warrior, and this one was clad in full body armor. With its arms crossed in front of him, his presence seemed overwhelming.

I took a step back. "A-Ah…"

"Remember what I said." the boy told me once more.

Then, as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared along with the ghost. I was left there, once again, speechless.

At least I didn't faint.

***

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you!" I was screaming the next day at school, in the ear of a particular transfer student. "You know, at that graveyard we always go to! There was this boy who was with this ghost of an ancient Chinese warrior! There's no doubting it! That's a Shaman! There's a Shaman besides you!"

"Ah… that's great." Yoh lazily replied, apparently bothered that I woke him up from his sleep.

"Aren't you surprised!?"

"Ah~ be quiet for a while, will you? I didn't say that I was the only Shaman left in existence. There's still plenty of Shamans around the world.

I grabbed his ear and breathing in a deep breath, I shouted. "LISTEN TO ME! HE SAID THAT HE'S GONNA HAVE AMIDAMARU! ISN'T THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU!?"

Yoh still looked unfazed. "…have Amidamaru?"

"YES!"

"Okay, okay." Yoh raised his hand as if surrendering. "Look, we'll discuss this later. The bell's gonna ring soon anyway."

As if one cue, the bell rung.

"Ah~! Finally!" Yoh stood up and stretched his arms. "C'mon, Manta. Let's go out and eat something!" He was already out of the door with his books and bags, running. I sighed, and followed him to a nearby burger store. He was already sitting back and cheerfully eating burger and fries when I finally caught up to him. I stared at Yoh briefly, pondering if I should yell at him for leaving me behind, but not that I've aquatinted myself with Yoh enough, I knew he would just give me a lazy response. So I gave up and ordered myself a meal and sat down with him to eat.

"So, what did you *munch much* say his *munch munch* name was?" Yoh asked as he continued to eat his burger.

"Ren. He didn't give me his last name."

"Ren? Ren… Ren… Ren…" Yoh seemed to ponder over the name over for a moment as he continued to eat. When he finished, he shook his head sideways. "Nope, haven't heard a Shaman by the name of Ren before."

"You sure?" I asked after I finished my drink. "But are you sure there isn't something between you and him? Can't you think of anyone who would hate you?"

"I don't think I've done anything to make anyone hate me, but…there's one possibility."

"What possibility?"

"I told you before that a Shaman's quality is determined by how strong their mochirei is, right? It's possible that this Ren saw me somewhere when I fused my spirit with Amidamaru, and became interested in him."

"I see!" Amidamaru suddenly appeared besides Yoh from the ihai, the portable gravestone Yoh always carried around. "So this Ren decided to have me as his own, who's strong, handsome, and capable!"

"Heh, yeah. But you shouldn't say things like those to yourself, Amidamaru." Yoh chuckled. I laughed alongside. It surprised me at first how Amidamaru was able to pop in and out from the ihai at will, but after a while I got used to it. It seemed that spending time training in the Funbarigaoka Graveyard paid off a little.

"However…it concerns me that boy's mochirei is a Chinese warrior. Curiosity fed from the fact that I am a Japanese samurai, of course." Amidamaru said.

I shrugged. "Yeah, it really looked strong. And that Ren's eyes… they looked pretty scary too. I'm still surprised I haven't fainted myself. Are you sure you're okay about this, Yoh-kun?"

"Heh, it's alright. If people could see ghosts, they can't be bad! So don't worry about it!" Yoh said cheerfully. "Besides, he must have some sort of reason behind it. I want to meet him too! He may be our first Shaman friend!"

"Ah, yes!" Amidamaru also brightened. "I would like to meet this Chinese warrior as well! I'm rather excited about this!"

"Yeah!" Yoh agreed.

I sighed and shook my head sideways. How could they be so relaxed? But then again, relaxing is better than panicking…

"WHAT THE HELL DO YA THINK YOU ARE DOIN' KID!"

What was that? The voice seemed to be coming from outside. Inside the store, all of the other people were also scurrying around, surprised.

"Hey look!" A customer not far away from us stood up from his seat and pointed towards the outside of the window. "There's a kid outside being picked on by gang members!"

I dashed to the window and took a quick peek outside. And there, standing in the middle of the road surrounded by gangs was Ren. He didn't look any different from the time I last saw him, except he was holding a suitcase. Probably was on his way back from his school.

"Ah! That's him, Yoh-Kun!" I pointed at Ren. "That's Ren!"

Yoh came up besides me. "So that's him?"

"I cannot see the ghost of the Chinese warrior… but what is happening outside?" asked Amidamaru.

"Hmph." I heard Ren over the glass. "Don't be so loud, you scum. That car was in my way."

"But you didn't have to kick it!" one of the gang members was shouting. "AND YOU DARE CALL US SCUMS!?"

"That car emits carbon-dioxide gas and pollutes the air, covering the stars. Doesn't that fact alone justify you as a scum on this Earth? You stupid cockroach!"

Oh geez, what was he doing!? He was pissing them off!

The gang members snapped. "YOU! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!"

Apparently, they were the ones that underestimated him. With a quick fury of punches and kicks, the gang members were down on the pavement in no time. His movements were so precise and strong! He was a master of martial arts!

"What is he?" Yoh besides me was asking. "Is he really a Shaman? He's strong without doing anything."

I scratched my head. "No… I'm sure I saw a ghost behind him… but was I imagining it? I don't know… OH NO!"

One of the gang members, having had enough of Ren, decided to get into the car and run Ren over with it! The car's engine turned on, and the driver hit the accelerator and the car was in a collision course!

"Tsk." I heard Ren say. "This is why we need to get rid of scums."

Ren threw his uniform's suit off to reveal an ihai attached to a holder on his left chest.

"Come out, Bason!" Ren shouted. And with his shout, the ghost of the furious Chinese warrior appeared behind him!

"SPIRIT FUSION! BASON! CHUUKA-ZANMAI!"

It was over within seconds. One moment he opened his suitcase and revealed a very large spear separated in several parts, built it within seconds, and split the car in two! With its fuel tank split in two, the car didn't go far before it exploded behind Ren.

"See, Yoh-kun!" I pointed at Ren once more "That's the ghost I told you about!"

Then, from the burning wreckage of the car, emerged the now injured member of the gang, trying to scramble to safety… only to have the tip of Ren's spear aimed at his head.

"Hmm… so it was true that cockroaches were strong creatures…" I heard Ren say. I then realized what Ren was about to do. He was going to kill the poor gang member! Before I knew it, I ran out of the burger store to try to stop the meaningless slaughter that was about to take place.

But Yoh was faster.

"That's enough." Yoh held back the spear from attacking, preventing Ren from tearing the man's head into shreds.

Ren didn't even turn back to recognize the figure holding his spear was Yoh. "Hmph… so you finally appeared, headphone-boy!"

"What are you trying to do?" Yoh protested as he let go of the spear. "Shamans are not suppost to kill!"

"Why are you angry? Do these scum's lives mean anything? If you are a Shaman too, like that little kid over there…"

I took a step back. He was referring to me! I was sort of happy that I was recognized as a Shaman by someone else, but now was not the time! This was serious! Besides, I'm 13 years old now! Not a kid!

"…then you should understand my feelings." Ren finished. "The air continues to become polluted, the stars disappear, and people are chased by time and losing their place in their heart. Never before has spirituality been so neglected. Don't you think this world as it stands today is filthy? I am the one who is to become the King of Shamans who will cleanse this world! But in order to achieve my goal I need many strong ghosts."

The King of Shamans? What was he talking about? And what was this 'I will cleanse this world' mean?

"Alright… talk's over, headphone-boy! Hand over your samurai mochirei to me!"

"No way!" Yoh replied simply.

"What?" Ren glared at him.

"What are you, anyway?" Yoh asked him. "Saying all these things that doesn't make sense! Besides, you shouldn't say 'hand over' to a person you've just met!"

"Hmph, so what, should I say 'may I please'?"

"No!" Yoh raised his voice, a rare action for him. "Amidamaru is my friend! Don't treat them as if they were things!"

Ren seemed puzzled. "Friends?"

"Yeah! If you want Amidamaru's strength, why don't you just become friends with us?"

Yoh, what the heck are you thinking? I thought to myself. You couldn't be friends with someone dangerous like him! And, as if to confirm that, Ren started to laugh.

"Ha- hahahaha! Ghosts are your friends? You think ghosts are your friends? This is hilarious!"

"What's so funny?" Yoh asked.

"Hmph, you really think ghosts are your friends?" Ren shifted the position of his spear. "For us Shamans, ghosts are 'tools' in order to draw their attributes from. Don't you think that showing emotions like friendship to those tools is simply stupid?"

Yoh's face suddenly turned serious. "Tools?'

"What's with that face?" Ren's laugh suddenly stopped and turned serious as well. "I only told you the truth."

Suddenly, I noticed that the atmosphere around the vicinity changed. The air suddenly became tense. This was not good! Suddenly another Shaman appears and they start to stare at each other as if they were enemies? And that Ren, wielding real spears in the middle of a town… he's not sane! What was going on!?

Ren was the first to break the silence. "Hmph, but I didn't expect to see a Shaman who doesn't even know of the King of Shamans. Even if you possess a grand ghost you're still an amateur as a Shaman, I see…"

Ren's mochirei Bason appeared behind once more. Ren continued to speak, and readied his spear. "You can't use that samurai properly. Strong ghosts should belong to me. If you insist on not giving up that ghost, I'd have to take it from you by force! Go Bason!" The ghost behind him took up fighting stance. "We must first break the Shaman owner!"

Break? Wait a minute… that meant… kill Yoh!? "Yoh-kun!" I shouted a warning, but he seemed… unresponsive?

"Originally, ghosts are spirits who have nowhere to go to and is therefore an unbalanced existence!" Ren continued to boast. "Once the owner is gone, a wandering ghost can easily be tamed under a pro Shaman, and transform into a magnificent tool!"

I took a quick glance at Yoh. He seemed to be… shaking in anger? "…the ghost behind you… you made him a war machine like that? I don't know who you are or what you are, but… I can't forgive you for treating ghosts as tools! Manta! Give me that pipe!"

I looked at the direction he was pointing at. There was a long steel pipe. Ah, I see! Yoh was going to use it as a sword. "A-Ah, okay! Here you go Yoh-kun, catch!" I managed to heave the heavy pipe and threw it in the air. Another example of training paying off. Yoh cached the makeshift sword in the air, and as soon as he did Amidamaru appeared behind him.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh shouted.

"I am here!" Amidamaru replied.

"You heard him, right? Let's teach this guy a lesson! He's wrong!"

"I am inclined to agree!"

"Ah, hah! So you've finally appeared, samurai!" Ren smiled his evil smile. "I'm excited for you will soon be mine."

"Alright, here we go! SPIRIT FUSION!" Yoh and Ren both shouted at the same time, fusing their souls with their respective mochirei. The fusion process didn't take long, and soon they were fighting each other with their fused bodies.

Although I was slightly shocked of the fact that they were really going to fight, I knew deep down that there was no other way. Ren was wrong, and Yoh was right. Shamans should never use ghosts as tools! But, but this… Samurai vs. Warrior… Shamans can recreate battles that can cross the border of time? Although I was afraid of what might happen, I was also excited at the same time. I mentally added another reason to why I wanted to become a Shaman.

As for the battle, it seemed like a pretty even match between Yoh/Amidamaru and Ren/Bason. At first they clashed their weapons with each other. They were almost too literally dead even. They broke up the fight temporarily, and Ren/Bason followed up with a series of deadly slashes, which Yoh/Amidamaru avoided rather easily, the split up car taking the fallout instead. Using this opportunity, Yoh/Amidamaru attempted to slash at Ren/Bason in a wide horizontal arc, but it was simply too wide and Ren/Bason dodged easily by ducking down.

"Don't try to stand in Ren-sama's way…" the Bason inside Ren spoke. Ren/Bason withdrew their spear for a moment, and before I knew it, it was suddenly brought up in a vicious vertical arc.

I recognized that technique. That was the technique used to split that car in two! But Yoh/Amidamaru's posture was bad! If they couldn't dodge it, they would be split in two!

"Dodge it, Yoh-kun!" I shouted.

"CHUUKA-ZANMAI!"

In a flash, Yoh/Amidamaru brought down the sword in such a speed it was a blur to me. The metal pole connected with the staff part of the spear and deflected the Chuuka-Zanmai to their right. I sweatdropped when I saw that even through the Chuuka-Zanmai missed its intended target, the guardrail that took the fallout was split into half. And that thing was made with metal!

"Ha- hahahaha!" Ren laughed. "Yes, there was no doubting it! You are strong, samurai! I want you more than ever, Amidamaru! So, I'll stop testing your strength here! I'm going to hunt you down for real now!"

"Testing our strength!?" the Amidamaru within Yoh asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Hmph, Amidamaru…it is true that you are stronger than my Bason here. But! If you continue to be with that headphone-boy you can never win! You already know what I'm talking about, don't you? If you fuse with that man you can only bring out ten percent of your true power!"

Ten percent? Did that mean… Yoh and Amidamaru were not fused properly!? When I looked at Yoh's face the fact was confirmed. The Amidamaru inside Yoh was clearly hesitating.

"Hahahaha!" Ren continued to laugh. "Witness! This is the true power of a shaman! Fusion power hundred percent! CHUUKA-ZANMAI!"

A soft breeze blew through the streets of Funbarigaoka that day. When the dust settled, Yoh was lying with his back on the ground, a deep gash gaping from his left shoulder, a pool of blood slowly forming underneath him. The metal pipe sword he had was also split in two.

"Heh… the ability to use a ghost's power a hundred percent traces the full power, speed, and abilities of the ghost. But in order to have this ability one needs physiological strength so strong you are able to dominate ghosts. Your maximum capacity is at best ten percent. So even if you have a stronger ghost, you cannot win." Ren licked the blood off his lips. "This is the difference between you and me. Amidamaru is mine."

"Y-Yoh-kun…" I staggered, not believing the sight I was seeing. "What's going on…? Yoh-kun and Amidamaru lost!? That's not possible!"

Ren started walking towards Yoh's body. "Hmph, he was too kind. Shamans who cannot dominate ghosts cannot use ghosts properly. But he, calling ghosts his friends! There is no way he can dominate ghosts that way!"

"D-Dominate?" I asked.

"That is right." Ren surprised me by answering my question. "There is a reason behind this. In fact, in a spirit fusion state, it's necessary to have two spirits within one body."

"Two states…?" Realization hit me. "Then that means…!"

"Ah, I see you noticed. That's right." Ren continued to walk towards Yoh. "Two spirits controlling one body… when that state is reached all kinds of resistance is born. The slowing down of information transfer, the difference of opinions… if two spirits exist at the level of 'friends', then of course you cannot move your body properly."

Ren turned around breifly and pointed a finger at me. I took another step back, afraid. "Shamans exist in order to use ghosts in this world with their own world!" he continued to explain. "In order to do that one must dominate their ghosts hundred percent and use them as tools! There is no way that a fool who treats ghosts as friends could ever hope to use the ghost's abilities to a hundred percent efficiency! You should remember that if you wish to become a Shaman, Manta Oyamada."

"Those who cannot dominate their ghosts… cannot use their ghosts efficiently…" I mumbled to myself.

Ren chuckled. "You learn fast. That is correct! Even if one owned a splendid F-1 racing machine, if the pilot is a novice, races cannot be won! A good machine needs a good pilot." Ren finally reached Yoh's body and pointed the spear at his heart. "Die peacefully. I'll use Amidamaru well."

"Amidamaru… is… not a machine!" A voice emerged from Yoh's body. I jumped in glee. Yoh was alive! Ren took a step back as well, being cautious as Yoh gradually woke up. He was clutching his left shoulder, and it was bleeding rather badly, but otherwise he looked fine.

"Amidamaru is my friend!" Yoh insisted. "You still intend to treat him as a 'tool'?"

"You… still have strength left to get up?" Ren gradually withdrew and cautiously placed some distance between himself and Yoh.

"Ow~! So much blood!" I heard Yoh complain. "If Amidamaru hadn't dodged at that very second, my arm would've been chopped off!"

But Ren's shocked face soon returned normal. He was chuckling to himself again. "Heh, managing to still keep your host alive after being such in a disadvantageous position… I must congratulate you more! I want you even more now, Amidamaru!"

Amidamaru appeared besides Yoh, looking wounded although ghosts could not. "Don't be ridiculous!" said Amidamaru. "I will never serve a master like you!"

"Don't be so cocky." Red said with his arms crossed in front of him. "Even if you fuse your spirit with him again it's simply not possible to dodge my next attack with the condition your 'current' master is in."

"Ah…!" Amidamaru tightened his fist in anger. "I am sorry, Yoh-dono! If I were a bit more stronger…!"

"What are you saying, Amidamaru?" Yoh replied. "You're already strong enough. It's my fault. I didn't know there was a guy like him…"

"Yoh-dono…"

"I probably can't win against him, Amidamaru." Yoh admitted. "So run away now."

"Hah, what a useless way to resist!" Ren mocked Yoh. "If you die there is nowhere left for that samurai to go in this world!"

"…so that's why he's going to the other world where his friend Moskue is. Amidamaru doesn't have any regret in this world." explained Yoh.

To the other world? I thought. That meant that… Yoh was letting go of Amidamaru!?

"What are you, stupid!?" Ren shouted, clearly bewildered of Yoh's decision. "Normally, once a ghost leaves this world, there is no way it could come back! You are letting go of your own mochirei!?"

Yoh flashed a smile and stuck his tongue at Ren. "It's much better than Amidamaru becoming your tool!"

"Yoh-dono…"

"D-Damn you!" Ren readied his spear once more. "If that's the case then, I'll kill you before that ghosts has the chance to leave this world!"

Amidamaru suddenly appeared before Yoh, putting himself between Yoh and Ren as a wall. "Amidamaru, what are you doing!? Leave now before it's too late!" Yoh was protesting.

"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru shouted. "There is no way a samurai like me can leave his master without fighting, it is a action disrespecting my own honor! I understand there is nothing I can do now… but! I already have a regret in this world… and that is you, Yoh-dono!"

"Amidamaru…" Yoh mumbled in disbelief.

"Hahahaha! What a great display of friendship, you idiots!" Ren said as he began is charge. "But can't you understand that you can't win against me with petty 'friendship'? Let's go Bason!" Ren brought out his ihai. "SPIRIT FUSION HUNDERED PERCENT! CHUUKA-ZANMAI!"

"YOH-KUN!" I shouted, fearing it was too late.

A loud metal clang sound echoed though the streets. When it faded away, Yoh was still standing, blocking Ren/Bason's attack. But… how was it possible? Did Yoh and Amidamaru fuse their spirits again!? But even so… how could he stop Ren/Bason's attack when they couldn't before? Wait a moment… was he at… hundred percent capacity!?

"No, it can't be…" said Ren, seemingly in disbelief. "It's not possible!"

"It's possible." Yoh spoke up suddenly. "You… were Ren right? You taught us how. When the two spirit's opinions match a hundred percent, we can trace the ghost's power a hundred percent in this world as well." Yoh then held the one of each of the split metal pipes in both of his hands and readied himself in a stance that seemed vaguely familiar. "And right now, our feelings have matched perfectly…that we will defeat you!"

Ah, that stance! I recognized it now! It was the stance that made Amidamaru earn the legendary status of the strongest samurai, and the reason he was nicknamed the 'demon'! The stance that defeated a thousand men! The Nyorai!

"Hmph, your feelings have become the same?" Ren said it in a chilling tone. It seemed that he regained his calm. "Don't utter such nonsense. Even if you are 'friends' its not possible that opinions match a hundred percent." Ren steadied his spear in preparation for another attack. "There is no way… a friend will obey your orders a hundred percent!" Without waiting another second, he charged for the final attack.

"No, it's possible!" Yoh/Amidamaru shouted. "This is the answer! Amidamaru sword style… GOKOUJIN!"

The effect of the technique was devastating. That Ren, that strong Ren, was lying on the ground with his spear utterly destroyed, defeated. "Is he… another one…" Ren mumbled before losing consciousness. "Another that holds… the possibility of… becoming the Shaman King?" And with that, he fainted out of consciousness, finally defeated once and for all.

Thus, the fight ended. But what did this fight mean? What was the Shaman King? Who was Yoh, really?

I still knew nothing of the Shamans.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Author's notes:

Whew! That's chapter two for you all! Did you notice the gradual and subtle difference between Manta's attitude from the normal Shaman King? Yes, he's actually trying to become stronger! Just imagine Manta doing such a thing!

Ahem. Anyway, I must thank Chibi Team Rocket for reviewing. Those are the very things that keep on inspiring me to write more. You don't have to go as far as loving me for this, but thanks anyway! XD And yes, I do plan to add his angel and demon sides as his spirits (or mochirei, like I referred to in the chapter above) and make him participate in the Shaman Fight. At the rate this fanfiction is going next, they should make their appearances in the next chapter.

Next chapter! Anna makes an appearance! How would this affect Manta's training as a Shaman? And who is this mysterious Chinese lady? And Manta's power awakens when he meets Bokutou no Ryu for the second time? All in the next chapter: "Shaman Life"!

Love Small!

-Nes Mikel