Meetings
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hao-sama is a GOD. Hao-sama is GORGEOUS. Hao-sama is just SO...HIMSELF...***sigh, DROOL*** @.@ Why does he HAVE to be so frigging cute anyway?! That guy's going to give me a REAL heart attack. HAO-SAMA~~~!!! *o*
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shaman King and Asato Tsuzuki + 12 original Shikigami (do you now KNOW who my favorite, FAVORITE character is, right NOW?! 3 3 3),as they're owned by their respective authors. I ONLY own the OC's and new Shikigami I'll be introducing herein. 4 years after the Shaman Fight, and they're bigger, badder, meaner, better. Need I say MORE?! 3 3 3
Shoukanshi
"Kotone! Are you all packed?"
"Yes, Mama."
"OK. We'll wait for you by the car."
"OK!"
Kotone Takizawa slammed her suitcase shut and took time to look around the room. Yes, she was sure going to miss it.
But...
"Kotone-sama..."
Kotone turned around and blinked. Her Power Spirit suddenly appeared right beside her. "Hn? Ne, what's the matter, Asato?"
"Ano..." Asato suddenly turned into a minute puppy spirit ball, his usually standing mocha ears drooping. "Are we really leaving?"
"Yes." Kotone nodded. "Mama thinks it's best."
"But...but..."
"Besides...you've been telling me how you want to see the city, right? And it'll be fun! Just like the old times. You know, you, me, and Yocchan together!" Kotone nodded. "It'll be GREAT!"
"Yoh-sama?"
"Hai. So don't be depressed, Asato. We'll all be back in Izumo someday."
"Kotone!"
"Coming, Mama!" Kotone looked over at her Power Spirit closely, who was still depressed. She gave him a pat on his head. "Don't worry, Asato, once we've settled in we'll head straight to Yocchan's place. He'll be so surprised! And he'll be really pleased to see you."
"..."
"And we'll have fun together..."
"..."
"And I'll bake some cookies. How does that sound, ne, Asato?"
Chibi puppy spirit ball Asato's drooping mocha ears sprung into stiff attention. "Cookies?"
"And apple crumble cake. Well...we have to buy the ingredients at LEAST before we visit Yocchan. Would that be fine by you?"
Chibi puppy spirit ball Asato's bushy mocha tail wagged vigorously, his eyes closed happily.
"HAI!"
"Kotone!"
"Coming over!" Kotone nodded at Asato. "Let's go, Asato. Yocchan's waiting."
Chibi puppy spirit ball Asato's bushy mocha tail wagged even more vigorously.
"HAI!"
Kotone grabbed her last suitcase and headed out of her room without looking back. Yes...they would all be back someday.
"Flight 239 bound for London, ready for take-off. All passengers please proceed to Gate E. Flight 239 bound for London, ready for take-off. All passengers please proceed to Gate E..."
***Now why would I even go back, I just went THERE,*** a young man thought irritably as he pushed his trolley up front. There were several passengers going about their own daily businesses all around him, and their lively talk and laughter irritated him even more.
***Can't they even learn to talk more QUIETLY?!*** he thought again.
"Bocchama," a spirit of a soldier in ancient Chinese armor garb appeared right beside him. "It's just a few ways off to the arrival area..."
"I know, Basson."
"Your older sister would be waiting to greet you back."
"I know."
"She's very anxious to see you."
The young man let out a long, suffering sigh, as if he was just trying to calm himself down seconds before he totally blows his stack off. "And I'm very ANXIOUS to see her TOO, I want to KNOW what frigging reason she HAS in dragging me back earlier than was supposed TO. I wonder if our dear father has kicked the bucket yet."
"None of that sort from the letter you read aloud several hours ago, bocchama."
"Yeah, but it SURE sounded like something really TERRIBLE happened!" The young man's slanted gold eyes narrowed. "I just hate this...and here I was planning to go to that Swiss skiing trip before heading on HOME...GRRRRR..."
"REN~~~!!!"
A young woman with long dark green hair was waving at the young man from somewhere behind the barriers set up along the walkway (^^;;) of the arrival area, oblivious from the many death glares she was receiving from her other companions squeezed up front with her. She waved again. "REN~~~!!!"
"..." The young man turned minute. "Why doesn't she WAVE a huge silken banner, while she's at IT?! This is so embarrassing..." he muttered.
He then met the young woman a little while later (as she pushed stragglers out of her way). She gave a big smile. "Hey. You don't look like you're really glad to see your older sister, Ren Tao. How are you, little brother? I've missed you SO much."
"Spill IT!" Ren Tao exclaimed. "What HAPPENED?! Did something terrible HAPPEN?! The way you wrote that LETTER~~~"
"Hold it. Aren't you even going to give your big sister a hug?!" Jun Tao asked, blinking.
"I've no time for HUGS ANYMORE~~~!!! Now what the HELL HAPPENED?! I just dropped off to SLEEP then the MAID comes in and brings me that LETTER and I had to raise HELL back at London just to get the FIRST available flight back to TOKYO~~~"
"Calm down REN! Yeesh. What's gotten into YOU?"
"JUN~~~!!!" Ren has become all-out ballistic. "Now tell me WHAT-THE-HELL-HAPPENED?! Did somebody hurt YOU~~~?!"
"No."
"Somebody besmirched the honor of the Tao FAMILY?!"
"No."
"The kyonshii are staging a hundred year STRIKE?!"
"No."
"Father wants to move into the CITY?!"
"Not even close."
"Then WHAT~~~?!"
"Father decides it's high time that you find yourself a little bride," Jun said simply.
"Oh." Ren was silent for a few seconds, then realization hits him. His pointed shark's fin coiffure shot all the way up to the ceiling. "WHAAAATTTT~~~~!!?!? That's ALL you dragged me from LONDON FOR~~~?! I can't BELIEVE YOU~~~!!! I THOUGHT SOMEBODY DIED OR SOMETHING~~~!!! Jun, have you REALIZED I've been without SLEEP these past few days because of those FINISHING EXAMS then you DRAG me out of my BED at 4 A.M. in the MORNING just because I HAVE to FIND MYSELF a LITTLE BRIDE~~~?!?!"
"..." Jun had her fingers stuck in her ears, then she looked over at her younger brother, blinking. "Are you finished...?"
"JUN~~~"
"Oh, you're still as fiery as ever, Ren. Don't worry. I've got it ALL figured OUT!" Jun turned minute and patted her own minute little brother, who had a very, VERY dangerous black aura emanating from him due to lack of sleep and frustration and disbelief and pretty much everything else. "Mother's persuading Father in looking for choices other than those recommended by those astral divinations our family's been so dependent on for a couple hundred of years that's already passed. And I think Grandfather's agreed to it, too. There aren't really much to choose from in China: either they're part of our very farthest cousins or they're already taken or they simply don't want to marry with the Tao. So...while Father's thinking it over, I'll look for suitable candidates for YOU~~~!!!"
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..."
"But...if Father wouldn't AGREE to that, then...I'll help you 2 elope or something! Is it a deal, Ren?"
"I don't WANT IT~~~!!! I don't WANT to get MARRIED YET~~~!!! NO-FRIGGING-WAY~~~!!!" Ren yells.
"Right. And I'm a bodhisattva." Jun smiled and dragged her younger brother off together with his trolley. "Come on, we're having a welcoming party for you up in full swing! Cook didn't prepare THAT 345 lauriat course for NOTHING, you KNOW!"
"..." Kotone looked at the small slip of paper she held in her hand. "Well...this is the PLACE."
Spirit ball Asato blinked, then looked over at the dying sun seen from the distance beyond the horizon. "But I can't feel Yoh-sama anywhere..."
"Maybe he's still at school." Kotone looked at her watch. "He'll be coming around in a little while..."
There was the sound of wheels screeching softly on the gravel, and a familiar voice. "Excuse me. Is there anything I can do for you...?"
"?" Kotone slowly turned around, blinked, then her eyes go sparkly. "YOCCHAN~~~!!!"
"Huh?!"
"Yocchan...it's me, Kotone! Have you FORGOTTEN?!" Kotone had her hands balled up into fists underneath her chin. "It's been 11 years~~~"
"???" Yoh turned SD. "Sorry, I can't remember you."
"Oh...but...but..." SD Kotone turned into an amiable white Akita puppy. "Then...well..."
"..." Yoh blinked, then turned SD, giving a wide grin. "Eh, now how could I forget a little pipsqueak like you? 11 years passed already? WOW! You didn't change much! I thought I was seeing just a blown-up caricature of YOU~~~!!!"
"So...you..."
"Heh heh heh, there's only one girl who could get away calling me Yocchan and that's you, Kotone~~~!!! Besides, nobody KNOWS I'm called Yocchan, anyway." Yoh kicked the stand on his bike, leaned it over, then gave Kotone a giant bear hug. "How are YOU~~~?! I can't BELIEVE that you're actually HERE~~~!!!"
"And I can't believe I'm here either, Yocchan." SD Kotone's eyes turned into little spirals. "Yocchan I can't breathe..."
"Oops, sorry about that!" Yoh un-hugged her.
Amidamaru was looking at the visitor with wide obsidian eyes. "Master Yoh? Is she a friend of yours...?"
"You could say that, Amidamaru." Yoh gave Kotone a pat on the back. "This here is Kotone Takizawa. A childhood best friend I never actually realized that I had."
"?"
"Whatever Yocchan says, he's still my best friend." Kotone bowed. "Hello, Mr. Amidamaru."
"..." Amidamaru pointed to himself. "You...you could SEE me..."
"Of course she can see YOU~~~!!! She's a shaman." Yoh then kicked at his bike stand again then looked at Kotone. "Have you been standing here long? Sorry, I had to drop by the library for a couple of books to read. My history teacher's been breathing fire down my neck for the last couple of days..."
"It's alright, Yocchan." Kotone held up her grocery bag which was full of groceries (^^;; of COURSE...). "Mama's expecting me to return home after dinner, she reckoned we all have a LOT of catching up to DO."
"Hn? You're heading back to Izumo? Whoa, I better release you the minute after we finish eating dinner. It's a long way back to the Sakuragata Shrine..."
"No, not back to Izumo. We just moved here! You know, to that old shrine by the city's old quarters..."
"WHAAAT~~~?! Why didn't you say SO~~~~?! Heh, we'll REALLY have a LOT of catching up to do." Yoh looked over at chibi puppy Asato, who was eyeing Amidamaru's squiggly ghost tail with interest. "Hey Asato! I guess you still like chasing spirits around; you haven't changed one bit."
"Only those with squiggly ghost tails." Chibi puppy Asato's eyes closed happily. "You're Amidamaru, right?"
"Errh..." Amidamaru turned a sick shade of blue. "What...what are you..."
"Zoom off, Amidamaru, before he rips half your tail off," Yoh advised.
Amidamaru didn't hear what his master said for he already zoomed off, chibi puppy Asato happily bounding behind him. Yoh smiled at his childhood friend. "Well? Could you make me some ground beef teppanyaki?"
"Sure thing, Yocchan!"
Amidamaru's screeches were heard all throughout the neighborhood. Little did they know, somebody was watching them from behind the trees.
"Gochiso sama deshita~~~!!!" Yoh said, as he put his very clean bowl down on the small lying table and burped richly. He gave a sheepish little grin. "Heh heh, sorry about that."
"It's OK, Yocchan, you don't have to apologize," Kotone told him. She started clearing the table. "Gee, I guess you've been surviving on instant ramen for the last 4 years you've spent living here in Tokyo..."
"Not really, I cook if I feel like it, and there's Ryuu to help me out, whenever he comes visiting," Yoh replied. "That's like...3 times a week. Then if I'm just too bummed out to even lift a finger, that's when I turn to instant ramen..."
"Ryuu?"
"He's a really close friend of mine, and he could cook real GOOD! He's currently going on a grand tour of Japan nowadays, so I've been making do with those microwave dinners from 7/11 lately."
"I see..."
Amidamaru was holding his shredded squiggly ghost tail with both of his hands, tears going down in wavy torrents down his cheeks. Chibi puppy Asato was seated right beside him, his bushy mocha tail wagging happily.
"Are you alright, Mr. Amidamaru? I'm sorry about Asato, he just loves chasing spirits around..." Kotone told the mourning samurai ghost.
"Spirits with squiggly ghost tails," chibi puppy Asato put in.
"I'm just fine, Miss Kotone, thanks for worrying," Amidamaru replied.
Yoh gave Amidamaru a pat on his back. "I think you've done it, Amidamaru. He's going to chase after YOU for the rest of your after life."
"MasaKAAA~~~" Amidamaru wailed, sprouting spirit orbs about his head.
Kotone went into the kitchen with the used bowls and chopsticks, then returned a few minutes later with a tray on which were 2 tall glasses of ice cold lime iced tea, and a platter of her special apple crumble cookies. "Dessert!"
"Oh BOY~~~!!!" Chibi puppy Asato reverted to becoming normal immediately. "DESSERT~~~!!!"
"You've never changed." Yoh got a cookie and bit into it. "Mmm! Tastes just like Mrs. Field's...only better. Have you been using your furyoku in the kitchens for the last 11 years, Kotone?"
"Not really. Well...there's not too much to do, hanging around in the inner shrine all day."
"Well yeah. Plus the fact that your Power Spirit isn't EXACTLY the world's greatest chef," Yoh said with a laugh. "How come you got stuck with him, anyway? If your Power Spirit happened to be a Le Cordon Bleu cook, you won't have trouble toiling in the kitchens ever AGAIN."
"I HEARD that~~~!!!" Asato said, biting into a cookie and giving Yoh a death glare.
"???" Amidamaru looked over at Asato, who was still busy eating on his own cookie, giving Yoh the devilish little slits-death glare. "Hey. How come you could EAT?"
"???" Asato looked over at him, his amethyst eyes blinking. "Why? Can't YOU?"
Amidamaru shook his head.
"???"
"He's a really special kind of Power Spirit," Kotone said simply as she delicately sipped at her lime iced tea. "He can eat."
"But how can that HAPPEN? He's dead like me, RIGHT?" Amidamaru said.
"Ever heard of 'not here yet not there' spirits, Amidamaru?" Yoh asked him. He gestured towards Asato. "He's somewhat like that. And they're really rare."
"Rare...?"
"They can only be handled by shoukanshi." Yoh nodded again, biting into another cookie. "Yourei, we call them. Spirits who could still get nourished from ordinary human food. Well...not all the time, though. I mean...they can EAT, but they certainly don't eat all the time. They're like people, but they're not. Get it?"
"Well...OK." Amidamaru blinked. "And what is a shoukanshi?"
"It's another type of shaman." Yoh nodded for the third time, and bit into his 3rd cookie. "There's the shaman, who serves as a bridge between the humans and the spiritual world; onmyouji, who helps the spirits of the dead find their peace and foretell the future; itako, who could summon spirits from heaven, earth, or hell; miko, not REALLY a shaman, but a shrine priestess who could talk to the gods...and last but not the least, there's the shoukanshi. They're supposed to be really rare, because of the fact that most shoukanshi born were gifted with really very terrible powers enough to send everything into oblivion. They're the ones who could summon the gods of heaven, earth, or hell, to do THEIR bidding. How frightening is THAT?"
"Summon..."
"Not only that, they're supposed to be really powerful empaths and have a high level of spiritual 'evolution', so to speak. There are shoukanshi of destruction, lightning...etc., etc., some of them were even rumored to be able to bring the dead back to life. Their powers are so frightening, they were called taboo, and to be born a shoukanshi means that you must be prepared for an entire life of ridicule and persecution."
There was a momentary flash of pain in Kotone's eyes, but it was gone immediately. When she spoke her voice was small but calm.
"I was supposed to be onmyouji, but I was born taboo." Kotone took a bite of her own cookie. "My family has been known as a family of onmyouji, and the Asakura Clan's our closest friend. In every generation of my family, there was supposed to be one born as onmyouji, but for some strange reason, it skipped for 2 previous generations and then I was born. But it wasn't expected...I'm not onmyouji, but shoukanshi. There's been no report of a shoukanshi being born into my family as long as my clan could remember."
All of them became quiet.
"And..." Kotone's expression became very sad. "...and that's why I'm here, Yocchan. They've...finally driven out the evil infesting Izumo..." Kotone bowed her head, her startling lightest green eyes filled with tears. "They tried shielding me...but...most of them got hurt. The villagers were all angry...those children feared me..."
***Get lost, you FREAK~~~!!!***
***We don't NEED any abomination HERE~~~!!! Isn't it ENOUGH that those Asakuras are giving us a really HARD TIME~~~?!***
***DEVIL'S CHILD~~~!!!***
Kotone buried her face in her hands and wept, her slight shoulders shaking in grief. Amidamaru was alarmed. "Miss Kotone..."
"..."
Yoh reached out and held his best friend lightly against his chest. Kotone sobbed and started crying hysterically.
"Shh. Everything's going to be alright now. Yocchan's here..." he said softly.
"It...it...it was so TERRIBLE...and...and..." Kotone squeezed her eyes shut, tears pouring in torrents down her cheeks. "Yocchan...they HATED me..."
"Shh." Yoh smiled faintly. "I for one don't hate you, Kotone. As with Amidamaru and Asato. Ne...?"
"..." Kotone's eyes filled with more tears. "Yocchan~~~"
And she broke down and cried really hard, all her emotions bursting loose from a dam all at once.
Yoh was her best, best friend in the whole world.
And this was one of those times that she was really, REALLY thankful for that.
Kotone left Yoh's house a little while later, when she has become quite composed. Yoh was blinking as he walked her to the gate. "Hey, you sure you're not going to get yourself lost your way back?" he asked.
"I'll be fine, Yocchan, don't worry." Kotone smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you very much, Yocchan. I'm so glad to see you again."
"Ditto." Yoh grinned. "Hey! Would you be coming over tomorrow?"
"I guess so. I'm going to enroll at Yukihara tomorrow, then I guess I'll drop by dinner time again."
"Yukihara? Aw, why didn't you choose Sendouji?!"
"Mama said you're going to corrupt the mind of the innocent." Kotone gave a little wave. "Ja, mata ne, Yocchan!"
"Ja."
Yoh turned and went inside his house, while Kotone went down the gravel road leading to the highway outside the small patch of rustic land a few minutes away from Tokyo. Spirit ball Asato was floating right beside her. "Kotone-sama...you're feeling fine now?"
"Yes, Asato. Thank you for worrying."
"Ano...Kotone-sama..."
"Hai...?"
"I..."
"Forget it, Asato. Without you and Yocchan I might be probably very crazy by now." Kotone reached out and huggled spirit ball Asato, who turned chibi puppy spirit ball. She closed her eyes. "Arigatou. Hontou ni, arigatou."
"..." Chibi puppy spirit ball Asato blushed.
There was a small breeze that blew, and a young man was looking over at her from behind a tree, the breeze whipping his long beautiful dark brown hair behind him in one glistening banner.
"I do feel your pain." The young man's obsidian eyes became thoughtful. "And I'll be seeing you again, shoukanshi."
With that, he turned and disappeared into the night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Shaman terms taken from that REALLY awesome Shaman King site, Patch Central (or something like that....^^;;). It has COMPLETE biodata on all the characters of Shaman King, including NPC's (^^;; non-part characters...), plus REALLY good spoilers. Well, if you don't LIKE spoilers, then don't highlight them. Shoukanshi and yourei are mine own terms and descriptions, though (shoukanshi = summoner). Visit the site! It's AWESOME SHAMAN KING GOODNESS~~~!!!
TERMS:
Bocchama = young master
Gochiso sama deshita = what Japanese say after a meal. It's for thanking the good host/hostess for the food...I think...OO;; It's opposite
(well, NOT really) is Itadakimasu, said before a meal.
Masaka = It's impossible!; It can't be!
Ja, mata (Ja, mata ne! or simply Ja!) = See you around!; See you soon!
Yocchan = endearment...hey, Ranma-kun gets away with calling Ukyo Ucchan, why can't Kotone...?!
Another interesting note (sort of spoiler; don't like spoilers, don't READ!): The Hao Asakura born 1,000 years ago was an onmyouji. And because he was one of the world's most powerful onmyouji, he was also an empath. An empath is a person who feels the feelings (OO;; of COURSE) and knows the deepest thoughts of those people surrounding him (just like Hisoka Kurosaki, although I don't think he could ever, EVER fathom Kazutaka Muraki's worse-than-a-void-or-abyss kind of psyche...OO;;). Being very powerful probably made Hao an empath, because the Patch Central site says that somebody has to have insanely high levels of power to even become one. And because Hao was an empath he felt all the pain and anguish those souls he sent to wherever it was they should go, and he saw how humans became worse than beasts (he lived in a time of plagues, famines, droughts; these things either bring out the best or the worst in people). He then saw humans as only a nuisance to the world, and coupled with the pain and anguish he felt from the spirits he helped, drove him to insanity that made him want to create a world that was only fitting for shamans like himself. That's why the Asakura Clan decided to kill him before he could even become Shaman King. How psychotic is THAT? But then again, we have to feel for Hao; because he was very powerful, people were so scared of him, and he had no real friends except for a cat. Hey, he didn't want those feelings tuning into him, ANYWAY~~~!!! But he's a satellite dish, so there you go. And Anna Kyouyama's an empath like HIM. OO;; Now, ever wonder how she and he could be related...??? (Source: Patch Central)
