Me: Thanks for the reviews during the previous chapter; we're nearing the homestretch of my first Shaman King story! Speaking of Shaman King, I don't own it, and I don't see that happening anytime soon, so…

BlackTerriermon: (gulps, taps me on shoulder) We've got a problem, and her name starts with "Anna" and ends in "Kyoyama…" (smirks) Though, if things go her way, it would end in "Asakura." (lol, screams as Anna pushes him to the ground)

Anna: (glares at me with narrowed eyes) The tears and the crying, I can handle. The emotions and the pain, I can handle. You having Ren take Yoh from me after that battle…I can't handle! (holds up beads) Prepare to spend eternity in one very, very, very hot place!

Me: (sighs, rolls eyes) I also don't own Oversoul, and you can find the Japanese lyrics on www.animelyrics.com. Originally, the translated lyrics were there too, but they've been taken down for some reason; they may come back up one day, but that may not happen. And-there will be one more chapter after this one, so we're not done yet.

                                                             Shaman King: The Rematch

                                                 Chapter VIII-A reason to Survive…

"I think we can resolve this without anybody getting hurt. Don't worry, Anna." –Asakura Yoh

"If Yoh dies, it's your fault!" –Kyoyama Anna, Shaman King: The Integral Tokagero

"SAY GOODBYE, 'SHAMAN! VORPAL DANCE! ZHONG HUA ZHAN WU!!!"

With pain and sadness visibly shown in Anna's eyes, and shock and worry in Manta's eyes, neither one could even think about moving to prevent this attack from hitting as Ren landed lithely on the ground.

"Finally…my revenge will be complete, and not only will this poor excuse of a shaman be gone from this world, but I shall have two new additions to my team as well!"

As the attack neared closer and closer to Yoh, a voice that hadn't been heard in some time chose to speak now.

"DON'T DIE, LORD YOH!!!"

To the shock and utter disbelief of everybody there, at that precise moment, Yoh's arm-that held the pipe-moved up and sliced the approaching attack in two, causing the attack to vanish instantly!

"…I'm not dead yet, Ren, and this fight's not over with!"

Yomigaere…

(Revive a soul…)

"How?! There's no way you could've survived my last attack!"

Yoh grinned lightly while clutching his side, futilely attempting to keep the blood from flowing down his body.

"To you, it looked like I hadn't been able to avoid the attack, but thanks to Amidamaru dodging it at the last possible second, I end up with a cut on my side instead of a body divided in two."

After getting back up to her feet, Anna was finally able to notice the deep cut on the left side of Yoh's body, the blood dripping down to the ground as he struggled to remain on his feet.

"So, your abilities as a shaman have improved, especially if you can survive that, and still be able to stand. But, your strength must be depleted a lot, especially since your blood is still falling on the ground." Ren noted, a wicked grin on his face. "You wouldn't be able to survive more than…5-10 blows, by my count."

"After the training I've received these past few months, Ren…you'd be surprised how many blows I can take!" Yoh replied, waiting for him to make the first move and willing his body to stop the increasing flow of blood.

"Then, let's find out!"

Sora to daichi ga kousa shite iru ima tatazunderu kono sekai de

(The sky and the earth cross each other on this earth I'm standing on now)

Inochi ga umare mata shizundeku kurikaesareru itonami no naka…

(The life is born and gone again in this repeating daily life…)

Watching Ren launch his spear directly at his face at that second, Yoh was barely able to raise the pipe up to deflect the attack just in time, so that the two weapons collided fiercely before being pulled apart.

"We need a strategy to defeat our adversary, Lord Yoh. Deflecting and dodging his attacks won't work for long!"

"I know, Amidamaru! But, what would it be…? He won't let his guard down, and I'm barely able to stay on my feet."

Yoh racked his brain for answers while lithely dodging most of Ren's attacks, hand still clutching his side to attempt to stop the blood until he heard someone respond in a strained voice behind him.

"The answer should be obvious even to you, Yoh. You have to break through his defenses."

Sora to daichi ga kousa shite iru ima tatazunderu kono sekai de

(The sky and the earth cross each other. On this earth I'm standing on now…)

Inochi ga umare mata shizundeku kurikaesareru itonama no naka…

(The life is born and gone again in this repeating daily life…)

"…What?"

Narrowing her eyes-while wiping the stained tears from her cheeks-Anna forced herself to stand to her feet.

"You have to break through his defenses. Basically, if you can split his spear into pieces, that would diminish his chances of blocking your moves."

"Thanks, Anna."

With that said, Yoh refocused his attention on Ren; Anna allowed a small smile to cross her face at that moment.

"You promised me everything would be okay…and, you're keeping that promise. Thank you, Yoh."

As Yoh charged toward his adversary, only one thought was on his mind…

"I won't let your dream-or mine-die tonight, Anna…! I will survive this!"

Konna monto yogitta toki yume wa chikara o nakusu

("This is how it is…" when this thought crosses your mind; the dream loses its power)  Mou ichido umareyou kono basho de…

(Start a new life again at this very place…)

WHANG!!

That one sound reverberated throughout the entire cemetery, forcing Yoh, Manta and even Anna to clutch their ears in pain; Ren hissed lightly, refusing to acknowledge that he didn't approve of the sound like the others.

"Now, Lord Yoh-while he's distracted!"

"Right, Amidamaru! AMIDA-RYU SHOCK WAVE BUDDHA-GIRI!!!"

Ren screamed loudly as he'd actually been caught unaware and was sent up into the air before landing on his feet, chuckling to himself.

"Very impressive…you actually caused me some pain-not as brutal as the one I gave you, but it's close…too close!"

Ren snarled while lunging forward with his spear aimed at Yoh's heart; it was once again countered with not only Yoh's weapon, but with a quick shot to his injured side.

"You may be able to adapt to these situations, shaman…but, I will be victorious!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Chorus: Seigi no sono oku de yume ga ikizuite iru kasanaru chikara o shinjite…

(Behind the justice, the dream is alive, believing in powers building up…)

Seigi no sono oku ni yami ga hisonde iru mi kiwamero subete o…!

(Behind the justice, the darkness is lurking around; watch everything to the end…!)

Furi ageta yuuki wa kirisaku tame janal hiki au kizuna de…

(Raised courage (sword) is not to slash with bonds, drawing each other…)

Yobi samase…azayaka ni…

(Wake up…freshly…)

Yoh carefully circled his opponent while holding onto his side, knowing that he'd caused him some serious pain moments ago, while figuring out what to do next.

"Okay…Amidamaru, he already knows I wounded him on one side, so he'll probably expect me to target that spot. Instead, we'll target his other side, and hurt him on both sides!"

"Excellent strategy, Lord Yoh! But, what if he should know we're using this plan of attack?"

"Don't worry, Amidamaru. I already have it all under control."

Clutching the pipe, Yoh started forward, preparing to launch an attack, when he screamed lightly, pulling his hand away from his injured side.

"Yoh! What happened?!" Manta exclaimed as he kept a close eye on Ren, who had a smirk on his face at that second.

Her hands clenched together, while struggling to fight back another set of tears, Anna had kept a close, careful watch on her fiancée since he'd gotten back up when he'd received that life-threatening injury earlier.

"He was keeping pressure on that wound of his-too much pressure! Sure, if you get an injury like this, you're supposed to keep pressure on it, but if you keep too much, you're only risking that injury getting infected without the proper care that it needs."

"So, does this mean Yoh's putting himself in more danger than he needs to be?" Manta asked, eyes widening with worry as Yoh placed pressure back onto his side again.

"If he's careful with how much pressure he puts on that wound of his, it won't get infected."

Anna closed her eyes at that second, keeping the rest of that statement to herself.

"The longer he's out here, though, the quicker that wound may get infected…"

Kizutsuite yuki ba o nakushi samayotte iru sono tamashii o…

(The power to heal the wandering, hurt and lost soul…)

Iyasu chikara wa, kokoro no oku de shizuka ni ko douki o kizande iru…

(…Is beating silently, deep within the heart…)

Moteru chikara subete butsuke namida o nagaresu no nara

(If your tears flow after using up all your power…)

Erabubeki machi wa kimi o matteru…!

(The road you should choose is waiting for you…!)

"Well? Are you going to make a move, or are you just going to stand there and bleed to death? The longer you keep this battle delayed, the more your wound will get infected! You'll be doing me a favor-I won't have to kill you at all!"

Yoh gritted his teeth while holding up the pipe once more, growing tired of Ren's obnoxious laugh.

"You're the one who should worry about an infection, Ren! Let's go, Amidamaru!"

"Bason!"

Ignoring the pain stabbing both of them fiercely in their sides, Yoh and Ren raced forward, prepared to attack. Putting his plan into action, Yoh swung the pipe toward Ren's uninjured side.

"What's he doing? That side's not hurt at all!"

To Anna, it looked like Manta was close to having a nervous breakdown; nevertheless, a light smirk was on her face while she explained Yoh's plan.

"It's easy, Squirt-if Yoh tried attacking Ren's injury, Ren would simply block it while planning a counterattack…"

Laughing loudly, Ren's spear instantly blocked Yoh's attack, while pushing him back at the same time, preparing himself for anything his adversary might throw at him.

"…so, if Yoh tried attacking the side that wasn't hurt, Ren might not be prepared for it, but since it looked like he was…"

Yoh couldn't help but allow a smirk to cross his face as he revealed a bokuto from behind his back, knowing he was risking much by not putting pressure on his wound.

"Now, Amidamaru! AMIDA-RYU HALO BLADE!!!"

"…Yoh would simply reveal the second bokuto he'd noticed after he'd landed next to it earlier and launch an attack."

Ren growled angrily as he was hit again, revealing that he was now wounded on both sides!

"All right-enough playing around, shaman!"

Chorus: Mi shimatta ima to toori sugita kako no akama de akirameru yori mo…

(Rather than giving up between the lost present and the past you left behind…)

Ima me o sora sazu ni koko kara hajimeyou; mi kiwamero ashita o!

(Look straight. Start again from here; watch tomorrow to the end!) ]

Dare ka ni misetsukeru yuuki wa nugi sutete. Sugao ni modorou…!

(Throw away the courage you're just showing off. Return to real, you…!)

Yobi samase…azayaka ni…

(Wake up…freshly…)

"100% INTEGRATION!"

"100% INTEGRATION!"

Anna, Jun and Manta watched, knowing that this time, they were going to go all out, wounded or not.

"It's time for me to finish this, and prove once and for all that I'm the superior shaman, and that I'm destined to become Shaman King! Bason!"

"You won't be taking Amidamaru, or Anna from me! Not tonight, and not ever! Amidamaru!"

Moving rapidly, both weapons collided fiercely with each other once more, neither one giving an inch to the other!

"And, now…let's finish this, Bason! VORPAL DANCE! ZHONG HUA ZHAN WU!!!"

Quickly deflecting with the bokuto, Yoh knew now what he had to do.

"You ready, Amidamaru?"

"Yes, Lord Yoh-let's end this with everything we've got!"

Eyeing Ren with a quick glance, Yoh raised both his weapons up one last time.

"AMIDA-RYU HALO BLADE!!!"

"Ha!"

Just as quick as Yoh was, Ren was able to avoid that attack the same way Yoh had avoided his-by jumping in the air. To Ren's surprise, Yoh was smiling!

"Why would he…? I just dodged his attack by using the same technique he used!"

"Now, Amidamaru! AMIDA-RYU SHOCK WAVE BUDDHA-GIRI!!!"

That's when it hit Ren-he'd reached the limit of how high up he could go the precise second Yoh had launched his attack. Closing his eyes as he started his descent downward, Ren knew what would happen the instant he reached near ground level.

"This isn't over with, Yoh Asakura…!" Ren vowed silently as the attack hit, sending him flying into the air before he landed a good distance from his opponent. "One day, I will achieve what I desire, and learn so much more than you ever could, that you'll be even less worry to me than a cockroach! I shall become the Shaman King…!"

Chorus: Seigi no sono oku de yume ga ikizuite iru kasanaru chikara o shinjite…

(Behind the justice, the dream is alive, believing in powers building up…)

Seigi no sono oku ni yami ga hisonde iru mi kiwamero subete o…!

(Behind the justice, the darkness is lurking around; watch everything to the end…!)

Furi ageta yuuki wa kirisaku tame janal hiki au kizuna de…

(Raised courage (sword) is not to slash with bonds, drawing each other…)

Yobi samase…azayaka ni…

(Wake up…freshly…)

Let there be light…Revive a soul…!

(song continues on for 29 seconds, ends melodically)

Watching carefully as Ren forced himself to get up to his feet and walk off, Yoh quickly turned around to see Jun nod lightly in his direction, a smile on her face, before she headed off after her younger brother. With that, he dropped to his knees, holding onto his wounded side once again.

"You did it, Yoh! You defeated Ren again-and, this time, you planned things out perfectly!" Manta declared, a smile on his face.

"No, he didn't!"

Manta's eyes widened yet again as he turned around-slowly-to face an enraged Anna!

"He just assumed what he thought up would work out without any problems. He could've just as easily died from that injury on his side, and from the second attack if he hadn't dodged it in time!"

Anna's fists were clenched once more-this time, they were shaking in intense anger. Manta was quick to notice this, of course.

"How dare he make me cry like this…he'll get extra training added on to his regime once that wound heals…!"

"She's back again!" Manta thought frantically. "The world isn't going to end after all!"

Yoh smiled while looking up at the night sky. Despite the added training he would have to face in the coming weeks, he had learned something this night. What it was, he wasn't sure about yet, but he was positive he would figure it out sooner rather than later.