IMPORTANT: The title will be changed to 'Onmyou' on the next update. So, if you guys wanna find this story on the next update, look up 'Onmyou' not Yin and Yang.

So guys, I never got to open my original file (all four pages gone!!!!!! T_T). Here I am, starting another one (and I LOVE my Hanagumi scene back then…*sigh* what can I do, anyway? And I haven't looked at that file for weeks! I might not remember much…). And, to add to that, I lost my outline…. ARGH! The world completely hates me T_T

Here, here, I hope this can satisfy you! (It doesn't satisfy me…)

Disclaimer: I own Shaman King! *moment of silence* NOT! *laughs her sick head off*



CHAPTER SEVEN

Mystery

"Kanna, how long are we gonna stay here?" Matilda complained, stretching her arms and back. "Why do we have to do all the work?! Can't there be anyone else? Yeah, I know we're that special but, but, I wanna go and eat now!!!!"

The blue-haired leader of the Hanagumi waved one hand to silence her companion. "We're the only ones skillful enough to watch over Hao – I mean, Yoh-sama – we'll be watching here for eternity until Hao-sama makes a move." She sat up from her crouching position and looked at the young redhead, who seemed to not be listening at all. "Stubborn jerk." She mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing." Kanna grumbled then glanced at Matilda once again. She sighed then said, in an exaggerated voice, "Do you expect the Hoshigumi to do this work? Opacho, maybe, but Turbine? Blocken? Zang Ching?????"

Marion started chuckling quietly as her eyes followed every movement Yoh was doing in the distance. Her body was pressed close to the ground, letting the grass brush her face while she kept true to her own lookout duty.

Matilda blinked a couple of times then suddenly clamped her mouth tightly to fight away the mouth full of giggles that resulted from the sudden vision she saw of Zang Ching trying to hide behind the rock she was leaning on.

(Naisho: Uh…Zang Ching's that big Chinese guy who swings that weird yellow disc thingy, the one with shades, massive body; you should know him by now, ne? Sorry for the interruption.)

Kanna sharply put a finger on her lips to silence the other.

The redhead nodded as she gulped the laughter away then breathed loudly.

Rolling her eyes, she crouched down once again, going back to her previous place beside the blonde. "How is it? What's happening? Did I miss something?" she quickly inquired, crawling forward to get a better view.

"The leaf's withering…it cannot stand the storm any longer…. We need reinforcements!!!" mumbled Marion, her voice not sounding as urgent as her so-called message.

Their leader blinked, jaw dropped, "Uh…whaaaat????"

The blonde sighed in irritation. She shook her head then lowered the binoculars she was using. "No – scratch that – nothing's happening yet. That itako's just torturing Yoh-sama." She muttered, again sighing deeply. "I don't think the itako would be a nuisance against Yoh-sama. As far as I know, she's his trainer."

But unfortunately, Kanna's ears only heard the 'torturing' part.

"TORTURING?!" she exclaimed, standing up in protest; Marion, trying to silence and pull her back down. "The damn itako bitch ain't allowed to do such a thing to the key to-"

"Kanna-san! Marion-san! Matilda-san!" came a distant call.

All three members of the Hanagumi turned their heads to the source of the voice…two of the three's eyes grew humongous in shock.

There, running towards them was the predator's prey, their prey, Asakura Yoh.

Waving frantically, Yoh ran towards the trio, Anna and Amidamaru following closely behind. The dark-haired shaman huffed, taking short breaths, and wiped his sweating forehead with the back of his palm, "What are you doing here? Did something happen…? Or…uh…something?" He grinned, laughing a little.

Both Matilda and Kanna were speechless, staring at the Hao look-alike. Their bodies had just grown limp…and their brain…went blank. They had never failed a predator-prey mission. Never.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Anna stared – at Kanna mostly – positioning herself just in front of her fiancé. She stiffened her shoulders then crossed her arms, tapping her fingers.

Damn that itako. , The leader mentally cursed, clenching her fists tightly. And stop that irritating tapping.

Matilda stood up, stiff, then gave Kanna a quick kick on the ankles and, thinking she remained unnoticed, she added a small message, "Kanna, this is your fault. Say something."

"You know, kicking each other shows real lack of teamwork." Anna said, looking at Matilda's feet then straight at the redhead's eyes. "Right, Yoh?"

Yoh blinked, trying to find the right answer to say to his fiancée. "Ah, yeah. That's why Ryu and Horo horo aren't teammates because they love kicking each other." Said the shaman with renewed light in his face, "But I wonder why Ren and Horo horo are teammates. They kick each other everyday! Hmm…maybe I should tell them that it's showing real lack of teamwork." He said, wondering deeply.

"That wasn't what I meant, baka!" the itako muttered through clenched teeth.

Marion, after a couple minutes of observing, stood up and rid her dress of the few stray grasses. She, being closer to the younger ones, took matters in her own hands. "We were looking for somebody." She said, voice unchanging and body calm.

"What? You're planning to," she cleared her throat, "torture that somebody?" Anna replied, still suspicious.

The blonde shook her head, "No, Kanna and Matilda let that guy borrow Chuck for a while because he told them that he'll fix Chuck." She explained in an almost childish tone, "But he might just be torturing Chuck because I know that Chuck shouldn't be touched by anyone but me. And Chuck has always been that way and if he is not that way anymore, he will not be Chuck but somebody else." Sighing deep and long as though in sorrow, Marion hugged her arms but made her eyes stay at the itako, "Chuck's calling my name. I know he needs me by his side and I need him by mine." Her voice gave away a pinch of sadness and her eyes became glassy.

Yoh's eyes emitted sympathy, while Anna's remained suspicious and, possibly, colder.

Before the itako could say another thing, her fiancé put a hand on her shoulder and cut her off, "Anna, we should let them go now. I don't think they're doing anything suspicious though." That's what you think. God, you're so naïve, Yoh. "Besides, Marion doesn't have Chuck with her. Both Matilda and Kanna have theirs. I don't think she'll just leave her mochirei if they were spying on us, ne?"

The itako's eyes grew wide in surprise. She hadn't noticed that Marion was the only one who doesn't have her mochirei. Yeah, she noticed all the other things: their nervousness and stuff. But never that big fact. Has Yoh been improving without her help? Or…was it something else?

"Let's go. It's getting late." Yoh muttered, steering the itako away from the three.

Anna shrugged off Yoh's hands then walked away, eyes focused in front of her, "Don't think that you weren't noticed." Said the itako to the Hanagumi as her words of parting.

Yoh grinned then shrugged his shoulders, "Bye! Good luck with finding Chuck!" he then ran after his fiancé, waving back at them.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Kanna and Matilda sighed a relief then bounded towards the blonde.

"Great work, Marion." Kanna said, acknowledging their narrow escape. "I don't think we should let them know about that thing yet. I'm sure the itako would be meddling with that. She might even ruin it. Can't have that happening."

Matilda nodded, regaining her bubbly self, "Yeah! It was a good thing you didn't bring Chuck with us! If you did, then Yoh-sama and that itako would've sensed it!"

Marion shook her head and refused to receive her achievement, "No, I did bring Chuck. He's right there, behind the rock Matilda was leaning on." She pointed, voice wispy and worried.

The two looked at each other, frozen in their tracks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + $h@M@ñ k!ñ6 + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm bored. There's nothing to do. Every fight we had was useless. There's no challenge." The Ainu complained, toying with the food in front of him. He pushed the plate away then sighed, letting his head fall down the table with a loud thud.

"If you complain so much, then go out there and jump from a ravine. The world would become a better place then." Ren said, grumbling as he put a dumpling in his mouth then drained it with his ever-faithful milk.

Horokeiu Usui narrowed his dark eyes at the Chinese then opened his mouth to spat back but…

"THEN LET'S GO TRAIN!!!!" Pirika shouted, making her brother jump up from his seat. She gripped the older one tightly on the shoulder and, with unimaginable strength, threw him forward carelessly. "We should try and copy Anna-san and Yoh!!! They train everyday!"

The members of the Ren team snorted. If you can call that training!

"Yoh has beaten you once and if we don't keep up with their pace, you might lose to them again!!!!!! AND THAT CAN'T HAPPEN!!!!" exclaimed the blue-haired girl, gripping the collar of his brother's shirt.

"*gasp* Ah – Pirika, I can't *gasp* breath!!!!" Horo horo muttered though he did not even struggle from his sister's grasp. He knew it was useless.

The door swung open and Pirika dropped her brother down, eyes growing as big as saucers.

"Hey, I'm free!" The Ainu exclaimed, holding out his collar in joy; Ren, rolling his eyes as he took another bite from his Chinese cuisines.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH~!!!!" the ear-piercing, high-pitched scream of the younger Ainu resonated through the whole room; really ear-piercing.

All three fell on the floor, knocked out with a dizzy spell and a constant ringing in their heads.

Ren rubbed the back of his head then rolled to his side. He sat up and massaged one of his aching ears, "Urgh…that was a heart attack…."

"HEAR ATTACK!!!!!" a gong echoed through the Chinese's ears.

His yellow eyes flashed in anger as he snatched his glaive. "Chocolove…." He muttered, anger surging through every part of his body.

Well, we all know what happens to Choco.

"Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-" stuttered Pirika.

"Whaaaatttt?????"

"There's a walking skeletOOOONNNNN!!!!!" Pirika cried, jumping up and down while poking his brother with force far greater than she was aware of.

The skeleton in front of the door rattled.

"IIIYYYYAADDDAAA~!!!!" she screamed, but this time in lower decibels (thank god!). In shock, she ran behind her brother and started clinging to his neck – hard.

"Augh…who made that horrible sound?" a blonde head popped from the doorway. The blonde smiled, regained his posture then gave a wave, "Hello." He greeted, a hand securely placed on the skeleton beside him.

"It's just Faust and his weird skeleton." The Ainu whispered, trying to catch his breath as soon as his sister released her tight, neck-twisting grip. Taking one deep breath, he fell down on the ground, fainted.

And after a moment of silence…

"Uh…yeah…that was a great joke, Faust!!!!" Pirika exclaimed, going into her usual fits of crazy laughter.

The blonde doctor entered the room in a cheerful expression not suitable for his looks. "Well, I was just wondering if you saw Yoh-kun." He asked, turning his head in all directions, "But I guess he isn't here." Shrugging his shoulders, he skipped over Horo horo – who was stupidly lying on the ground, either acting or really passing out – then towards the door.

Ren gave a nod of acknowledgement to the doctor, "Where the heck is Yoh? He's been gone the whole day." He asked to nobody in particular.

Pirika went out to follow Faust – for a reason unknown to all. And the remaining shamans were…uh…out of commission; Chocolove in a not-so-good condition after passing through Ren's wrath; Horo horo, worshipping the ground with his whole body.

The yellow-eyed shaman snickered then turned his back at the two. "Guess-"

"Stupid Chinese shaman. Where else would Yoh be but with Anna in his torture training?"

His eyes darted to a certain figure on the ground, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" he waved his glaive around, making the sharp (and sharper) blade shine with a dangerous glow.

"I'm dead! I'm dead!" The Ainu quickly dropped on the ground, hitting his forehead in the process. Ouch….

With a smirk, Ren returned back in his tracks. "That settles tha-"

"THE ORACLE BELL!!!!" Horo horo shouted, now standing up and pointing at the device strapped to Ren's arm, completely forgetting his own.

Chocolove, with renewed energy, quickly sat up, immune to pain as of the moment.

Ren grumbled to himself, rolling his eyes in irritation of being reminded of the obvious, "Why am I always interrup-?"

"It's our next fight!!!! Which unlucky team gets beaten up today?" the Ainu exclaimed, pushing the buttons of his device. His face fell; serious eyes quickly invaded his face.

"Our opponent is-"

"We fight against the Hoshigumi." Continued Horo, "Hey…isn't that Hao's team?" his voice was mixed with worry and fear, completely serious.

Scoff marks formed on Ren's head, "STOP INTERRUPTI-!!!!"

"Ren! Horo horo! You know, Anna just told me that kicking each other shows real lack of teamwork!" Yoh exclaimed, jauntily hopping towards the two shamans, "I think that you should stop fighting once in a while then you'll be showing real teamwork! Or…well…you know…you might piss off Anna and we all don't want that to happen, ne?"

"Hi Yoh! Faust was just looking for you a while ago." The Ainu waved, back to his normal self.

The dark-skinned shaman nodded in agreement, "We're gonna fight against Hoshigumi next. Wonder what will happen." He explained, looking at his device and pressing a couple of buttons or so.

"Oh?" The Asakura opened his mouth to add more but closed it in a hurry. He grinned awkwardly, "I'll go look for Faust now. And good luck to your fight!" Yoh waved a hand then dashed away in a hurry.

"Hmm…why was Yoh in such a hurry?" Horo horo asked nobody in particular, still busy with the 'wonders of the Oracle bell'.

"BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE!!!!!"

Going cross-eyed in confusion, Horo horo asked, "What in the world happened to you?"

"WELL, if it weren't for someone," eyes the Ainu, "who kept interrupting me every time I start talk-"

"I didn't interrupt you. Besides, you have nothing good to say anyway." The blue-haired shaman boasted, completely unaware of his actions.

Then Ren snapped, "Die."

The two shamans' eyes grew wide, swallowing simultaneously a big lump in their throats as they felt an odd fear climb up their spines.

"Well, I think Faust's calling us." The Ainu supplied as Chocolove whispered in an failing effort to copy Faust's voice, "Horo horo…Chocolove…." The sound that came from his mouth turned out to be a pathetic hoarse and ghost-like, uneven old lady's voice.

Both grew sweat dropped.

"Uh…eh…gotta go! Bye!" Horo horo and Chocolove ran – no, dashed – out of the room, speed increasing every second.

"COME BACK HERE, BAKAAAAAA~!!!!"

"The Ren Team? We're gonna fight against the Ren Team?" Zang Ching repeated in disbelief as his other team members nodded in agreement.

"Well, what should you do? No offense but since, Hao-sama disappeared, his recruited shamans have been a bit…well…rusty." Kanna muttered, sitting with the other Hanagumi members. Both Marion and Matilda gave a nod of agreement.

Turbine grumbled but remained silent still. They all knew that was true. The only people who believed that Hao was still alive were the Hanagumi and Opacho, which made them keep their furyoku in the highest level possible. The others started to lose hope.

Opacho shook his head and sat beside Marion, his feet dangling in the air. "No, Opacho thinks that Hoshigumi will do fine because what we are doing is for Hao-sama. Once Hao-sama takes the Seirei no Ou, we will all be thanked by him for helping him." He said, optimistic as he was.

Some of them shrugged their shoulders but everyone was only on one side.

"But are you sure that Hao-sama's alive? His presence inside Yoh-sama isn't confirmed, you know that." Again, the Chinese shaman asked in doubt.

The Hanagumi opened their mouths in protest but Blocken got to Zang Ching first.

"Just the sole proof of Yoh-sama covering up Kanna and the others is good enough. We know all too well that he is a strong shaman. He could certainly sense Chuck but he let it slip. He even fooled the itako along." Blocken explained, speaking for the first time in hours…or days….

Again, silence overwhelmed them all. Even the humming of the youngest shaman of the group became mute. But still, they had their faith and, it was the only thing they can do:

Clear Yoh's way even if it means spilling the blood of those close to his heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + $h@M@ñ k!ñ6 + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoh sighed. It was the tenth – no, nearly the hundredth time that week that he saw Ren and Horo horo kicking each other's asses. I thought I told them about that lack of teamwork already. , Again, he sighed then stretched both his arms and back. "I should've known that you could never change Ren and Horo."

"Ah, Yoh-dono! There you are! Anna-san has been looking for you! She has sent me to fetch you!" The samurai spirit popped out of nowhere but failed to give surprise to his master.

"Demo…Ren and the others are fighting here! I wanna watch them!" The dark-haired shaman whined. Of course, he felt fine with doing so…since Anna was not around.

Amidamaru shook his head, "No, didn't you hear? They just announced that the fight would be held at the arena! The time was also moved earlier. There were some technical problems with the Oracle bell that's why they couldn't send it to the participants. But Anna-san's great! She got the information from one of the members of Hoshigumi."

Yoh's dark orbs suddenly grew wide, "Oh? Really?" he said, in a playful surprise. Either it was feigned or not, nobody could tell. "Anna got it from Hoshigumi? Hmm…wonder if they're fine…."

"Yoh-dono?" Amidamaru asked. He couldn't see whether his master was talking about the change in schedule and place of the fight or the Hoshigumi. Somehow, it got him worried but he didn't know why.

"Then, we'll meet you guys there. I'll go get Ren and Horo." With those words, the spirit disintegrated, vanished in an instant. "Ren! Horo horo!" Yoh called, walking in his customary slacked position.

"What?"

But Yoh didn't answer quickly. He had just spotted a mirror on the way, showing his face in full view. He approached the said item then smiled his best, letting out a couple of laughs, then turned the mirror around so that he couldn't see his reflection anymore.

"What is it, Yoh? We've been waiting here for almost an hour. Don't tell me anything stupid like you've suddenly become a narcissist." Ren muttered, irritated by the wait.

Acting like he didn't hear the comment, Yoh smiled brightly then said, "Oh, Amidamaru just came by and told me that your match's gonna be held at the arena." He explained, "There was some problem with the Oracle bell that's why they couldn't send the message."

"Oh." Chocolove shrugged his shoulders, "That's okay. The match is held tomorrow, right?" Voices of agreements followed him.

Yoh shook his head, slowly, and then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But Amidamaru said that Anna said that she got from a Hoshigumi member by force – makes you wonder if they're alright, ne?"

"Just get to the point." Ren mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Your match will be held in…uh…30 minutes. They changed the time as well. Come to think of it, the arena is on the other side of town. You'll be late and disqualified." Yoh beamed then added, "Really." Seeing the doubtful faces of the duo in front of him.

"OH SHIT!!!!" The two chorused, racing each other to the arena.

"Hey! Wait up!"

"WHY THE FREAKIN' HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THI S CHANGE?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"HOW THE HELL COULD I?!?!?! YOU WERE TOO BUSY TRYING TO CHOP MY HEAD OFF!!!!" screamed the Ainu in return, "Besides, I didn't know it either. The Oracle bell is a defect." he tapped the device, "Next time, you'll see newspapers flashing headlines like 'The Ren Team Defeated By Disqualification'."

"If you would've been a more peaceful companion, then I would've found out about this change before we got into this big mess!" spat the Chinese shaman, both of them running towards the arena.

"Look what kind of peaceful person is talking!" Horo snorted then coughed.

"Shut up."

"No…you shut up!"

Yoh turned to Chocolove, "But I think it's the guardians' fault for not telling them. Something must've happened that didn't let them get to your team. But isn't Silva reliable with these?" he explained, still smiling. His smile grew bigger when he noticed that the other wasn't listening at all. Can't do anything about that…as of now.

"Hey! We're already here!" interrupted Chocolove, jumping in between the two shamans. He pointed his finger, waving vigorously and exclaimed, "Oh, look! They're about to start now. We're late and we'll be disqualified!"

"NANDA'TO?!?!?!" Horo horo and Ren looked at each other in disbelief, eyes growing wider than saucers.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" asked Chocolove, acting a little innocent than he should be.

Without saying another word, the two constantly fighting shamans linked their arms to Chocolove's and dragged him towards the arena with unbelievable speed.

"Where? What way? Are we late? Are we disqualified? Are we lost? Hey…where's Yoh?" Horo horo looked around, trying to spot their friend but there was no one in that hallway but them.

"Stop asking questions and speed up!" Ren grumbled then pulled his members into one passage.

A bright flash of light greeted their eyes. The vague radio-like noise slowly cleared into the sound of a cheering crowd. And the white sheets formed into numerous lights.

"And the Ren team has finally arrived!" echoed the amplified voice of Krum.

The cheering grew loud. The Ren team could distinguish a few shouts of complains from the few supporters of the Hoshigumi.

Krum approached then and asked, "Hey, what took you so long? I've been trying to delay the crowd here for nearly an hour! They were on the verge of throwing tomatoes at me!"

"Uh…Oracle bell problems. We weren't informed of the change." The Ainu explained, trying to lighten the situation to no a due.

The guardian shrugged his shoulders then went back to his former place. What happened to Silva? "The fight will now start! Thank you for giving us your patience!" with one swift move of his hand, the two teams got into position. "BEGIN!"

"Yoh! Right here!"

Asakura Yoh jerked his head left and right looking for the source of Manta's voice. He quickly saw his friends waving vigorously to catch his attention then waved back, grinning as usual.

"Hey, what happened? Ren and the others are late! They were about to be disqualified!" Manta exclaimed as Yoh squeezed himself between Anna and him.

The shaman shrugged his shoulders, "They said they never got the change of schedule. Wonder what happened." He said as though speaking to himself. "Oh, look, Hoshigumi seems like they're in a hurry." He sighed, "Actually, they look kinda desperate." When will these guys ever learn?

"Uh…but isn't-"

"Ren's team? Don't worry about them. They'll never let themselves lose."

"What's the matter? The oh-so-great Hoshigumi is losing their touch? But then again, you were never a match for us." The Ainu grinned, sending one stream of icicles towards Blocken.

Blocken jumped out of the way, looking like he evaded the attack completely but when he looked, his right leg was completely frozen. He remained motionless and summoned his mochirei once again. He pointed to Horo horo, and the Lego dinosaur rushed towards his opponent, attacking continuously.

"Things would be better and easier if you stopped blabbing at started fighting, baka." Grumbled their team leader, easily destroying Turbine's furyoku and, at the same time, sending a paralyzing attack towards his foe.

A blur appeared in front of the Ainu, destroying the mochirei of his opponent.

"Hey~!!! That was my fight!"

The blur stopped, "Ah, gomen." Chocolove bowed, "Didn't see you there."

"Sheesh, if you were going at that speed, at least learn to control it!" the Ainu scolded, shaking his head in irritation.

"Don't ignore us! We're still here and this battle ain't finished yet!"

"What? You're still here? Why don't you just quit? It'll be easier, ya know." Horo horo suggested, Chocolove backing him up.

Ren swung his sword to his shoulder, "Don't waste your breath. These guys don't listen to anyone but Hao. Unfortunately, without that bastard, they can't do anything right." He grinned, "That's why they'll lose to us no matter what."

"Hao-sama…" muttered Hoshigumi, "Hao-sama will come back. We know he will and we're gonna clear his path towards the Seirei no Ou. And that means getting rid of you!" the group flashed a bright light and summoned the best of their oversouls, the fullest extent of their furyoku.

"At last! Something exciting!" the Ainu grinned, looking at both of his teammates. They shrugged their shoulders then created oversouls as well, summoning the gigantic versions of their mochirei.

Yoh yawned, stretched his arms then stood up.

"Yoh-dono?" asked the samurai spirit, "The fight is not yet finished. I don't think it's good to leave yet."

The shaman grinned, "Iie, I just got a little thirsty. I'm gonna go get something to drink. Anyone want to come?" he offered, looking at his friends, "You, Anna? Want something?"

The itako looked at him. "Water, just water." She threw her itako beads towards Amidamaru, "Just be sure to get it. Don't mislead yourself."

Yoh sweat dropped, "Uh…yeah…. Bye. Gomen, Amidamaru."

"No offense to Hoshigumi but it was sure that they'll loose the battle from the very start. I don't know what's their problem but they're completely useless now." Matilda sighed, "If Hao-sama was still here, we'd get through every battle with ease."

"Their problem is that they don't have enough faith in Hao-sama. That's the reason why they're losing right now. They look – no, they are desperate and pathetic." Kanna grumbled, shaking her head in dismay.

Matilda grinned, "Better not let Zang Ching or Turbine hear that. Who knows what'll happen?" she said then started laughing with their leader.

Then Marion, who was walking in front of them, stopped at the corner.

"Hey, what's with the sudden stop?"

"Yoh-sama." The blonde muttered.

The other members of Hanagumi looked at each other then rushed to Marion's side. "Hao-sama…."

Yoh crouched down, taking the drinks he bought from the vending machine. He glanced at Hanagumi then smiled, "Yo."

"Ah…well…isn't the fight still going on? What are you doing here, Yoh-sama?" asked Matilda in earnest, approaching Yoh.

Again, the Asakura grinned, "Well…it's just that…." He looked at the girls uneasily, "Don't tell Hoshigumi, okay? But…well…Ren's team will win the battle now. I don't need to watch anymore. Besides, I was thirsty." He shrugged his shoulders, showing the bottles he had in his hands. "The other one's for Anna."

Matilda laughed, carrying on the conversation with ease, "Yeah, that's right. That battle was theirs in the first place. Hoshigumi never had a chance." She swung her arms behind her head.

Kanna shook her head, "Good going, Matilda."

"What? What did I say?"

"Ah, speaking of battles…" Yoh eyed Marion then the other two, "I couldn't talk about this in front of Anna…. Uh, well, the battle between us, you know, uh, about two weeks ago…" he shrugged his shoulders then grinned, "Gomen…you lost…"

"Yeah, ain't that obvious?" Matilda rolled her eyes.

"…on purpose."

The redhead's eyes grew wide then quickly shook her head in denial, "No! We didn't! You were just too strong for us! Ne? Ne? Marion? Kanna????" but the rest of Hanagumi just nodded in agreement.

"It's no use. We can't hide it from Yoh-sama." Marion said, shaking her head.

"It's not nice to just let yourselves lose, you know. You should give your best in everything you try. It'd be more fun. Besides-"

"Yoh! Hey, Yoh! Where are you???"

"Ah, gomen nasai, I think I've taken too much of your time. I need to go now. Bye!" the dark-haired shaman waved then dashed away from them.

Hanagumi could clearly hear the complaints of Yoh's group, why he left the battle, Anna and the bottle of water. The voices slowly died down as the group went farther away from them. Matilda shrugged her shoulders then turned around.

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH~!!!!!!"

"Why? What's wrong? Matilda?" Kanna jerked her head to the redhead, who ended up laughing and wheezing.

"Geez, don't jump on me like that, guys. You're scary. And by the looks of it, you've been beat up pretty bad." The redhead shrugged her shoulders, turning her back on the Hoshigumi. "What about that mission thingy? You completely failed, flunked, drowned, whatever!"

"You don't have to rub it in their faces, Matilda. The mission was to clear Hao-sama's path not win the battle." Marion said, looking past the three beaten shamans, "I think Opacho will have a solution for this."

Matilda scowled, crossing her arms in her usual pouting, "You don't have to tell me that. Of course I know that. It doesn't hurt having a li'l bit of fun with them."

The young shaman appeared from behind Hoshigumi, squeezing himself inside the circle. At that instant, the mood of the group changed, "Hao-sama is stronger than Ren's team."

"But to be sure of Hao-sama's win," Kanna lit up a cigarette, "We'll stop them. We'll stop Ren's team. And the rest is," the Hanagumi leader turned to the rest of the group, "up to Hao-sama."



Before the real a/n: Eep!!!! Why does this chapter have too many curses!!! ACK!!! I'm gonna die!!! >_

Forgive me if Hanagumi AND Hoshigumi are OOC (yeah, don't deny the inevitable truth…at least, I think so >_

For those who don't know, Hoshigumi members that I picked are: Turbine (the weird Arabian Nights guy whose spirit is a genie. In the anime, he has that ring thingy that he uses like a gun blah blah wherein some light rope-like thing emerges), Blocken (the Lego kid of the group, the one who wears a cloak all the time, his oversoul is some dinosaur made up of Lego bricks from rat spirits) and, lastly, Zang Ching (Chinese, fat guy, panda man; I've already described him, mind you.)

How do I know those? Ha! I have unbelievable memory span! I can remember everything! NOT! Of course, I did some research! But I still don't know if they're still alive. If not, then let's pretend they are. And, I know they're not the original Hoshigumi; they were randomly chosen by author-dearest (I wanted to put Ashil but he's dead. Good thing Blocken's still there!)

Anyway…

What does Pirika call Anna and Yoh????? And…uh…well…this is the first time I used Horo's real name because I was getting tired of having a limited set of titles for that particular Ainu.

P.S. Hehehehe…I'm an irresponsible li'l author…. I've already created two fics (each a one-shot), completely neglecting this one. And, right now, I've created one chapter of another Mankin fic I plan to post after this one. Can't I just drop this project?

~SILENCE~

*gets thrown by fruits of all sorts including a few bombs and stones here and there*

Hey~!!!! Okay!!!! I was just kidding!!!! I'm not stupid enough to give up on a fic!!! I plan to finish this that's for sure because I love my ending.

Ah, and good news, school's finished! Which means, this story will be finished pretty soon as well! Yay!

Okie dokie, see ya next chappie. Ah, and the next chapter is entitled "Flames". Nothing more to say ^_^