Disclaimer: I do not dream of usurping Hideyuki Takei's work, just as he does not want to take away Rione, Millie, Rune, Eah and Lavi and myself from me. I just like to write Jeanne-Lyserg. Fear me. ^_^
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Previously, on "The Romancers"...
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The last chapter was appropriately named... or perhaps it should be called 'Crossover' instead? We have original characters Eah Osborn and Lavi plus Card Captor Sakura's Hiiragizawa Eriol and Daidouji Tomoyo and company (I'll get to their story in good time) all helping Lyserg. Jeanne was conspicuously missing from the previous chappie, a fact that makes me look around warily. Those Jeanne fans are scary.
This chapter is dedicated to all the Card Captor Sakura fans. More of that to come!
Daidouji Tomoyo, Princess of all Japan? Sutteki! Sutteki!
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The Romancers
Set One: Shaman King
By: Sheo Darren
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Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight
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Chapter Nine: On Vacation
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"Miss Jeanne…"
Buried beneath her comfortable blankets –New Zealand nights could sometimes be quite cold– Jeanne stirred groggily in her fast sleep. In her dream world Lyserg was calling to her, holding his arms out to her, beckoning to her to be with him. Behind him were two people she had never seen before, the boy with glasses and dark blue hair, the girl with violet-gray pupils and long black hair. Beside them were –she did a double-take– a happy Marco paired up with–
"Yare, yare, Miss Jeanne! Ohayou gozaimasu!"
That broke the spell sleep had cast on her. The images slipped away from her mind as Jeanne came fully awake.
Fairly glowing with excitement, the cheerful Rione grinned down at her guest. "Bangon na! Wake up, sleepyhead! We've got a busy day ahead of us today, and we'd rather not waste all the daylight hours we've got! Hala, bangon ka na diyan!"
Still drowsy, Jeanne sat up, rubbed at her sleep-laden eyes to clear them, and glowered cutely at her friend. "Good God, what is it now?" she asked in a rather cross tone.
The Iron Maiden had never really been a morning person, a tiny fact that Asakura Hao had failed to use against her decisively despite the latter's penchant of finding a use for however minor a weakness of his opponent. Jeanne had once theorized that it was due to all the time she spent up late in the night during the war with the renegade Shaman, when she and her X-Laws often operated on what Meene had once joked as 'crummy working hours at the graveyard night shift'. Hao and his minions had a penchant of operating at ungodly hours of the night –a fancy that was understandable, given their evil agenda needing secrecy– and thus the X-Laws had to reset their natural body clocks to compensate for working very late hours.
Perhaps because of the abnormal sleeping hours, Jeanne was rather irritable –or coming as close to being so, considering she wasn't an irritable person but angelic, a fact that everyone who knew her would immediately support– when made to rise up all too early. The usual waking time for her was about ten in the morning, just right for brunch. Anything earlier was a sin.
Like, right now, just three o'clock or so in the morning, the sun itself haven't bothered to get up yet.
Yes, yes, it was a wonderful New Zealand morning as usual, with the clean air and lovely natural foliage and majestic mountains that had produced the Anchor Milk of Filipino advertising fame. Yes, the world was free of Asakura Hao, that greatest of foes and world threats (not to mention greatest of stress-bringers and headaches). Yes, right now she had no responsibilities and no duties –being a 'hostage' had its better points, meaning she was expected to do nothing– and nothing to worry about.
But Jeanne was not a morning person.
Thus, she was annoyed.
And Jeanne annoyed wasn't exactly the most pleasant of people.
Thus the scowl, which wasn't so much as a scowl as it was a slight pout, and a cute one it was considering the cute girl in question. But considering Jeanne's self-discipline when it came to emotions, the gesture was for her equivalent to a normal person's 'death glare', a visible expression of unhappiness and anger.
"Rione, it's cold and still dark, I'm still sleepy, and this bed is very comfortable and is tempting me to bury myself in it and of which I have a mind to give in to, thank you." Jeanne had picked up some of Rune Minor's finer styles of cynicism, and it was a development that rankled Marco like Castro's Cuba annoyed the United States. Not to mention that her sleep was fitful, without the nightmares that haunted her night after night, the best sleep she had ever had for years, but she was still annoyed.
Besides, she left unsaid, keeping the thought to herself, I was with Lyserg –in my dreams, if not right here and right now.
But she was being ignored. Rione was rummaging in a nearby closet, rifling past tidy piles of freshly-pressed clothes, looking for something nice for Jeanne. The Romancer was dressed up in outdoors gear: Boots, short pants and blouse. A big hiking backpack was sitting at her feet, a smaller but similar bag leaning on the first.
Believe it or not, Jeanne became even more cross.
"Ah! Here we are!" Beaming, the older girl presented her find. "And it's just the right size for you, Miss Jeanne, if I'm a judge of fashion."
"Just what are those?" she inquired rather coolly as she glanced at the pile of clothes proffered to her.
"Clothes. They're hiking clothes, to be more exact. Get dressed, we're going out."
"At this hour?"
The smile flashed was enough to simmer Jeanne's displeasure. "You don't want to miss this," Rione said. "You don't want to, not for the world."
Sighing in surrender –the Filipino's charm was such–, the fair-haired French girl took the offered clothes for closer examination. She held the short pants before her with a sort of disapproving look, conservative modesty a prime facet of her thinking and already screaming its head off at such 'indecency'. Rione saw her look and added:
"Gowns and long skirts are not welcome at all where we're going. Don't worry; I packed a lot of spare clothes and a medical kit, just in case."
"I assume we'll be hiking?"
She'd never hiked in a sense. Yes, she and her X-Laws had gone all around the world in the war against Hao, traveling on foot across some of the most hostile terrain –natural or man-made or of the spirit world– known to man. But Jeanne had never done highland trekking for recreation.
It sounded fun, though. Tiring, yes, but it was in the end rather fun.
Besides, the clothes worked. They were meant for practicality, not modesty. Stubborn old-world modesty would only earn her scraped shins and a broken ankle or two during a hiking expedition. Jeanne considered herself a logical person. A bruised ego was better than bruised knees, especially considering her frail physique. Needles from her iron maiden were one thing; sharp rocks were another.
A fantasy of her self dressed in such 'provocative' apparel and asking Lyserg what his opinions were on her new manner of clothing tempted her. She was about to dismiss the thought as some subconscious quibble, but then Jeanne decided to wonder just what he would say if she did such. Would he approve? Would he be displeased? What about Marco? What would the X-Laws say?
Forget Marco and the others. Lyserg's opinion was the one that mattered.
I wonder…
"Miss Rione," she asked delicately, "Where will you take me? On the hike, I mean?"
She grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."
* * *
Ever the gracious host –even though it wasn't exactly his home to speak of– Hiiragizawa Eriol led his companions and the X-Laws inside. Eah and Lavi had only tarried long enough to camouflage the Orca Transport before following them. No one was interested in having a bunch of nosy people flocking to see the very unnatural military assault aircraft parked right outside a house in usually quiet Tomoeda.
'House' was not exactly the right term. The Daidouji residence was a mansion, an expansively large and well-furnished one. It had all the physical perks of such a place: A swimming pool, a tennis/badminton court, a garden and tea bower, and the two-story manor itself, all tended by an army of maids and bodyguards. Lyserg briefly wondered what the cost for building and maintaining such a palatial home was. He decided raiding Fort Knox's gold bullion would just about suffice.
There was a bit of a commotion when the bodyguards tried to take away Eah's AK-74. The Filipino pilot was extremely possessive of his gun and had given his 'tormentors' the run of their lives: With unbelievable speed and agility he scrambled up and down a tree, dived into the swimming pool and came out on the other end in an amazing record-breaking one second, then holed up in a miniature fortress made of chairs and tables in the garden and dared his "bourgeois capitalist oppressors" to "come and get some" as he would "water the soil of his agrarian utopia with their fascist blood" (words in double quotation marks Eah's exact own).
Fortunately, Lavi had a big titanium wrench handy.
As it was, everyone was in the garden now, the 'fortress' now serving its rightful purpose of providing seats and tables. Lavi warned Eah –now nursing a big bukol or bump on his head courtesy her– in very direct and clear terms to behave, "Or else." Thankfully the pilot seemed to understand and kept quiet, fiddling with his AK every now and then but behaving himself in general.
Tomoyo and Nakuru served cakes and lemonade. The X-Laws were thankful save for Vincent Granger, the last ever the feminist who disapproved of such menial 'degradation' of womanhood:
"As usual, women are made to serve the whims of men."
Eriol replied quite conversationally, "Which does not prevent you from accepting the products of the same."
Vincent coughed but kept quiet, being guilty of accepting a (very large) slice of cake. Tomoyo's cooking was just too good to ignore or refuse. Aside, Millie suppressed a giggle while Marco rolled his eyes up to Heaven in a silent plea for peace.
After everyone was fed and relaxed, they got down to business. The atmosphere of the discussion was friendly, but the implications were serious.
"We need your help." Lyserg narrated the events that had led to the kidnapping of Jeanne, elaborating upon the nature of the mysterious kidnapper and the subsequent disappearance. "We think they had teleported to another world entirely, I'm not sure how. Maestro couldn't find them despite his best efforts, and Rune-san was informed by her Elders that they were no longer here on our planet."
"The Druids are quite reliable." That was Eriol, who as his previous incarnation as Clow Read had much experience in dealing with the reticent nature worshippers. "But they are not always the most reasonable of people."
"Are you sure they are telling the truth?" asked Mizuki. "After all, your companion had been cast out from their Order long ago, from what we know."
Between Marco and Millie, Rune visibly stirred, just a tiny hint of emotion at that comment but very significant for her. Kaho-sensei noticed that and moved to apologize: "No offense intended, Minor-san."
"None incurred." But it was too clear to those who knew her well that the normally imperturbable X-Laws was rather agitated. "My expulsion was my fault and mine alone. It had happened long ago, and it no longer bothers me–" Yet another lie, before continuing to the truth, "–but I've changed for the better, and my –the Elders know this. They also know of Jeanne's importance and alignment. They helped us because of her, not because of me."
It was another lie, the last, but only Marco and Lyserg and Eriol knew it, they and–
"I would not think so, Miss Rune, and I think you know better than to do so."
It was Tomoyo. She was giving Rune a long honest look of compassion, her voice soft and compelling and sincere. How she knew the lie for what it was, perhaps it was just womanly intuition –or something else?
Rune coolly returned the kind gaze, but after a moment she looked away, effectively conceding the argument. And that had never happened before, not even with Marco or Lyserg. Rune never surrendered.
Until now, it seemed.
Lyserg took up the argument once more. "We need your help, Eriol. You're the only sorcerer I know who has the power, experience and interest who can help us. We need you to teleport us to a location through time and space. Miss Rune and I can find the exact spot; all you need do is to cast the spell and wait for us to get back. We won't even ask you to help us fight the kidnapper."
"All we're asking you," finished the dowser quietly, "Is to send us there and get us back."
Eriol leaned back into his chair, his blue eyes deep in thought. Everyone hung on what he was going to say. None but Tomoyo knew what his decision was.
"No."
* * *
Jeanne drew in as much of the thin clean mountain air as she could in every breath she took, the better to get enough oxygen back into her lungs. The three hour long trek had worn her out, even well-rested as she was from last night's fitful sleep and reinforced by hot chocolate. They had navigated through a forest first before following a manmade trail up into the nearby mountain, the smallest of its brethren. Scaling the topmost peak of even the smallest one was not in their plans –and out of the question for Jeanne, unless her companion decided to do her 'Superman thing'. But that was cheating.
But it was worth the effort –invigorating, even. Just to look around every now and then filled her with awe. The entire region was untouched by the ravages of man, as breathtaking as it had been hundreds of years ago (or at least in this particular timeline, Gundam Wing-wise) when a New Zealander named Peter Jackson filmed the epic Lord of the Rings and thus immortalized his homeland. If that Ainu Shaman friend of Asakura Yoh –Horohoro– was here, he'd probably flip his senses and have his wits literally go to seed; it was so striking and peaceful.
The Iron Maiden had encountered many awe-inspiring sights in the war of the Shamans. She'd forgotten that there were peaceful things just as awesome –perhaps even more so, for they would endure long after man and his creations disappeared from the face of the world or left it for new frontiers.
Jeanne had stopped awhile to gaze at the wonderful vista of nature before her and to regain her breath. She felt cold and tired and all, but she was happy.
"Don't stand still," advised Rione, tugging her friend's arm for emphasis. "Keep moving for a while. It's the best way to cool your body down."
It was the last thirty minutes of their trek. Finally Rione gestured for a general halt. She pointed in the direction of the shimmering horizon, where the sun was finally catching up with the two 'early birds'.
"Rione?"
"Look. Just look."
She did as her friend advised. They waited expectantly, but not for long.
The dawn blazed over the horizon like wildfire, a brightly burning globe of red and orange, its light scattering upon the waves and the rocks and the trees, scintillating like so many mirrors. At its coming the sleeping animals awoke to begin their lives for the day, and the song of life that sprung up from its natural orchestra was lovely.
It was beautiful.
Overwhelmed by the sense of it all, Jeanne held a hand close to her heart and sighed. I wish Lyserg could see this.
A friendly tap on her shoulder; Rione smiled at her.
"Told you so."
Jeanne smiled back.
"You're right."
"Ayos!" The Romancer was as spry and energetic as she had been when their trek started, but that didn't mean she was unaffected by the effects of time and tide. "Let's go back home! A hot breakfast and a hot bath await us!"
"Lead the way." They started back on their long homeward-bound journey, but not before Jeanne gave one last look at the magnificent New Zealand dawn and kept that memory closely held within her heart.
As long as she lived, that memory and that dawn would never perish.
* * *
It was all Marco could do not to lunge across the table and throttle the somewhat smug young sorcerer where he sat. He did stand up from his seat in righteous fury, eyes blazing angrily, clearly a prelude to a more violent reaction. The Roman lion was aroused in the worst way possible, and it just might end up badly for all involved.
Lyserg had wisely assigned Drake to sit beside the X-Laws in question and asked Maestro beforehand to restrain Marco from doing anything rash. The big ex-Royal Marine was despite his relaxed manner big enough and very ready to grab ten Marcos in a bear hug and bodily hold them down –and he'd win, he was that strong. The psychic didn't need any physical effort or nearby presence, only a strong concentration of his will to halt his target as surely as if they had run into a concrete wall.
Aside, Millie was cringing at the impending disaster and Vincent wondered if she should have just gone back to her old mercenary days rather than putting up with this. Nearby, Eah was going over the pros and cons of tripping Marco with his AK against simply shooting him in the knee. Lavi opted for an obvious grimace. Nakuru and Suppi –the black cat– were alert, having observed the man's growing disconcertment and identifying a possible threat to their Master. Mizuki looked slightly tense, but beside and just as serene as Eriol was Tomoyo.
But it was Rune Minor, of all people, who stopped her archrival from letting his agitation get the better of him and perhaps dooming the entire enterprise.
It was nothing more, really, than her hand reaching out and grabbing Marco's wrist. She did not even grasp him firmly; he could have easily pulled away if he had a mind to.
But it was their actual contact itself –not any visible exertion of strength– that froze Marco in his tracks.
"Yamero." She was cool as always, but oddly Rune dropped her usual sardonic tone, a striking point considering that she had always belittled Marco despite the situation. "Don't."
Marco's fist clenched.
Rune's fingers tightened just a tiny bit.
Everyone stared.
With a huff of displeasure, Marco sat down rigidly. Rune's hand slipped away as he did so, the former Druid returning to her usual distant way of observing her surroundings. Inwardly, everyone breathed in relief –except maybe Eah, who had decided to trip Marco (bullets nowadays were so expensive) and was disappointed not to get a crack at his solution.
Lyserg himself had a far easier time of controlling himself, having known Eriol for quite some time now and knowing there was a reason for the young sorcerer's refusal. He wasn't happy with the choice, but he knew he could still appeal.
"Please excuse Sir Marco. He is very protective of Jeanne and is almost her father, having taken care of her for her whole life."
"No, it is I who must apologize." It was Eriol who stood up now, commanding all attention to focus on him. "I will be the first to admit that I can be somewhat blunt and insensitive at times.
"I must explain my answer. I cannot help you, at least not at once. The gate spell requires much preparation beforehand. It will expend a lot of power, especially if the distances involved are great –perhaps even dimensional in context. I am quite powerful in my own right, but I do not have the fullness of my power that I once had as Clow Read. I alone cannot handle its demands. I will need help from other sorcerers and some time to rest and prepare.
"But my main reason for refusing you is the potential dangers the spell poses for you. The gate spell works, I can assure you of that. I can send you anywhere you need to go."
His tone was as grim as it could be without sounding dire at all, typical Eriol.
"But I cannot assure you that I can bring you back."
* * *
Feeling refreshed from the hot shower and delicious breakfast Rione prepared, Jeanne was listening raptly to her friend's next suggestion.
"How'd you like a trip to the beach? New Zealand has really good beaches."
"You know," the Iron Maiden noted, "This entire thing is turning into a vacation. I thought I was supposed to be your hostage?"
"I told you the Romancers aren't into kidnapping. And you're not a hostage–"
"–But a guest," Jeanne finished for her. Rione laughed.
"I guess this entire thing has been turning into one big vacation, ano?"
"I've noticed."
"Never had a vacation?"
That gave Jeanne paused. "No. I've been the Iron Maiden for my entire life. There was not time enough for normality, not ever."
"Typical. That Marco guy looked like the ultraconservative sort. I was half the mind thinking that he'd kept you locked up inside a remote secluded cloister as a child, shielded from the worldliness of the outside world until you grew to be a perfectly lovely rose. And then," Rione added sneakily, "A certain dowser got up the tower and plucked the rose from beneath Marco's nose without him knowing it, the poor sap."
Jeanne laughed.
"So, after being the Iron Maiden, what do you think are you going to do?"
"I don't know." It was a honest answer. "Maybe go into a monastery; become a nun."
"I'd rather not, if I were you." Rione was lecturing with a spatula in one hand. "Nuns are good and nice; I know quite a few of them, actually, and they're all pleasant people. But you've got a potentially life as a happy normal girl before you. Especially," she elaborated with a smile, "Considering there is someone who'd throw himself in front of a train for you rather than see you slip away from his life forever, he likes you so much."
Jeanne faked extreme ignorance, something the X-Laws had never thought possible: The Iron Maiden making a joke. "Now who could that be?" she pretended to wonder, though she knew exactly who her friend meant. "Marco?"
Rione threatened her with the spatula. "I meant Lyserg-kun!"
"We're just friends."
"Friendship is the first part of love. It's a founding article of the Romancers' Constitution."
"The Romancers have a Constitution?"
"Summarized in this immortal rhyme: Jeanne and Lyserg; kissing on a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes friendship, then comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Jeanne with a baby carriage!"
"Rione!"
"Joke, joke, joke! But you like him, don't you?"
Jeanne was blushing badly. "Well... yes…"
"Does he like you?"
"I... think so…"
"Put some backbone into it, girl! Lakasan mo ang loob mo!"
"Okay, yes. He likes me."
"Ayan!" The girl's eyes twinkled. "Good for you!"
"Don't tell me this entire episode was sparked by a mission to pair us up?" Jeanne asked. The idea of this entire 'kidnapping' and 'chase' all for the objective of ensuring she and Lyserg ended up together was, to use a Tagalog phrase beloved of Rione, "Nakakabusog ng puso," or "Touching".
"I hate to break your bubble, pero hinde. You and Lyserg are already an official pair, together forever even without our help."
"Then just who are you aiming to pair up, Miss Romancer?"
Rione's grin grew big, Cheshire Cat-size.
"Sikreto…"
Secret…
* * *
All of the X-Laws stared at him.
"What?" That was Millie, echoing the troubled thoughts of both Vincent and Drake. "You mean you aren't sure if you can bring us back?"
"The gate spell diminishes in its power and its reach over large distances, especially between dimensions. If the kidnapper had taken the Iron Maiden to another dimension as you fear, it would be a tremendous effort to merely reach out to that plane; more so to actually send you there." Eriol's level gaze spoke volumes. "To maintain the gate over such a massive distance for extended periods of time is well nigh impossible, even if all the sorcerers in the universe banded together to do so. Considering that we will be quite taxed in just sending you there, expecting us to bring you back within an hour's notice, say, is asinine."
"So we can't go back," quietly noted Lyserg, absorbing this ominous fact. "We can go there to rescue Jeanne-sama, but we can't return to our own world."
"Just like Hotel California," groaned Vincent. "You can check in, but you can never leave."
"Those were devil worshippers," Drake informed his companion. "Father Anderson got them in the end, though."
He was referring to the Roman Catholic Church's counterpart of the X-Laws, the Vatican-sponsored Section Thirteen. Section 13 dealt with paranormal and supernatural crises such as devil worshipping, undead and hauntings. Their primary agent was Father Alexander Anderson, a Scottish regenerator paladin who was quite cheerful with normal people and butchered the undead –and anyone in league with them, human or not– with equal cheerfulness. Marco had been Father Anderson's classmate way back. The X-Laws had encountered him several times, not exactly and never to their profit.
Speaking of Marco, the Roman had kept quiet ever since he sat down. Actually, he had kept his peace for the entire discussion save the one instance that his temper got the better of him. Now he drawled, "So, there is no guarantee that you can bring us back?"
"None," answered Eriol.
"You're sure you can send us there, but you cannot bring us back?"
"Yes on the first part, I'm not sure on the second. I am not sanguine on the possibility of extracting you from that dimension once you're in place. There is a chance of success, but very marginal."
"Fancy talk for, 'Probably not'."
"You have a point. All right, probably not."
"Fine." Marco leaned forward. That action got Drake and Maestro's attention, who prepared to stop their former boss from going at it again. Noticeably, Rune did not move or react. Perhaps she knew something the others didn't, that Marco wasn't going to mess things up?
He didn't.
"Fine," said Marco in a cool businesslike tone. "Send us there."
Now that earned a raised eyebrow from Eriol. "Pardon me?"
"You heard me right. Send us there."
"I've already told you that the chances of you getting back–"
"–Are slim. I know. Send us there."
The X-Laws stared at Marco. They were sure he knew the risks in the endeavor. But here he was, willing to risk never getting back home, his devotion to the Iron Maiden so resolute and firm that she came first before anything or anyone else –even himself.
"He's right." It was Lyserg who came to Marco's support. "We have to go after Jeanne-sama. It is our duty to her as the X-Laws. Her safety comes first before our own. Without her, we are nothing."
Without her, I am nothing…
A slight smile creased Marco's face. "Spoken like a true leader of the X-Laws."
Lyserg smiled back. "You taught me all I knew, Sir Marco." To the others: "Well?"
Rune was the first to stand up. Typical of her, she did not say anything and did not need to. She just did so.
Grinning broadly, Drake followed her lead. "A Royal Marine knows where his loyalty lies. As our American buddies say, 'First to fight'. I'm with you, Lyserg."
The realistically-inclined Vincent groaned at her companions' idealism, but when Maestro nodded his head in agreement –unable to sit due his armor, he had been standing all the time– she threw her hands up in the air. "No one is going to say that Vincent Granger is not coming along for the ride when psychics decide to give it a try." She stood up as well. "We're all going to die, but better to die in action than in torpor."
That left Millie, who hugged her pet Haro 'Red' close to her and kept quiet. All eyes focused on her.
She was frightened, frightened of the possibility that she would never be able to return home.
Lyserg went to her side and held her hands. "Don't worry, Millie," he said kindly. "I'll protect all of us. I'll bring everyone back home, especially you."
She looked up into those handsome green eyes and felt her courage return. For him, she would dare anything and fear nothing, even if it was a hopeless dream to be with him.
It was only for Lyserg Diethyl that she had eyes and voice and heart and life.
Millie nodded.
"Well, now." Eriol looked quite interested in the gathering. "Since I cannot dissuade you from the risks, I have no choice but to agree. We'll do it tomorrow, if it pleases you."
Beside him Tomoyo beamed. I told you so.
Lyserg breathed in relief. "Maraming salamat," he said, smiling.
"'Yan ang bata ko!" Eah gushed happily, impressed with his buddy. "Go, Lyserg!"
"Haro!" Red chirped happily. "Yatte yaruze! Yatte yaruze!"
Let's do it!
Itutuloy…
Sheo's Thoughts:
I wrote this in only two days. Ayos, ano? I really love writing Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight. It's so fun to write! So fun to have Rune needle Marco! So fun to mess with Marco! Everyone –well, almost everyone hates Marco! Especially me!
Now, some reviewers had been asking questions about this story. Here are some answers to that.
1) Nagumo: Yes, you are right. I got Marco and Jeanne's last names from your story Exaudi Nos Misrere. Actually, one of my favorite anime characters is named Tessa Testarossa, and your fic's Marco had caught my attention by having the same last name. As for Jeanne, it kind of logically follows that her last name could be D'Arc ('of Arc') as the name 'Jeanne' can be translated as 'Joan' and her being French. Apologies for forgetting to inform you and kudos to your excellent story.
2) Fluffychans: Yes, I have an original story featuring Lavi and Eah –and, if you ever dip into my Guilty Gear fan fiction (onegai, don't! My GG story is bad for your sanity! ^_^), the main protagonist in it is Elde Talonn, The Wanderer. It's actually a cross-over story importing a lot of characters and ideas from both anime and games I like. I'm still working on the exact details. By the way, Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight takes place about a year or so after Shaman King. Finally, if you have any suspicions as to whom Rune is thinking of… sikreto na lang natin iyon ^_^
My Card Captor Sakura story will come out perhaps during June or July 2004. It's mostly complete, but I'm currently busy finishing two fan fiction –my Guilty Gear story and this very story– so it's on hold. To quote Rione, the 'targets' are (obviously) Tomoyo and Eriol. Also, there are other pairings that just might get your attentions ^_^.
Finally, I'm still alive even though I brazenly did not put Jeanne in the last chapter. Now that is courting massive retaliation from all the Jeanne fans. But since they are not here and I did write much of this chapter about Jeanne-chan, I think I have nothing to fear–
(Setsumi-san, Kitsune Asakura, Fluffychan, syaoran no hime, Apple-chan, Angel-wing2 and all the other Jeanne fans arrive, carrying cute weapons of destruction such as bloody axes and Piko-Piko Hammers and apple pies and orange rubber duckies, all yelling, "Sheo! Why did you not show Jeanne-sama in the previous chapter? Suffer our displeasure!")
–Or maybe not: Help! Send me reviews and I'll probably survive this –ack! Ow! Ugh! Please, stop –Hey, wait! No, not that! Not the hair! Anything but my hair! Augh! Save me, Lumiere! NOOOooo…