Shaman of Emerald Flame
Chapter Four: Stubborn and Interesting Female

Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei

I only own the original characters and some original concepts.

Flamers: I have yet to be flamed for a fanfic, but anyways I dun really care if you flame me or not. I certainly won't like it since I think it's very rude to flame people. If you have constructive criticism or an ideas for me I will accept them gladly and with politeness. Flaming is immature and rude and any flames will be ripped to pieces and fed to my kitties and my dog.

Author Notes: This is a rewrite of the series , meaning plot changes

I'm also going by the manga because I have no access yet to the anime, and five seconds of the dubbed near killed me.

Couplings: Yoh x Anna, Amidamaru x OC, Ren x OC

Warnings: original characters, romance, cursing, insanity and once again plot , also might be a bit of out of character ness.

Also if you would like to use Koneko or any original characters please let me know.

Also I want to thank Just a Little Disturbed for beta-ing my story. She saved you all from the terror of my awful grammar and spelling.

Sorry for not updating recently but I was grounded and still technically am, my parental unit is just more lenient on the weekends.

Italics and {}- flashbacks

Koneko Urameshi

~~~~

"Damn, it's late," Koneko cursed lightly as she ran through the town long after the sun had set. She was still dressed in her school uniform even though it was almost after ten o'clock at night. "Damn Keikan and her stupid training. I have no problems with training, but her method's are just ridiculous." The girl sighed and stopped to catch her breath outside of the cemetery.

"Well, I might as well cut through the cemetery and admire the stars. I probably missed the last train anyways," she said to herself and jumped over the fence easily. She sighed as she glanced up at the stars from the grassy spot she had stopped at, the night wind playing with her long bangs and braid playfully.

"I know this is the best spot in the city to star gaze, but it's still not very easy to see them," she muttered to herself. She felt one of the charms on her bracelet vibrate, and glanced to the side of her at a oriental-like building in the cemetery. Standing on the roof of the building was what appeared to be a boy not much bigger then her, gazing at the stars.

"That's odd. I thought me and Yoh were the only people that stargazed this late, or maybe just me," Koneko paused thinking. "Yoh's probably asleep by now."

"What's a cute little girl like you doing in a cemetery at this time of night," a dark adult voice said from behind her causing her to turn sharply. She found herself looking at a tall, black-haired man with muddy brown eyes and a pair of the dirtiest clothes she had ever seen. And that was counting herself after climbing mountains for days on end. He smirked at her in a perverted way as she took a slight step back. She stared at the large dirty shovel that he held in one of his hands.

"Gr-ave ro-bber," she whispered to herself, feeling herself grow scared and angry at the same time.

He nodded to her and grinned widely. "Yes, I'm a grave robber and what of it?"

"It's not right," Koneko snapped, her anger far stronger then her fear at that point. "Your being disrespectful to the dead and the ghosts that reside here."

He laughed at her cruelly. "You've flipped your lid, little girl! Ghosts aren't real, just old tales to keep good little children in their beds at night." He stepped towards her. "Apparently, you're not a good little girl," he said before trying to tackle her.

She barely managed to jump back and away from him in time.

He was still smirking as his face hit the ground. His arm lashed out and grabbed the little redhead's ankle and twisted hard, pulling her down to the ground by her leg. She winced and let out a sharp pained yelp and began kicking and punching frantically to get the man to release her. Her emerald green eyes went wide when he grabbed her small wrists in one hand and successfully pinned her to the ground. His other hand went to grab her shirt and ripped some of the buttons of the uniform shirt open. She struggled frantically, trying to get free and then bit down hard on the man's hand that was starting to go near her face.

"Little bitch!" He tried to punch her but then let out a loud yell of pain and jumped backwards holding his left eye; Koneko saw that it was pouring out blood, a large slash running across the left side of his face.

"WHO the hell?!" He stared at someone behind her with his right eye.

"Filthy human," a young male voice said behind her. She managed to sit up weakly, using her arms to shield herself where her shirt had been ripped open and turned her head to see who was behind her. A boy of about Yoh's age was standing directly behind her holding a long red Chinese spear, the silver blade was tipped with blood at the end. His gold eyes looked from the to man down at her.

"Are you okay, little girl?" he asked, cold anger still evident in his voice.

"I think so." When she looked back to where the man had been, he was gone. The boy knelt down to inspect her bleeding ankle.

"That doesn't look 'okay' to me," he said dryly and then lightly touched her ankle. She barely managed to hid a wince.

"Your ankle is badly sprained, almost a break," he said, looking straight into her eyes, looking as if he were waiting to read her reaction.

"It's okay..I've had worse, much worse." She smiled lightly and tried to stand, however the pain was more then she had been expecting and she fell forward. The gold eyed boy caught her.

"Whether the pain bothers you or not, you obviously can't walk," he said looking down at her. She stubbornly glared back at him.

"I'm fine! I can walk!" she growled, her pride as a martial artist not very willing to admit that she probably did need help.

"You're a stubborn one," he muttered as he set her down by a tree, then pulled her boot and sock off.

'Gee, isn't it a good thing I decided to not wear leggings today,' Koneko thought to herself sarcastically.

"Why are you helping me?" she finally decided to ask. "You don't seem like the 'save the little girl in distress' type to me."

"I'm not," he assured her. "Actually, I need you to deliver a message to the headphones boy for me. I have my doubts whether that little..."

"Shrieky-boy?"

"Yes. Whether he will do as I tell him."

"Did you scare the shit out of him?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, he'll give the message tomorrow at school and probably half-kill my ears again in the process," she muttered darkly and then stared as she finally noticed the ghost of a Chinese warlord watching them.

"Umm...is that your ghost?" she asked as he began to wrap a bandage around her ankle.

"Yes, that is my ghost. Where are yours, little girl? I didn't notice them protecting you the way they should have been," he said, a slight cruel tone in his voice. She didn't really notice and just shrugged.

"One of them is a child and probably freaked out, the other doesn't know shit about fighting," she paused. "And the other one was pissed at me for something and refused to leave her memorial tablet, which is in my bedroom," she groaned and smacked herself in the head. "And why the hell did I tell you all that. I have no reason to answer you. Hell, I don't even know you!" She also then glared as she realized something. "And another thing, stop calling me little girl! I'm not that little and you don't look much older then me!"

"Fine, girl."

"My name's Koneko," she growled. "And you'd better call me by it, too."

"Or you'll do what? Hit me?"

"You ever been castrated by a girl with one hit?"

"No, and I have no intention of trying it. Besides, you can barely stand up as it is. I doubt there's much damage you can do to me," he said lightly, putting pressure on her ankle.

"I have two able arms, fists, a pair of teeth, a lighter in my pocket, and my other leg works just fine," she said, trying to stand up again. He stared at her, then laughed, making her jump and fall back down.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" she yelled, rubbing her head which had slammed against the tree when she fallen back.

"I didn't do anything," he said standing up and stepping back from her.

"You did too do something; you just laughed, randomly, and it wasn't a good-natured laugh! It's not like I said anything funny, either."

"You're even more interesting than I had thought you would be." He turned to leave. "Since you don't want my help, I'll be leaving now. The name's Ren.." he obviously had something else to say, but she interrupted him.

"I never said that I didn't want your help; I just don't understand why you want to help me. I'm just a little girl, despite what I try and say. I'm not worth that much and you're certainly not going to get anything by helping me. As for your message, Shrieky is perfectly capable if not more so then me, to deliver your message."

"What do you mean that boy is more capable then you?"

"He's got a better memory and has a different idea of importance then I do," she said simply trying to stand and barely succeeding in it, but it was obvious that she was determined to get home with or without his help.

Ren just watched her as she limped and struggled over to the other side of the cemetery, and then nodded to himself as he made up his mind and walked quickly over to her and picked her up.

"Now what are you doing?" she asked, glaring.

"I'll drop you off near your home, you should be fine from there," he calmly replied, walking out of the cemetery with her staring up at him in partial shock. His ghost slowly smiled as he watched this.

~~~~~~

Koneko silently glanced out the window of the restaurant they were eating in. She hadn't touched her food yet, nor had she told Yoh or Manta about her ankle. She had decided to let them figure it out; if they paid enough attention, they could easily notice it. After all, she had been limping all day.

"Ren.." she heard Yoh say and looked at him in surprise. "Ren.. Ren... nope, doesn't sound familiar."

"But he said he was going to take Amidamaru!" Manta screeched loudly causing Koneko to lightly cover her ears, wincing. She had known about Ren's message, as he had given it to her when he put her down about a block away from where she and Yoh were living. She hadn't told Yoh and really had no intention of telling him. She knew Manta would do that; he was good at telling things he was told to, he just said them way too loud. Koneko decided to play the innocent or try to, was more like it.

"So.." she started, hoping she sounded convincing. "I take it you ran into Ren-san, Manta-san?"

"I said that earlier!" he said even louder. She was lucky he and Yoh were such idiots. They had easily bought into her act. "You weren't there, though. Why weren't you in school for half the day?"

"I needed a bit more sleep," she lied knowing they would believe her, they were both very gullible. She hadn't come to school till around lunch time, since she had gone to the temple to get her ankle healed. Keikan had been a bitch and make her do the healing, so while Koneko could walk on her ankle with out wincing, it still hurt a lot.

"Oh...you need to get more sleep. It's bad to miss school," Manta said, lowering his voice when he noticed her glaring at him. She shrugged, her way of saying whatever. "How do you know about what that Ren guy said last night anyway? And why are you being so polite, that guy means trouble."

"Meh.." she shrugged again. "I ran into him last night, actually. He helped me out a bit. I also don't like being rude to people I don't really know, whether they are present or not. Besides, so far, my opinion of him is good. Anyway, we don't even know if he's a good or bad shaman."

"BUT!! BUT...you heard what he said!" Manta said, staring at her in shock. She merely raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, did I?" Koneko leaned back in her chair.

"HE SAID HE"D TAKE AMIDAMARU!!!" the small boy screeched.

She sighed rubbing her ears. "I really wish you would stop that and I still don't see your reason for worry, Manta-san."

"She's right, Manta, you shouldn't worry about it," Yoh cheerfully said, entering the conversation. "You said he was a shaman and anybody who can see ghosts can't be bad. Besides he helped Ko-chan out, right, Amidamaru?" he asked his ghost who was floating beside him.

"I suppose if you say so, Yoh-dono," the ghost agreed. This time both Koneko and Manta sweat-dropped.

"Idiots! It's always possible that a shaman can have different morals and views then Yoh," the girl growled, hitting Yoh over the head.

"I think you worry to much," he mumbled, rubbing his head.

"Well," she crossed her arms and glared at him. "I think you're an idiot."

"THAT'S HIM!" Manta shouted, looking out the window at something. His yell this time caught both shamans' attentions; they turned to look at what he had seen.
"THAT'S REN!" Sure enough Manta was right. It was indeed Ren and he was surrounded by a few adult men that were shouting at him, clearly pissed about something. He wore a similar scowl to the one had he given her attacker, except the one given to her attacker was of hatred and anger, this one was just pure annoyance.

"Oh? Him? He's not much bigger than Ko-chan," Yoh commented, resting an arm on her head, causing her right eyebrow to twitch. She couldn't deny that he was right, for Ren was only about two to three inches taller then her, but it still annoyed her.

"Get your arm off of my head before I seriously think about hurting you; by the way, the nickname doesn't help my temper," she growled. He lifted his arm off of her head, holding up his hands in defense.

"Aww, come on, Ko-chan. You know I was only teasing."

"STOP CALLING ME KO-CHAN DAMNIT!"

"Why? You're Ko-chan, why should I stop calling you that?"

Manta stared at them as did Amidamaru. "Um .. are you guys paying attention?" he asked, sweat-dropping.

They both turned their heads to look back at him and then out the window at was happening; they managed to look in time to see Ren easily take care of the adults around him with a few quick kung fu moves. Yoh stared while the redhead beside him raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, Kung FU!!" Yoh exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yeah, look at him move! He beat them all and really fast," Manta said in agreement, his eyes about ten times bigger then Yoh's.

"... He is very skilled," Koneko said seriously, her arms crossed as she watched the scene unfold.

"Hey, is he really a shaman? He's pretty strong, even without ghosts," Yoh asked, turning his head to look at Manta and seconds later was once again hit on the head.

"BAKA! Just because your already strong doesn't mean you're not a shaman. It just means he's not a lazy ass like you and has probably trained for a long time to become that good, something you should really consider doing," Koneko hissed at him and he just gave a lazy shrug.

"AHHH!" Manta screamed and she winced again.

"Please stop screaming. For the sake of my hearing, if anything," she pleaded to Manta, holding her hands over her ears tightly.

"But that guy in the car is going to run him over," Manta said, pointing outside. The small shaman bit her lip nervously as she saw the car driving towards Ren. Koneko could see Ren's mouth moving and knew he must be saying something as he threw off his yellow school jacket to reveal a memorial tablet in a black shoulder holster that was strapped around his upper body. Her frown increased as she saw the ghost from the previous night materialize behind him.

"THAT'S HIM!" Manta yelled. For once she ignored the pain in her ears, her eyes glued to the window as she watched Ren integrate with his ghost. Manta and Yoh's eyes went wide as the Chinese spear appeared in his hands, and he cut the car clean in half.

"Sugoi," Koneko whispered to herself, and then she noticed Yoh getting up.

"Where are you going?" she asked, watching him leave the table and head for the door, but he gave no reply. She glanced back out the window and notice Ren pointing the spear down at the last of the men about to kill him. She stood up as Yoh grabbed the handle of the long Chinese spear from behind Ren. She cursed to herself and ran out the door of the restaurant standing in front of it, prepared to intervene if things got to ugly.

"Heh...heh...There you are," Ren grinned, still looking down.

"What do you think your doing? A shaman doesn't take lives," Yoh said angrily. Koneko felt Midori materialize behind her.

"Glad to see your finally back," Koneko said never taking her eyes off the two male shamans.

"I sensed you were in danger," the ghost whispered softly, knowing she was in trouble.

"I was last night, too," Koneko grumbled.

The emerald dragon glanced at Ren, purposely not answering her master. "Yoh-sama is a right. A shaman doesn't take lives."

"Shouldn't take lives, you mean," Koneko sighed and crossed her arms. "You can be a shaman and take lives. Sometimes it may be necessary."

"It's never right to take lives," the ghost said angrily. "It's not right to hurt people, ever."

"If the world worked liked that, Midori, then there wouldn't be any ghosts." She watched as Ren pulled his spear out of Yoh's grasp and turned to face him holding his weapon in front of him.

"Calm yourself, their lives are worthless. As a shaman you should understand that." Ren glanced to the side lowering his spear. "They pollute the skies and the stars have hidden themselves. They rush around frantically to escape their lack of inner peace. Never was there an age so ignorant of spiritual things. This world is to polluted, don't you agree? I am the one who be the ruler of the shamans, and purify this world," Ren looked back at Yoh. "And for that...I need your ghost,"

"KONEKO- SAMA! Are you hearing this?! How can you be so calm!" Midori said, staring at her master who was not at all disturbed by Ren's words. In fact, she seemed to agree with them, mostly.

"Simple. Most of the demon race has an even worse opinion of the human race, shamans included in that. Besides he has a good point..." she said easily, shrugging.

"Koneko-sama, that was mean."

"And very true," she paused and grinned as she noticed the flaming car behind Ren. "That was one awesome looking fire."

"ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION?!" the dragon roared.

"Of course I am. I just got distracted by the pretty fire."

"Now...enough talk, headphones! Hand over your spirit partner, the samurai!" Ren said, smirking evilly. Midori glared at him from beside her master, who was still completely calm.

"We should help," the black and green haired ghost said, eyeing the red-haired shaman.

"Meh, I'm not intervening unless things get really bad."

"No," Yoh said very simply. "Who do you think you are? You're talking nonsense! Do you really think I'll give into your demands!?" He angrily said, crossing his arms.

"Heh," Ren was still smirking. "Should I have said 'please'?"

"No," Yoh yelled fiercely. "Amidamaru is my friend! I won't hand him over like he's an object."

"Friend...?" Ren seemed confused.

"Sure! If you want Amidamaru's help, just ask us like a friend."

"He didn't really just suggest that, did he?" Midori look at Koneko who was sweat-dropping heavily. The red-haired girl just covered her eyes and shook her head.

"HAHAHAHA! " Ren laughed coldly. "A ghost is your friend!? That's a new one! Where did you get that idea?"

Midori zoomed behind Koneko. "I don't like that shaman," she said, venom in her voice.

"What's so funny?" Yoh asked, looking at Ren, anger still visible in his eyes.

"To a real shaman, spirits are mere tools from which to draw abilities. Is a carpenter friends with his saw? How absurd," Ren replied easily, still obviously amused at Yoh's ideas.

"Tools...?" Yoh glared.

"He can glare?" the female ghost was shocked.

"Evidently so," her master said, nodding slightly, her arms still crossed.

"That's right. It's the simple truth. Got a problem with it?" Ren glared back fiercely. "You're a shaman and you don't even know that there must be a ruler of our kind... Your ghost partner is impressive, but your only a beginner," he stepped forward, his ghost materializing behind him again. "That samurai is too good for you. A powerful ghost deserves a powerful owner-- like me. If you won't hand him over......I'll take him by force."

"BASON! DESTROY THAT SHAMAN!!"

Midori's mouth fell open. "Can't you do something now? Yoh-sama won't stand a chance against that boy!"

"You don't know that," the young girl beside her said stubbornly. "If I feel the need, I'll intervene. I don't need you repeatedly pressuring me about it, Midori. I can't always be fighting Yoh's battles for him; he'll never get stronger that way. This way, we can see where his real strengths lie." Koneko smiled at her ghost, "Besides, I'd never let anybody kill Yoh. He's one of the greatest friends I have, after all. Also, I owe him something I could never repay; keeping him alive is the least I can do in an attempt at repaying his family."

"Koneko-sama..."

"Is that how you turned your ghost into a fighting machine? I don't know what sort of big shot you think you are, but.." Yoh gripped a metal pole in front of him as if it were a sword. "The way treat ghosts like property pisses me off. AMIDAMARU!!" The samurai appeared behind the black haired boy. "You heard his story! Let's teach him a lesson. He's got things all wrong!"

"I agree," Amidamaru replied.

Koneko bit her lip slightly in worry and then shook her head, almost denying something in her head. Both female shaman and female dragon ghost could only watch as Yoh's pole and Ren's spear met, both then jumping away. Yoh was dodging each of the Chinese shaman's attacks with expert grace and agility.

"Yoh-sama's winning."

"No, Midori," Koneko said, shaking her head. "He's dodging. No one can win by purely dodging. It's a rule of battle."

"Koneko, you have to stop them!" Manta yelled, running up to her. She shook her head.

"As I told Midori, I will only interfere if I really feel I need to.." she seemed to be doubting her decision. "I can't always be bailing Yoh out of trouble. He needs to fight his own battles."

Ren bent down low and then brought his spear up towards Yoh. "VOPRAL DANCE!!! ZONG HUA ZHAN WU!!"

"T-that was the move that split that car in half," Manta said, his eyes going wider then she had ever seen them go. She merely nodded.

"If I can not dodge, I shall parry," Amidamaru's voice came from Yoh's body, and he brought the pole up to meet the spear again blocking the powerful attack.

"HE BLOCKED IT!!" Manta screamed and now it was Midori's turn to glare at him. Politely, of course.

"That's far louder than necessary, Manta-sama," she growled lightly and he gave a meek apology.

"HA!! I was right! I would expect nothing less from the ghost that I chose! Now I want you all the more, Amidamaru," Ren said twirling his spear grinning. " The test of your strength is done! Now I'll hunt you for real!"

"Testing my true strength?! What are you talking about?" the samurai yelled, very confused.

"Amidamaru...you are far stronger then Bason. But you can't defeat me in the body of headphones boy!! You must realize that he can't even access 10 % of your power."

Amidamaru and Midori stared at him, Koneko gave a soft sigh.

"He's right.." she admitted.

"Your kidding, right?" Her ghost refused to believe her.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" All cheerfulness had gone from the girls brilliant emerald green eyes, instead they were filled with seriousness and worry.

"So...willing to do something about it now?"

The redhead shook her head in a troubled manner. "Stop saying that! You're going to convince me to do something reckless and foolish."

"Observe the power of a true shaman..." Ren held his spear in front of him. Koneko raised her head staring at him, already having a good idea about what was coming next.

"100 % Integration!!! VORPAL DANCE!! ZHONG HUA ZHAN WU!!

Manta's eyes were wider then saucers, but then he realized something. Koneko was no longer beside him and Midori's hands were in front of her mouth, her green eyes wide with shock.

"KO- CHAN!!!!" Yoh yelled, temporarily stunned as she had pushed him out of the way in time to take the full blow of Ren's attack.

"KONEKO-SAMA!!" Amidamaru looked just as surprised.

The redhead coughed slightly, blood pouring out of the large wound in her stomach. She was barely able to keep her self up, an odd smile on her face.
"Hey, no worries. I'm alive.." she managed to get out. Swaying, the pain from her stomach and ankle causing her to stumble, she fell forward. However, it wasn't Yoh that caught her, it was Ren.

"You idiot girl," he growled, looking down at her, surprise written all over his face. "Why did you get in the way of the attack..?"

She smiled up at him. "Yoh's my friend, and I was being bugged to interfere..I guess you'd say when people pressure me to interfere too much I get worried and do reckless, stupid things."

"Your friend....?"

"Yes, my friend..." her voice trailed off as she passed out from pain and exhaustion. Ren stared down at her and then realized he'd hit her directly in her stomach and ribs. He leaned in towards her face, checking to make sure her breathing was normal.

"AHHHHH!! Did he just kiss her?!" Manta yelled in shock. Midori's eyes clouded over to an acid green in pure anger. Yoh looked about as shocked and had probably thought the same thing as Manta and Midori.

"Good. Breathing is normal," the Chinese shaman muttered to himself. He lifted her unconscious, bleeding body into his arms and turn away from Yoh.

"HEY!! Where are you taking Ko-chan?!" Yoh yelled, immediately panicking. The other boy didn't respond and only seemed to walk faster, his ghost having disappeared from sight

Yoh found he could only stare into the distance as he fell back onto the pavement. "Now what do we do...?"

~~~~~