Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: If you want to see my long, drawn out explanation of things, take a look at the Chapter 1 Prologue. I don't feel like repeating myself and I'm sure you don't want to read it again if you already have.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

In Response to Reviews

To THE-PIT-MONSTER: Welcome and thanks for reading my first SK fanfic.

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To Black Dragon: If you really want to know what's going to happen, well you'll just have to wait like the rest of the readers for it to happen. If you want Taki to make you a cookie, ask her yourself.

Ren: (growl) It wasn't funny!

The Original Characters

Tyriel

Age 12

Birthday: August 13, 1987

Star Sign: Leo

Blood Type: AB

Details: A childhood friend of Crystal's who lives by the belief that as long as he doesn't get caught, he can get away with anything. He was one of the children who played with Crystal in Elementary School and one of the few that rejoined her in Middle School. Like Crystal, he was also unaware of his connection to the world of spirits until the fateful night when Crystal left for Tokyo. [Tyriel is a character based on a real friend of mine.]

Chapter Two, Part One: The Plot Thickens

Just after Crystal left for Tokyo...

Hao stood quietly and watched Takiryuu disappear into the darkness of the night sky. Even after four years he couldn't figure out what it was that made the girl called Crystal support him without question. She had seemed like a perfectly ordinary human being up until the point that Taki, the spirit of the waterfall that had become their meeting place, saved her from the Spirit of Fire.

I wonder what has become of the Spirit of Fire. I haven't even tried to summon it since I lost the Shaman Fight. It was a fact that left him with a sense of bitterness and a sense of relief. Somehow Yoh had succeeded in accomplishing the impossible by defeating him, and moreover had left him alive to reflect on it. The key to Yoh's mysterious power still eluded Hao and that was probably the thing that bothered him the most. Then again, the girl he had sent to challenge Yoh was almost as much of a mystery.

There was a faint rustling in the trees nearby as a shadowed figure stepped out from behind them and onto the rocks that made up the upper level of the waterfall. Disregarding that he was a considerable distance from the ground bellow, this figure who was clearly a boy perched himself on the end of the ledge. The boy looked directly at Hao without any further movement.

Hao had turned around to trace the source of the rustling and was puzzled by the boy he saw staring at him from the top of the waterfall. He had always assumed that Crystal was not the only person in the area that new about the location of this particular waterfall, but the fact that this boy looked to be about two or three years younger than himself and that he was out and about at this time of night was strange. It also occurred to him that it seemed as though the boy had not appeared to be behind those trees only minutes earlier, but was it possible for someone to actually materialize out of thin air?

I don't get it. Is this guy really the reason why Crystal leaves the playground early on certain days? I thought she said she didn't have any interest in guys. Hao could hear the thoughts in his head while the boy continued to observe him quietly. Still the boy said nothing and so Hao remained silent, returning the boy's stare. I think he's a little older than Crystal, but I don't get the way he's dressed. Then again, I didn't expect to see Crystal fly off to Tokyo on a dragon either.

This last thought was all it took to get beyond Hao's silence. Hao matched the boy stare for stare and asked quietly so as not to disturb any of the animals that might have been trying to sleep, "You were able to see the dragon?"

The boy nodded and spoke in an equally quiet voice, "Of course I saw it. That thing was huge."

Hao was slightly puzzled by the way the boy didn't appear to be concerned about the dragon. He assumed that the boy hadn't figured out that he was able to read his thoughts and that the question about the dragon was simply in regard to the fact that they had both been there to see it. Hao decided to ask the other question that had been bothering him since the boy had emerged from the trees.

"What are you doing here?"

The boy spoke in an almost guilty tone except that it carried a trace of amusement with it, "Actually, I was spying on Crystal."

This made things a little easier. This boy knew Crystal and based on the way he had answered it seemed as though he believed she would be angry with him if she found out that he was spying. Hao decided to go on with his interrogation of the boy as it was starting to become more interesting.

"Why were you here spying on Crystal?"

The boy shrugged, "I know she disappears here a lot and I got curious. So, I decided to follow her to find out why."

This brought up the question of how the boy had known that Crystal would be here at this time on this particular night. Fortunately, the boy's thoughts answered that question beautifully. Crystal is going to kill me if she finds out that I followed her to her house and to the waterfall without her knowing it. She hates it when I appear out of nowhere at school, but I don't want to know how she'd react if she found out I was using that same ability to spy on her.

Hao absorbed that information with his usual smile back on his face. It sounded like this boy might be useful. Hao spoke a little more loudly than before, "I have a proposition for you. What do you think of that?"

The boy seemed to ponder the thought for a brief moment before asking, "What's in it for me?"

"For one thing, you will be able to do things like your friend with the dragon," replied Hao.

The boy looked interested, "I'm starting to like this idea already. I was wondering how she was able to do that."

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Hao spent the better part of the next two hours explaining to the boy he came to know as Tyriel what it meant to be a Shaman. Once the explanation was over the boy seemed to spend the next five minutes digesting the information.

"So, basically you want me to join you in traveling around to find the Great Spirit so that you can have it destroy the rest of humanity except for those Shamans you have decided are useful and it doesn't matter to you if I kill anyone?" Tyriel spoke as though this was the best offer he had ever been given.

Hao nodded thoughtfully, "First you will need to find yourself a Spirit partner and learn how to use an Oversoul, but after that I think you might prove to be a valuable asset."

Tyriel took off without another word. Hao would wait at the waterfall until Crystal came back from Tokyo, then he also planned to leave.

Chapter Two, Part Two: Reunion at the Funbari Onsen

A week after Crystal returned from Tokyo...

For one reason or another the rest of Yoh's friends had learned that Hao was still very much alive. Somehow they had all reached the conclusion that the easiest course of action would be to regroup at the Funbari Onsen to go over the situation. Considering they were Yoh's friends and not customers at the Inn, and that they were taking up a considerable number of rooms without Anna getting paid, there was a very high level of tension in the air.

As it was, the boys had taken refuge in the hotspring/bath after yet another day of being Anna's loyal subjects. That is to say that they all made a point of staying out of Anna's way as much as possible unless she told them to do something. Anna had taken in the all the freeloaders rather well considering no one had been thrown into a wall yet. Still, it was better not to press your luck around Anna if you could help it.

"So, what exactly are we going to do about Hao if he really is back?" Horohoro asked the assembled Shamans plus Manta.

Yoh shrugged and looked up at the sky, "There really isn't much we can do until we confirm that Hao is actually back and where he is."

"Need I remind you that he already sent someone to attack you. I don't think we need much more confirmation than that," Ren spoke with a little contempt.

Horohoro blinked in slight confusion. The details of that encounter had already been explained and it hardly sounded like an attack. "I thought the story was that you attacked the girl and she defended herself. Isn't that why you were upset? Because you were beaten by a cute little pink bunny?"

A vein became visible on Ren's forehead and he took several deep breaths before he settled on glaring at Horohoro for that last comment, "That doesn't change the fact that she was sent here, by Hao. Even if it wasn't an attack, she did say that Hao was the one that sent her."

"I thought that Hao was defeated for good after that last fight between him and Yoh-kun," interrupted Lyserg. "It looked like he was sliced cleanly in half, so how can Hao still be alive?"

"That is a very good question," agreed Ren. All eyes turned to Yoh as Ren asked the question again. "Yoh, how is it that Hao can still be alive after that attack you used to beat him?"

Yoh laughed nervously as he replied, "I honestly have no idea how that happened..." Although I'm kind of glad that my attack didn't kill him. Even with all that he's done, he's still my brother. His answer was the truth. Yoh didn't know why Hao had survived the attack, but at the same time he was relieved that he hadn't killed him. This was probably the reason why his conscience hadn't bothered him after the fight, because subconsciously he must have felt that he hadn't succeeded in killing Hao. Yoh sighed and got ready to climb out of the hotspring/bath.

"The meeting isn't over yet," noted Chocolove.

Yoh sighed and returned to his seat. The rest of them were not about to let Hao's resurfacing go unchecked, but Yoh just wanted a chance to clear his head and watch the sky up at Funbari Hill Cemetery. Something about this whole situation just felt really different from the way things had been during the Shaman Fight.

Then it registered: Crystal had called Hao her friend. She had said that she had agreed to go along with Hao's request for her to go to Tokyo to deal with Yoh. She had even gone as far as to say that she believed that deep down, Hao wasn't really a bad person. This wasn't someone who worshipped Hao and would die for the world that he wished to create. She wasn't someone who supported him out of fear of his power.

"Yoh-kun! Earth to Yoh-kun!" Manta's voice snapped Yoh back into reality.

Yoh blinked as if he had been asleep and responded, "What is it?"

"We want to know what you think would be the best action to take right now," replied Horohoro.

The idea hit Yoh so fast he honestly didn't see it coming, "Why don't we try to investigate Crystal to see if she really does know Hao?"

"There's just one small problem with that," said Manta.

Yoh looked momentarily confused, "What would that be?"

"She isn't in Japan anymore and we don't know exactly where she went except that it was in California," answered Manta.

Yoh thought about it for a moment before a light suddenly registered in his mind, "Then I nominate Lyserg to be in charge of the investigation. With his dowsing skills, he should be able to find where she is no problem."

"That certainly is true, but by myself?" Lyserg seemed a little nervous. "What if I do run into Hao?"

Yoh nodded, "Good point. I'll leave it to you to decide who to take with you." With that Yoh climbed out of the hotspring/bath as quickly as he could manage and bolted for his room. The others watched him go, all sweatdropping.

"I'd be happy to join you in going to California," volunteered Bokuto no Ryu.

Ren and Horohoro exchanged sweatdrops before Horohoro added, "Count me in. I'll go too."

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Yoh was sprawled out in the middle of his room staring blankly at the ceiling. His memorial tablet lit up briefly as Amidamaru took shape in the room.

"Yoh-Dono, it really isn't your fault," the samurai ghost tried his best to sound reassuring.

Yoh sat up and sighed, "If I had had the resolve to finish him off when I had the chance, he wouldn't be able to threaten us now."

"You've already beaten him once, so it isn't like you won't be able to rise to the occasion and do it again," noted Amidamaru.

Yoh nodded and spoke in his normal voice, "That's right, Hao has already been defeated in this lifetime. That means that he isn't invincible, and he knows it."

Chapter Two, Part Three: Quiet Days Return to Me

Crystal sat quietly in the back seat on the right hand side of the bus. Dull blue headphones covered her ears and connected to the silvery CD player with the clear, light blue cover she held in one hand. Inside was her copy of the Pokemon 2BA Master soundtrack set on repeat one as she listened to the tenth track for the fifth time on the way to school. [For those of you who don't know, track 10 is Together Forever.] It was about all she could do to keep herself from going completely crazy with some of the things that happened during the daily rides on the bus.

One seat ahead and to the right of her was Tyriel. He was seated with another boy who spent a considerable amount of the ride to school pinned on the floor under the seat. This was part of the regular daily schedule. He didn't do this to the other boy intentionally, the other boy simply brought it upon himself by getting on the floor in the first place. In his mind, Tyriel was just trying to teach the boy a lesson that so far he continued to fail daily.

Crystal continued listening to the same song on her CD player starting to hum along with the background music. After she had returned from Tokyo and reported back to Hao at the waterfall, they had parted ways. At first Crystal had thought it was because he was disappointed in the way that she had interpreted his instructions based on the way she had explained her dealings with Yoh and company while she had been in Tokyo. When she reflected on the situation later, she realized that although it was very faint Hao had seemed to be showing some concern for her safety. She had concluded that was the real reason why he didn't want her to get involved any further.

"Crystal!" Tyriel's voice came in over the sound of the song repeating itself on her CD player and she lowered her headphones around her neck.

"What?" Crystal looked to Tyriel who had twisted around in his seat to look back at her with his foot planted firmly on the chest of the boy who was still stuck under the seat.

"Are you alright?" asked Tyriel.

Crystal blinked in confusion, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you had that far away look and seemed to be a little sad," replied Tyriel.

Crystal sighed, "I'm perfectly fine, so don't worry." She returned her headphones so they covered her ears and returned to listening to the song. Tyriel ducked back into his seat just as the driver was about to yell at him. Crystal looked out the window and smiled thoughtfully to herself. I think I might have actually gotten through to Hao at least a little bit. That's a good start at least. With that in mind, Crystal started humming along with her music again.

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Crystal was sprawled out on the grass field toward the end of her Physical Education class with Takikoneko curled up a little ways away from her. She had free time after she got back into her normal clothes, so she was using it to watch as the clouds passed by. Next would be lunch, but she wasn't feeling particularly hungry and thought about maybe just staying there on the field until her next class.

Crystal had gotten away with her little trip to Tokyo for one very good reason. It had been Spring Break which meant that she hadn't skipped out on school. After she had explained things to her parents there had been an unpleasant silence followed by looks that seemed to indicate they thought she was crazy. She had expected that, but after that it seemed as though they all agreed not to question what had happened again.

So, Crystal had gone on with her old life. She had returned to school as though nothing had changed, except for the fact that Taki now came with her where ever she went. It made sense that they should stick together since they were supposed to be a team. Still, she didn't feel quite right about returning to her old everyday life. For a little while she had been part of something big and deep down she felt that she was supposed to be a part of that.

A familiar presence a little ways off to her right made her sit up with a start, "What in the world is Hao doing here at my school?!"

To Be Continued...

A Word From the Characters

Ren: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think this was intended to be an angst fic.

Yoh: Yeah, I seem really out of character when I act like that.

Taki: I'm not fat! (in response to the kid's "That thing was huge" comment)

Crystal: The humor aspect really takes hold next chapter when Lyserg and his group confront me in California, but I'm not allowed to reveal the details yet.

Horohoro: Why not?

Crystal: Because that would spoil the surprise. As usual, the insane authoress is more inspired to update when she gets reviews, the sillier the better.

Hao: It has also been discovered that she responds very nicely to threats from Anna.

A Word From the Authoress

As some of you might have already realized, this is my first attempt at a Shaman King fanfiction with a lot of backing from some of my close friends who keep helping organize my thoughts. The only reason I didn't get around to updating last week is because I was away being a CIT at Camp Round Meadow with the YMCA. I hope all you readers are enjoying the fanfic, because I'm having a great time writing it.