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

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first three volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 4. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

Asakura Hao Birthday Special

Chapter Four, Part One: In Which Hao Discovers Laser Tag

Still in California, Hao's group was once again camped out in the middle of the desert intentionally set away from any clear signs of civilization. The group was smaller than it had been during the Shaman Fight, as it only consisted of those followers who had survived and still retained any loyalty to Hao. So far, only the members of Hanagumi and Opacho had agreed to join him again.

Then there were Crystal and Tyriel, who hadn't necessarily joined him out of pure loyalty. Even so, Hao liked having them around because they had a talent for making things more interesting. It so happened that on this particular day Crystal and Tyriel had both gotten up about half an hour before anyone else in the group and had moved a little ways off whispering to each other. The only thing Hao managed to hear coherently was "Ultra Zone" and he hadn't been entirely sure what that meant.

"Hao-sama?" Hao turned and acknowledged Opacho. "Is it really alright to let those two act on their own?"

Hao looked back to where Crystal and Tyriel were still whispering amongst themselves and then looked back to Opacho with a thoughtful expression, "Let's just wait and see what they're planning."

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It was several more minutes before Crystal and Tyriel finished their private discussion. There was already a certain tension between the old followers and these so-called newcomers, but Hao honestly didn't seem to care. The underlying theory was that Crystal might even be trying to take control of the group altogether. Now that really was a silly idea.

In any event, the two of them returned to the general area occupied by Hao's group looking as though some secret agreement had been made. Crystal ignored the dark looks she received from the members of the Hanagumi. She approached Hao directly while Tyriel stopped several paces behind her. The expression on her face was difficult to read, but she sounded quite pleased from the way she said, "We have decided to take you to Ultra Zone for your birthday."

Hao was puzzled for a moment. He had no idea what this "Ultra Zone" was, but Crystal seemed to believe it was a good thing. And weren't birthday parties just a silly human ritual to get presents? Even so, Hao was curious.

"I know it must seem a little sudden," Crystal continued, "but everyone deserves to have a little fun on their birthday."

Even if it was a human activity, coming from Crystal it probably wasn't the sort of thing that most people actually did. Based on the stories from back at the waterfall, even around other people like her, Crystal always seemed a bit odd. That in itself wasn't a bad thing, and while it did make it difficult to fit in, it also made her unique. And interesting.

"Very well," Hao finally agreed. "If you insist, I suppose it must be something worth looking into."

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It should be noted that Ultra Zone is what is generally referred to as a Laser Tag place. That means that they have a whole area that's mostly closed off to the public except those who pass through the waiting room to participate in a round of laser tag. They also host a small arcade area and small rooms for the actual parties which involve pizza, soda and cake. Aside from that, it's the one of the last places parents generally want to spend money and one of the places where those children who like the activities can end up spending a fortune.

The decision was made to make a reservation for a party at night. This was partly so that the group wouldn't draw too much attention to themselves, being as it was a Friday and if they had scheduled it for the day there would have been some question as to why several of their number weren't at school. It was also partly because that was when Crystal and Tyriel knew some of the best rounds of laser tag could be had. More people seemed to show up at night and that meant the competition would be made that much more interesting.

Upon entering the building that all of this would take place in, Hao was particularly fascinated by the flashing lights and techno music that made a point of filling the air in such a way that he could barely hear himself think, let alone anyone else. After several minutes, it became clear that thinking wasn't completely necessary when the majority of the people in the building were there for the same reason. Fortunately, it was considerably less distracting in the little party room the group gathered in before their first round of laser tag.

Crystal spoke up from her place at one corner of the table, "Alright, I guess I should lay out some ground rules so we don't get ourselves thrown out of here and because I happen to rather like this part of town so I'd prefer if it didn't get vaporized."

"I get it, no Shaman Powers, right?" Macchi spoke up.

Crystal sweatdropped, "They really won't help with what we'll be doing anyway, so yes."

It was a few more minutes before the entire group was in agreement, but once that was settled the real fun was about to start. Tyriel had a strangely calculating look on his face. For some reason this bothered Crystal.

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Several more minutes passed before the group was summoned to the waiting room. Inside the basic rules of the game were explained followed by a general overview of the equipment. In the case of Ultra Zone, there are three teams: the Red Team, Blue Team, and Green Team. Hao's group had settled in the area underneath the red light and it seemed like the evening crowd would allow them to keep it that way.

Then they were dismissed to the next room where they would be presented with their gear for the game. The better part of the next fifteen minutes was spent trying to find a vest small enough for Opacho. Once that was dealt with, it was off to the battlefield.

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Hao had decided that the Hanagumi would stay behind to watch the Red Base while the rest of them went off to score some bonus points by invading the other two bases and shooting the special targets in each of them. The maze-like walls within this large room were black except that depending on where they were, they were decorated in the color of the team that was centered in that area. This made navigation relatively easy, except that one couldn't quite predict exactly which way each of the paths was going. Add to the fact that there was a layer of artificial fog flowing across the floor and it seemed like this place really was a battlefield.

Hao observed that Crystal and Tyriel seemed to know exactly where they were going which meant they really must have been familiar with the layout of this place already. He was snapped out of his thoughts as an unpleasant beeping noise came from where Crystal and Tyriel were ahead of him.

"Sheesh, I've been hit already." Crystal muttered under her breath as she waited out the temporary inactive mode of her equipment before it reactivated and she could get back in the game again. "This is why I miss Quzar."

Quzar? Now what's she talking about? Hao hadn't known what Ultra Zone was until he had seen it for himself, but "Quzar" didn't even sound like a real word.

"It isn't my fault they closed down," replied Tyriel. "At least the laser tag concept didn't go with it."

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They cleared the other two bases getting shot a minimal number of times which was mostly due to the fact that Tyriel revealed that he was actually an Ultra Zone veteran. Because of that fact, Tyriel was told to lead the Hanagumi to the other bases to rack up more points before the game was over. Crystal gave Tyriel very specific instructions that if he even thought of going traitor on them, she would be dealing with him personally.

Chapter Four, Part Two: Reflection

It was shocking. The evening had been spent among ordinary humans doing the sort of thing that some of them do for entertainment. Somehow the fast food, soda, bright lights and loud music didn't seem quite as horrible as Hao had originally felt they were. In fact, for the most part it had been fun granted that when Tyriel started shooting at his own team during the second round of laser tag, Crystal had been the one to bash him over the head with her own gun.

Hao chuckled, "I'd say that maybe there is actually hope for this world, but that would be giving humans too much credit."

The group had returned to their little camp in the desert. Considering that it was very late, most of the rest of the group had already decided to call it a night. The exception was Crystal who had set herself a little ways away from the group sprawled out on the sand to look up at the night sky. Takikoneko was curled up next to her also looking to the stars. Hao didn't have to move too much closer to know that they were talking and to understand the conversation they were having.

"We don't get stars like this at my dad's house," Crystal explained to Takikoneko. "That's because the smog and city lights fill the sky and dim the starlight in the city."

Taki then asked, "Then why did you ever bother to put up with living there in the first place?"

"... uh," Crystal hesitated before laughing. "I guess because I kinda like having my own room and there's a pool, but otherwise it really doesn't seem all that great."

"Do you miss it?" asked Hao suddenly. This caused Crystal to sit up in considerable surprise as she had not been aware that he was listening in on them.

Crystal regained control and answered, "Not really, no. I can't sever all ties with my family of course, but I made the choice to leave of my own free will. At present, I have no desire to go back to that ordinary life." She resumed sprawling out on the sand to look up at the stars with a wistful smile. This just seems right somehow. Heck, I don't know how to explain it. It just seems like, for now at least, this is where I'm supposed to be.

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The start of the next day wasn't nearly as exciting as the day before had been. This was probably because Crystal and Tyriel weren't secretly planning a party and because in general nothing was really happening. It was simply another day that would pass with the assembled group sitting around in the middle of the desert rather far away from any signs of civilization. While this in itself suited Hao just fine, it did not effectively deal with Yoh or the fact that Yoh had somehow managed to defeat him in the Shaman Fight.

Hao got the mental impression that this bothered him for the wrong reason. He wasn't sure whether it was having lost the power of the Great Spirit or the fact that Yoh was the one that defeated him that was actually bothering him. It was rather frustrating that someone who seemed as weak as Yoh had actually managed to beat him, but it wasn't like Yoh had managed it on his own. Hao had quite liked the power of the Great Spirit, but at the time he had been too crazy to really enjoy it properly.

This particular train of thought was starting to give Hao a headache, so he stopped thinking about it. The whole matter had him greatly confused, or maybe he was still in a daze from all those bright flashing lights and the loud music from the night before. Ultra Zone had been an incredibly distracting place, which seemed to explain why people would much rather be there than at home on a friday night.

Hao sweatdropped. Why was he thinking about playing another round of laser tag when he was trying to focus on how he was going to deal with Yoh? He could challenge Yoh and his friends to a round. That would be fun, although it really wouldn't solve anything. Another sweatdrop. Hao put his hand to his forehead convinced that there had to be something wrong with him, but his temperature felt normal so far as he could tell.

It was at this point that Crystal walked over with Takikoneko perched on her shoulder. For some reason she always seemed to distance herself from the group, like she couldn't decide whether she was a part of it or not. Hao hadn't really noticed it before, but Crystal seemed to be rather detached from the world around her when there wasn't anything drawing her attention. When she had been looking at the stars was one of the few times Hao had actually managed to catch her by surprise. Perhaps he could ask Tyriel more about the so-called "ordinary life" she didn't have any regrets about leaving behind.

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That evening Hao volunteered to go along with Tyriel to collect wood for the campfire. Sure it seemed a little strange, but it wasn't like anyone was about to question him on the matter. The Hanagumi were busy playing Old Maid with a deck of cards they had bought at the little anime store a block away from Ultra Zone that Crystal had been kind enough to show them. Crystal was where she had been the night before watching the first traces of sunset begin to manifest themselves. Opacho would tag along with Hao and Tyriel.

Tyriel figured something was out of place with relative ease, "I know you could quite well have sent anyone else to collect firewood, so what is it that you want from me?"

"I want to know more about Crystal's other life," replied Hao not really trying to mask his curiosity. "She always talked about playing games and telling stories, but I'm sure there must be more to her than that."

Tyriel let out a quiet sigh and seemed to think for several minutes before finally saying, "That's going to be a little tricky."

"I figure since you've been her friend on that end, you probably know at least something that I don't already know," added Hao.

"She doesn't really like to talk about it anymore, but back when I first met her she was going around asking everyone the same question," explained Tyriel. "Would you rather be considered popular or would you rather be able to trust your friends? I think it was because she has always had to deal with the fact that there are those people who simply don't like her. She seemed surprised when I answered with the latter." Tyriel deliberately paused for a moment to let this information sink in.

Hao knew how it felt to be feared and hated. After all, it was his immense power that caused people to cower before him. It was strange though, because the people Tyriel was referring to probably had no knowledge of the world of spirits and therefore would know nothing of Crystal's abilities. They didn't dislike her out of fear.

Tyriel continued, "These days she calls herself a social outcast, but she claims that she'd rather not be like everyone else if it meant becoming a mindless drone. Her take on the whole matter is that a lot of people don't like her because she's too different and her view of the world is too crazy. She doesn't hold it against them, but from time to time the pain does get to her. Of course, she isn't really one to let anyone else know about it."

"I see," Hao spoke after a moment of absorbing that information. He suddenly understood why Crystal intentionally went off by herself from time to time. She had said herself that she could read other people's emotions and it was starting to sound like other people's emotions could affect her if they were strong enough. Enough people hitting her with that sensation of dislike could probably even cause her to feel physical pain. "That explains why she keeps distancing herself from the Hanagumi."

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The next morning Hao approached Crystal before anyone else had woken up. As it was, Crystal was awake watching the sunrise. This led Hao to wonder if and when this girl actually found the time to sleep and reached the conclusion that she probably dozed off while she was looking at the stars.

"I have a special assignment for you," Hao spoke as he got closer.

Crystal sat up and turned around to face him, "What is it?"

"You don't have to of course, but I'd like you to go back to Funbari Onsen to challenge Yoh." Hao paused before adding, "I don't want you to kill him or anything like that, but I'd like to know how the two of you compare in battle."

A look of confusion appeared on her face, but Crystal recovered quickly. She looked up at the sky which was starting to fill with color as the sun rose over the mountains a considerable distance away from where they were in the desert. She smiled, "A sparring match actually sounds kind of fun."

"And one more thing," Hao continued. "You're welcome to take Tyriel along with you to as you say... keep him under control."

Crystal nodded, "I was thinking the same thing."

To Be Continued...

A Word From the Characters

Horohoro: Do I sense a hint of sibling rivalry coming from Hao?

Taki: It seems that way, doesn't it? (dangles a container of napalm in front of Hao)

Hao: (dives for it and crashes into a tree, joining Yoh)

Ren: Why napalm?

Taki: What else would draw the attention of a pyromaniac?

Crystal: As always, the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier, the better.

A Word From the Authoress

Sorry for the lack of updating, but this chapter took a little while to plan and actually write out. Moreover, I had two separate vacations scheduled within days of each other which took me away from my computer for roughly two weeks. All is right now, so the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long. My mentioning of Quzar was a little tribute to the nifty laser tag place that was eventually closed down, eventually replaced by one of my favorite anime stores which has since been closed down, and since the mall was re-developed, exists in a completely different location under a new name.