A/N: HIIIII!! Me again! Hope ya all like this chappie better that the 1st one, I find it much better even though its longer... much longer... " R&R PPLZ!
Chapter 2
Mysterious Child
It was late afternoon and Yoh wasn't looking forward to his training tomorrow, he knew that today was just a one off, it was the first time Anna had actually given him any time off to rest, but after all, he did deserve it, he'd been training all week from dawn till dusk and he needed at least a couple of hours rest every once-in-a-while.
He lay on his bed and looked up to the ceiling,
"Amidamaru?" He asked, suddenly a ghostly figure appeared with long light purple hair, Amidamaru, a six hundred year old samari, was Yoh's guardian ghost.
"Do you think we can win the tournament?"
"I have no doubt that if we are one we can do anything." Came the samari's reply.
"'K, just checking."
Yoh admired his spirit friend, with him he could merge and fight as one against other shamans who fought for evil, or just shamans who wanted to eliminate them from the competition. A shaman had a connection to the spirit world and has a guardian ghost to protect them and help them in battle; only shamans can see the spirits and bond with them.
"'Night Amidamaru." Yoh closed his eyes and fell asleep, but not before hearing his friends whispered reply.
"Goodnight my friend."
Yoh woke with a start as the alarm clock rang out, to Yoh it was as if it was screaming 'ready for more torture training?' He yawned and stepped out of bed, knowing that if he crossed Anna today that he would forever regret it.
He walked into the living room to see his friend Morty laying breakfast on the table,
"Mmm, smells good." Commented Yoh hungrily.
"Thanks," smiled Morty.
"Yes but you wont be able to touch a bite if you don't do fifty sit-ups in the next three minuets!"
Yoh got down to it straightaway and had got up to twenty-nine when Tray came out from the bathroom.
"Do NOT go in there!" He laughed, but no one seemed to laugh with him. "Tough crowd." As soon as he spotted the meal of fish and rice on the table his mouth watered,
"Don't even think about it!" Warned Anna, quickly shattering the young shaman's dreams.
"Aww!" Cried Tray, "but it looks so alone.. it needs a home.. Somewhere nice and warm.. Like my stomach!"
"Don't you dare!" Called Yoh, "that fish is mine!"
"Yeah but you've gotta finish your sit ups!"
"Oh yeah? Forty-seven.. Fort-eight..Forty-nine..FIFTY!"
Yoh quickly pounced up, nearly knocking little Morty from his feet, and started swallowing chunks of the tasty fish.
"Man were you hungry!" Said Morty, "I haven't seen you eat like this since after that battle with Lee Pilong!"
"True," said Yoh between mouthfuls of rice, "but back then I didn't have a time limit to what I eat."
"Yeah, Anna has been working you way to hard."
"What was that Shorty?!" Snapped Anna, standing in the doorway.
"Oh umm..Nothing!" Laughed Morty nervously
"Thought not." Anna turned and walked into the kitchen where she had Tray washing dishes, tears poured down his face as she dumped more plates into the already overflowing tub.
"That's what you get for stinking up the joint!"
"Oh man!" He moaned.
"Quit complaining, now get back to scrubbing before I decide to put you on toilet duty too!"
Tray scrubbed frustratedly at the plates and after half an hour the kitchen was officially clean.
He stumbled tiredly into the living room and flopped onto the couch while Anna and Yoh were in the garden.
"Oh hi Tray," said Morty, walking into the room, "when you see Yoh tell him I've gone home, I've got a family meeting and cant be late for it, 'k?"
"'K." Mumbled Tray half-heartedly, "if I see him I will."
"What do you mean by that? More of Anna's training?"
"Yup."
"Ooh.. That's tough!"
"Tell me about it! Oh well, see ya later."
"Anna's one tough cookie when it comes to training."
"Yeah." Tray mumbled, before spiralling into a sleep of shear tiredness.
Yoh ran out of garden with Anna calling after him like a madwoman.
"Seventy miles before dinner or else no dinner at all!"
"Yes Anna!" Called Yoh, pacing himself for the journey ahead.
"Oh and Yoh? I'm going to the shops, I'll be back around ten."
"Ok." He called, rounding the corner and running out of sight.
Yoh jogged at a steady pace; wanting to make sure he didn't tier to soon, but after half an hour he could already feel the heaviness of the weights bearing down on his arms and legs.
After a couple of hours he went past his friend Morty's house for the seventh time that day and stopped for a short rest on the bench outside.
He heard laughter coming from the large building and expected that it was the family meeting he had been told about the other week.
It was time to move on and get back to his training, he had thirty miles yet to go and it was already eleven o'clock.
Yoh needed to pick up the pace; he turned his jog into a run and sprinted around the corners.
His chest heaved as he breathed heavily, his legs and arms burnt as if they were on fire but he still didn't stop until his throat felt like it had needles stuck into it. He leaned forward and put his hands on his knees in order to rest a little.
Yoh gasped for air as it seemed to be in short supply and he wondered if he was about to loose consciousness, then he remembered that if he did he wouldn't be able to eat anything and no matter how hard he begged, Anna would still be true to her word and not let him eat.
He fought back the pain and started to run when his foot caught on something that made him topple to the ground, hitting his chin hard and causing a weight to fall off.
"What the?" He asked aloud, he rubbed his chin and struggled to get back up, the weights fought against him but in the end he rose to his feet.
As he bent down to pick up his fallen weight something red caught his eye, a red stick lay poking out from beneath a rosebush.
Forgetting the weight for the moment he turnt towards it and reached out to pick it up. It felt mildly warm to the touch and as he pulled it out he jumped as he saw what was attached to it, the hand of a small boy clutched it tightly and Yoh jumped back, dropping the brightly coloured stick.
As the stick dropped so did the boys hand, it wasn't until a few seconds later that Yoh realised that the boy was either dead, sleeping or unconscious.
He peered under the bush at the child, his clothes were torn in places and he was covered in dirt, his hands were hidden beneath tattered gloves with only the fingers showing, a slash cut one of the gloves nearly in two but didn't seem to penetrate the skin for there was no blood.
"Err.. Hello?" He asked, wondering if he was alive. He poked at the child with a twig for a bit, then, finally seeing that he was unconscious, decided to take him to his house.
Yoh leaned over and untangled the lad from the thorny branches, which proved a difficult task without hurting the boy, but finally he managed it and soon had him over his shoulder.
Yoh ran with the lad back to his house, taking every short cut he knew, over hedges, down alleys and even across lawns, he somehow knew that the boy would soon die if he weren't treated fast enough.
When Yoh appeared home Tray was the only one there, he wondered where Anna was but couldn't be concerned about that right now.
He carried the child past the loudly snoring Tray and into his room where he lay him on the bed, then he went to wake Tray. He threw a shoe at him and watched, slightly amused, as the shaman jumped and fell off the couch.
"IM SORRY ANNA ILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN!!" He cried.
Yoh crossed his arms and waited impatiently for Tray to stop screaming.
"Yoh?" Asked Tray, finally realising that he wasn't under attack.
"Tray there's a little boy in there badly hurt. I need you to go find Anna, she's good at healing and stuff."
"Anna?"
"Yeah.. ya know, dangerous.. Dreams up torture training lessons.. You think she likes you.. Has-"
"Yeah, yeah I know who she is!"
"Good. She said she was going to the shops but hasn't come back yet. Oh, and while your at it, see if Morty can be freed from his family reunion would ya?"
"'K, be back in a flash." Called Tray as he ran out of the door.
Yoh returned to the child with a glass of water and wondered about calling the hospital, but thought it best to wait for Anna.
As if by magic the door opened and in walked Anna,
"Sorry I'm late I had to do a bit more shopping than expected so-"She stopped as she saw the young boy in the bed, "What happened?"
"Don't know, I found him in a rosebush while I was training, kind of a strange place to be don't ya think?"
"Maybe he was hiding." Said Anna mysteriously, she picked up the cup of water, placed small dabs of it on her finger and flicked it lightly onto the boys face.
"He's not dead but unconscious." Anna murmured, "looks like he's been in some sort of fight."
"Yeah, but why would someone so young be in a fight, he only looks about nine."
"Eight actually."
"Wha?! Yoh know him?"
"No, but when I came in as soon as I saw him my instincts said eight, so I go with it."
"Ohh.."
"Now since you lost one of my weights and cut the course you can do another five miles."
"WHAT?! BUT I HAD TO GET THIS KID HERE!!"
"And now you have so you can leave." She said calmly.
Yoh sulked out of the room and carried on with his course, he couldn't understand why Anna was so tough on him but knew that without her help he wouldn't even be alive right now, so admired her coolness and the fact that she always believed he could do something he never thought it possible.
A/N: Like it? If so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!
