(NOTE: About the house/hot spring thing, I just typed it that way to emphasize the place, to make it more specific…. I hope you will review my work….)

Anna was all alone in the house/hot spring. After Yoh left, she posted a sign on the gate, saying:

Close for today. All workers are on vacation.

Please come back after a week. Thank You.

Anna Kyoyama, Owner

When Manta saw the note, he was surprised. Manta walked inside. He made sure that he didn't make noise so Anna won't notice.

'This is weird. First, she gave people vacation. Second, she closed the place. And now, she can't even feel my presence. Something is really wrong here.' Manta said to himself.

Manta opened the door, noisily this time. Then, he looked around. There wasn't anyone there. He didn't see even the spirits that haunt the place.

Anna heard the door open. 'Funny. I already posted the sign. It must be Yoh. He must've forgotten something.'

Anna went down the stairs and saw Manta wondering around. Anna shouted angrily, "What are you doing here? Didn't you see the sign on the gate that says we're closed? Are you blind or something?"

Manta took a step backward. 'Anna is surely strange. She won't scream at any customers that come through the door. She won't scream at me too. She would just say annoyingly, "Go, clean the halls." This is so awkward.'

Inside Anna's body, Anna called, "Elrich, that's Manta, one of my Yoh's friends and also my faithful servant who comes here often."

Elrich said annoyingly, "Of course, I know that. I'm just angry that he came inside without me knowing."

Anna answered, "I felt him. Why didn't you?"

Elrich didn't answer. Instead he looked at Manta. Manta looked at her back.

"Aren't you gonna order me around or something?" Manta asked.

Anna (Elrich inside) didn't expect that answer coming from a man in a business suit. "Um…"

Anna (Anna inside) smirked. "Oyamada Manta knows me and Yoh well. I bet he thinks that something is wrong with me."

Elrich didn't listen to her. She thought of what to say to Manta in a typical Anna-ish way. She is actually starting to panic since she doesn't know Anna well.

Manta asked, "Do you want me to clean something?"

Anna answered, "Well, Manta. I'm doing all the work today so you better go and go to your real job. You don't work here you know. I just order you around." Anna pushed Manta toward the door. "Good-bye Manta!" Then, she shoved Manta out of the house/hot spring.

Manta fell to the ground after Anna pushed him out of the house. Manta patted the dirt out of his pants and walked away.

"Something is wrong with her. I must tell Yoh about this."

Manta ran to Yoh's shop, the Shaman Shop. Only shamans and people who believe in the magic of shamans know about that place. It's a well-lit place but there are no windows, only on the door. The walls are painted black outside, but inside, it's painted in various colors and graffiti that Yoh and his friends made when they re-painted the place.

When Manta got there, Yoh had a customer. He saw her through the door's window. It was no one Manta knew before. It was a girl, about thirteen, buying a book about shamans.

"Hi, Yoh!" Manta said as he opened the door.

"Manta," Yoh said. "This is Yanagi Pino. She's a shaman too. I never knew that there are still young shamans around."

Manta went in the shop. She had auburn colored hair and freckles. She's wearing a long brown skirt and a white sleeveless shirt. She had two cuffs on each hand like punks but she looks so innocent.

"Hi. I'm Yanagi Pino. I came from Osaka just to see the shamans a friend of mine told me about."

Manta took interest on Yanagi Pino. "Well, maybe Yoh can help you find your friends."

Pino laughed. "I already found them. The friend who told me about you guys was a creepy, ugly man named Ryu. He's funny yet scary."

Yoh answered, "That's true. She was just telling me about Ryu and how she found out that she was a shaman when you came in."

Manta asked, "Can you tell me your story? I'd love to listen to your story."

Pino smiled and nodded. "Well, it all started like this:

One day, I was walking along, minding my own business when Ryu asked, 'Do you need a lift little miss?'

I answered, 'No thank you.' But he won't stop following me until I saw a floating, weird-looking, scary, green man tried to stop me. So I did.

And that green man asked me, 'You can see me?' I nodded.

Ryu asked, 'Are you a shaman?'

I answered, 'A what?'

'A shaman. Someone who can see spirits.'

I answered, 'I don't know if I am one, but I surely need someone who would tell me what a shaman is.'

Ryu combed his hair with his comb and said, 'I am a shaman. I can help you. Come along with me and I can help you.'

I was scared at him at first but I trusted him so I came along.

While he and I are on a joyride, he told me all about you guys and what a shaman truly is.

I learned so much from him. He took me home so I thanked him. He actually made me promise that I'll see him again so that I could learn more.

That's why I came over here, to learn more. But from other shamans this time." Pino ended her story.

"That's Ryu all right. You must have seen Tokagero, the green man. That's his spirit." Manta said.

"But," Pino said. Now, she looked sad and serious. "I had a distant relative who died twelve years ago. They said that she's my mom's aunt's aunt."

Manta and Yoh looked at each other, confused. They looked at Pino again.

"Well, in other words, she's my great grandmother. But she's really young and beautiful. My mother never knew her. But my grandmother told me that my great grandmother/her aunt was born after she and her sister were born. There was a long age gap between my grandmother's mother and her sister."

Yoh said nicely, "Stop, please. I'm very dizzy about your relation with this person. So, about this great grandmother of yours, is she a shaman?"

Pino nodded. "They say that she can see spirits."

Manta thought of it. "She must have died during the Shaman Fight. It was twelve years ago right?"

Yoh nodded and slammed his fist on his hand. "That's right. Some other shaman must have killed her."

Manta asked, "Yoh, what if it was Hao that killed her?"

Yoh answered, "That could be true but we can't be certain. What is your great grandma's name?"

Pino answered, "Elrich. Elrich Ridgeton."