Hey you guys! Sorry for the looooooooooooooooooong wait, but I think it was worth it! We're nearing the tournament!
Disclaimer- I disclaim Shaman King and F.R.I.E.N.D.S! (LoL even the reruns!)
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Nightmares 0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The following weeks passed as slowly as school weeks usually do. Asali had been positioned on my other side and we had made a career out of making fun of Mr. Billy Boy with his permanent hangover and elbowing Yoh in the ribs when he fell asleep. Ramissa was placed by Manta, who lectured her to death. Poor Missy. She usually fell asleep through the middle of his long speeches. Yeah, the only thing we probably learned in that school was that cafeteria food is a bioterrorist hazard, but the real fun came when the last few weeks of school approached.
We had become quite popular, but not in the usual preppy kind of way. We had our own little group: Ramissa, Asali, Anna, and me. We got into trouble quite a few times… but how serious is it to hold a concert in the school roof? (Courtesy of Ramissa and I). The school started to grow on you. Besides, there was starting to be talk about the end of the year dance. In fact, that's pretty much all we talked about, except Anna, who sat there, frowned and nodded when we asked her something. She wasn't looking forwards to the dance. I still had to decide if I was looking forwards to it or dreading its arrival.
The principal himself had requested us to play at the dance, and we had agreed, since we had no dates. Even though Asali had been literally asked by 90 of the boys in the class. When she cursed them off, they tended to turn to the more gentle but equally rejecting me. Ramissa and Anna kept everyone at bay with fierce glares, but I do have to say that Anna takes the trophy for that one. We would play for half the dance and have the other half free, so we would just hang out with one another. Asali told me that HoroHoro would periodically mob her, asking her if I had been invited to the dance in school. She would say yes, and he would have a fit, crying all over her feet in an exaggerated manner. She also told me he needed a leash and a collar with tags. I halfway agreed.
We also joined Yoh in Anna's backbreaking training (which rivaled Tabitha's) and it really paid off. We learned a lot about Yoh's spirit, Amidamaru, a samurai spirit from 600 years ago and his possession, a cool samurai sword.
Yoh and Amidamaru alike were glad to have us (and our distractions) with them while training.
Anyways, everything was cool. I was happy. Yoh became a really close friend, and Manta became a… friend, but we all basically got along perfectly. No bad news was heard those weeks, so I guess it took me by surprise when I started having the dreams.
The dreams were more like nightmares, actually. And they starred someone whom I didn't want to think of. I know tons about dreams, so I knew that these dreams were not normal. They were recurrent, they talked about things I didn't know but later turned out to be true, they talked about my past, but mostly, they talked to me. I woke up every night at the early hours of morning; sweat covering me like a light film of mist. I woke up scared to death. Hao Asakura was playing games with my head. He was sending me visions and making me see a reality I didn't want to see. And at the end of each dream, he laughed. He laughed that maniac laugh of his, and I would yell at him, scream for him to stop, but he would never listen. He would just laugh.
ANNA
In the dead of the night, I heard a light scream as Kigali woke up. Then I heard the soft footsteps and the bathroom door open. I would hear her murmuring as she whispered to Zoe her troubles. It worried me. It worried me a lot. It's not like I would show it, but it wasn't natural for Kigali to be acting this way. I might have been the first one who noticed her distress. Lack of sleep, a slight lack of appetite. But it was enough to know something serious was going on.
Some say Kigali and I are opposites, some say we aren't all that different, but all I know is that she's my best friend. Kigali had always been extremely open. She told you how she felt when she felt it, happy, excited, mad, annoyed… all emotions but one. She's somehow not able to express suffering. She hides it in the deepest corners of her heart because she's scared she will worry someone with her own troubles. 'It is my problem' she would say and smile cheerfully, even though she may be miserable inside.
I am the opposite in that way. I'm not really open to good emotions. I had been taught long ago that they made one weak. I was hesitating on that subject now. Yoh and Kigali could see right through me, and with their ever-cheery attitudes, well, let's just say you catch it when you're near. Soon, you'd find yourself laying in the grass and staring at the clouds when you have a heap of laundry to do.
After Kigali left, I had always been sort of a loner. At school, at home… I was used to being alone, so it was an obvious change when Kigali and her battalion of friends came to live at my house. Now it wasn't 'just Anna'. Now it was four of us. We did everything together. I have to admit, I had missed having friends like them. They made me a member of the Sisterhood, under the name of 'Anna Fire Fly', and even invited me to join the band, but I declined that offer. So then we were four. Ramissa the athlete, Asali the beauty, Kigali the rebel, and me, Anna, the… what? The one with the bad temper. But the one who cares the most. The one with the most authority. The one with the most insight.
Maybe that's why I was the first one to find out. Maybe that's why Kigali didn't tell me. But most important of all, I knew what was wrong with Kigali. It was in my knowledge that Kigali was the water goddess. I knew that Hao Asakura has the elemental powers and spirit of fire. I also knew that she knew him too closely for comfort. The other two had never even seen him, but Kigali had seen him more than once, I was sure of that. Hao was trying to confuse Kigali with dreams and visions.
Later, I found out another interesting fact. Kigali was trying to keep Hao at bay, but failing miserably. He just thought of it as a game, but I DID notice Kigali getting skinnier and weaker. She was as cheerful as ever, but you could tell she was tired. I asked Yoh if he had noticed any changes in Kigali, and he answered negatively, so I started to doubt my first suspicions when I noticed Zoe.
Zoe; Kigali's spirit. Of course. She would get a full blow of Kigali's emotions because of her spirit bond with her shaman. I started watching Zoe after that, and noticed that sometimes Zoe was lying on the ground, her tail between her legs and her ears flattened up to her neck, when Kigali was laughing and talking to us. More than once I've seen Kigali give a warning look to Zoe when she fluttered around nervously. That's how I figured out what she was feeling. That morning Kigali came down for breakfast an hour earlier than usual.
"Hi." She greeted, rubbing her eyes and sinking in the living room couch. She put on some 'Friends' reruns.
"No breakfast?" She shook her head silently. "What's up, Kigali? You know that I'm here if you need someone to talk to." I offered. Zoe looked up hopefully.
"Nothing's wrong, Anna. I'm just nervous about the coming tournament, but who isn't?"
"Not me!" Called Yoh from the kitchen. Ryu's voice followed his, offering different types of breakfasts. I went to the kitchen, ready to order my menu when HoroHoro came down the stairs, yawning.
"Hey Horo!"
"Yo."
"Breakfast?"
"Where's my beautiful fiancé, I think she'll be a balanced breakfast for me." A pillow came flying from the living room and hit HoroHoro square in the face. He fell back in surprise. Kigali stomped in from the living room and stepped on the pillow covering HoroHoro's face.
"I already told you! I'm NOT yours!" She stepped on the pillow with every syllable. HoroHoro gave muffled cries of pain as she kicked him lightly. He was exaggerating. Again. He always exaggerated when Kigali was mad at him, and then sulked around until I gave him more chores. He wouldn't have to wait long for that.
"HoroHoro, you've got to clean the spring."
"But Manta did it yesterday!"
"Do it. Now." I glared at him.
"Yes ma'am." He trudged off with one last pitiful look toward Kigali. She turned her head away and scoffed at his pathetic plea for help.
"Where are Ramissa and Asali?"
"I think they said something about a bath…"
"A bath?"
"Wait. That means…"
"Uh-Oh."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU LITTLE PERVERT! GET HIM MISSY!" Everyone rolled their eyes as a soaked HoroHoro ran into the kitchen and hid behind Kigali. Asali and Ramissa followed, wrapped in bath towels.
"YOU!" Asali raged at HoroHoro.
"Sorry! I didn't know! They were Anna's orders!" He pointed at me.
"No they weren't." I lied.
"You pervert! If I EVER catch you doing something funny, I'll personally take you to the vet. Maybe HE'LL be able to 'FIX' your little problem, buddy." Ouch. She stomped away. Kigali turned to HoroHoro.
"At least she didn't hit you like last time."
"Only because you were in front of me."
"Hey, you guys, what's all the commotion? I think I missed it." Yoh spoke up from the kitchen table.
"But you were here all along…"
"Oh… yeah… I sort of fell asleep… he he he." That's Yoh for ya.
"It was no big. We've got to go to school, so hurry up and finish your breakfast we don't want to be late."
"We don't?"
"No."
"Hey Anna, can I have a word with you?" Kigali said. She was smiling THAT smile. I followed her upstairs and to her room, where Asali and Ramissa were waiting. "We're not going to school today."
"Why?"
"Because tonight is the end of the year dance, and tomorrow's the last day of school. We need to get our dresses, and you are coming with us."
"I'm not going to the dance."
"Yes you are. I made Yoh spend 200 dollars on a tux, so unless you want that money to go to waste, you are going." She had hit a low spot.
"Fine. When are we leaving?"
"When the guys set off." We waited until Manta, Yoh, and Ryu left to go downstairs. HoroHoro was cleaning the dishes.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"None of your business PERVERT." Snapped Asali. HoroHoro shot a look at Kigali. She just shrugged her shoulders.
We walked downtown, which was fairly close and started looking around the stores. We ended up buying our dresses in a fancy boutique (which gave us a discount because of Kigali). I have to say that my dress was beautiful. It was a thin spaghetti-strap black dress that went to my shins and had a slit up to my hip.
"Very sexy."
"Yoh will die." I laughed. The dance might not be so bad after all. We arrived home in the afternoon, loaded with bags of random shopping. Yoh and Manta crowded us as soon as we entered the house.
"Where were you?"
"Didn't you go to school?"
"What are those bags?"
"Aren't you going to the dance tonight?" I sighed.
"None of your biz." Kigali shooed them off and then turned to us. "The dance is in three hours. First we do our nails, then our hair, then we change, and finally we do the makeup. Ok?" We nodded and headed upstairs, but HoroHoro stopped Kigali. He looked nervous.
"Hey Key, can I have a word with you?" She looked at us and motioned us to go on. We all glared at HoroHoro as we climbed the stairs.
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Oh no! A cliffy! Sorry ppl! I promise to update this week, so hang with me!
Next Chapter- The School Dance
