"String mistress, are you sure about this?" Soft black wings flapped in the air.
The young shrine maiden turned around, smiling at her Shinigami. She reached across the soft golden beam. "Fate is a mysterious thing. It was fate that brought those two together, so faith shall now separate their sons."
"But." The Shinigami girl lowered her hand. "If they are separated, when will they see the light again?"
The String mistress reached over for a pair of silver crafted scissors. "When the time is right, of course."
The Shinigami boy gasped, as the young women lifted a certain red string. Both of them closed their eyes.
With a swift wind, the red string was cut.
And therefore, cutting the bond between the Asakura twins.
Shaman King is copyrighted to Takei, Shounen Jump, TV Tokyo, 4KIDs entertainment, etc.
Worlds Apart
By: Chiharu
Chapter 2
"They say that when two people destined to be together are born, their little fingers are connected by a red thread."
Ran Mouri, "Countdown on a Skyscraper"
If you're reading this chapter and had just begun to read Worlds Apart, I feel obligated to inform you that this is actually the second draft of the story. The original chapter was written around the summer of 2004 and needed much editing. A lot of time and effort has gone into the writing of this story, and to be honest, Worlds Apart is actually my favorite project to work on. As time went on, I began to reread the old chapters. Yes, it's hard to read something with so many grammar errors in it, ne? XD; Basically, I'll stop ranting to present you with the newly beta-ed version of Worlds Apart.
Chiharu. Jan 2006
Macchi shifted in her seat, flipping through her duffle bag once more. Capsule box, check. Extra cloth, check. Hair products, check.
She sighed, leaning back onto her seat as the train slowly pulled its way out of the Fairy Realm; excitement flowing through her.
"So, who is my partner?" She had asked the desk lady, looking through her card.
The women had smiled soft, as if reassuring her. "You'll know in due time. As of now, here is your train ticket to Hell". Somehow, her last sentence lacked its original meaning.
"Oh... Okay." Macchi had reached foreword, stuffing it into her pocket.
"Mari can not come with you." Her friend had said. "Mari does not get her license in another 6 month." She gave the redhead a hug. "But Mari shall miss you."
And that was how she ended up on the Night Train, starting on her first mission ever.
She had always thought of her first assignment as an adventure. For her, being stuck in the same realm for 14 years was enough to make anything tiring; she wanted to see the world.
She just didn't want to start at Hell.
"I wish Mari-Chan was here." She muttered softly, reaching over for her water bottle. "This assignment is going to be boring without her. And they won't even tell me who my partner is!" She fussed to herself.
Probably just another Judgment Fairy, she reassured herself. Or if she was luck, a really hot guy!
Macchi laughed at her own idea, smacking herself in the head. She knew well enough, that Judgment Fairies are only female. If she was paired up with a boy, he'll more likely be one of the council members.
She took another look into her directory. "It says once I meet Asakura Hao, I'm supposed to contact my partner to report the progress." Macchi read out loud, sighing. "Figures."
She took a look outside the window, seeing the clouds and fairies roaming above. Then, another look at her own reflection. Her flaming red hair, her dark purple eyes; hardly fairy-like. Judgments Fairies are always suppose to look soft and kind, not like some sort of rebel.
Besides her collection of jeans and t-shirt, barely anyone could call her "soft". After all, Macchi liked it better this way. She didn't need her hair wavered or dresses and gowns to be stuck in. She looked punk enough, even without her wings.
She shrugged, laying her head against the window before taking another look at the counter screen of the empty bus:
Next stop: The UnderWorlds: 6 hours and 36 minutes.
Tamamura Tamao was having a good day, overall. At least, she thought so. With all the traffic in town, her shopping plans looked bleak.
"Looks like I'll have to fly to the market, then." She sighed, opening the door. "I'm going out for groceries, okay?"
A soft hum from the living room, which meant he had heard her. Tamao smiled, closing the door.
She yawned, ready to stretch her wings. That is, until she took one look at the front lawn. There was someone sitting there, flipping through some odd map.
Tamao paused, taking step foreword. "Ano, can I help you?"
The boy looked up. His dark turquoise eyes frowning. "Oh, sorry." He quickly got up. "I'm just lost, that's all."
Tamao smiled. "Well, do you need directions?"
The boy stared at her. "Actually, yes. Do you know where Asakura Yoh lives?"
Macchi looked around, and then back at her map. She was lost already.
Hell was... Different than she had imagined. Sure, Hell had its share of dark alleys, slez bars, drug dealers and bootlegs. Still, it wasn't anything she was unprepared for.
The only thing odd was the color. Everything seemed to be in a tinted color of red. The leaves were red, the sky was orange, and everything just looks spiked up. Everything resembled a flame-ish color.
Macchi shrugged, putting away her map. Then again, who was she to be talking? She had been to the Heaven realm before, except the tints were the exact opposite. Everything there was light blue, like fluffy clouds.
But this, this is just odd. Everything in Hell looked perfectly normal. The streets, the shops, the roadside street gangs.
If she can't even read her own map, it looks like she was down to her last source: to ask.
"Excuse me." She bended down at one of the roadside beggars. "Would you happen to know where-"
The old man didn't reply. Instead, he reach his hand out at her, palm up. "Spare some money, please, young miss."
"Eh..." Macchi paused, reaching for her pocket. To be honest, she felt bad for these beggars. There's obviously nothing wrong with them, they can function normally like any member of society. Yet, they would rather sleep on the streets.
She sighed, dropping a 100-yen bill into their bucket.
The man barely looked up. "You are looking for the SOF Centreville, no?"
"How did you-"
"There's no point in asking." The old man replied, his ragged cloth looming on. "Keep walking until you find the dock, then you'll see a small bar. You go there, and you shall find everything you need."
Macchi paused, not knowing how to reply. She knew this could very well be a trap, but she had to give it a change. Then again, where else is she going to find a mind-reading geezer on the side of the road?
"O... Okay." She looked around. "But which was to the-"
The man was gone.
Macchi sighed, taking a deep breath. She finally found the Port Dock, and the bar.
She could ignore the smell of it, she could ignore the look of it, but she could not ignore that sense of feeling, telling her something is just wrong with this place.
Macchi paused, knocking on the door.
It slammed open as a tall man stared down at her, probably a bartender. "Oh, look, a girl!" He laughed.
The redhead took a step back, trying to get some fresh air. The bar smelled even more like trash from the inside. Not to mention the man's breath was bad. It wasn't the kind of smell you get from a lack of breath mints, but one of those odd stints of a long time smoker.
"Yeah, I'm looking for someone name Asakura Hao." She managed to reply, holding her breath.
Oh, please let this be the right place. She did not want to go into another bar again, especially if it smells like this.
"Oh, right. Hao." The tall man took a step back, leaving enough room for Macchi to come in. She took one look, suddenly regretting ever coming here.
This place... Is a drug bar? What in the world would Asakura Hao be doing here?
"Wait a sec', Honey." The sleazy man turned around, walking across the bar to one of the few doors at the end of the hall. Rooms, probably.
Macchi dreaded the thought of staying in here. These people... They were all staring at her.
The man was back, and this time he was followed by someone. Macchi couldn't really make out the looks of the newcomer between the heavy smokes in the room.
"Here you go." The man managed to shove both of them out of the door, closing it.
Macchi gave the other boy a look, biting on her lower lip. "You... You're Asakura Hao?"
The brunette boy sighed, flattening his wrinkled shirt. "Yes, and you are?"
"Matilda Matisse!" She grinned proudly in return. "I'm from the Central Office and heaven and-"
Hao looked up, eyes blank. "You're the Fairy that's supposed to come and pick me up for Judgment Day." Between his long hair and the steady stare, Macchi was pretty sure this was not going to be easy.
"Well, yeah and I..."
"Look." Hao sighed. Leaning against the door. "The last thing I need is to be evaluated by someone from Heaven. You know nothing about me, and I don't intent on filling in the blanks." His voice was flat.
Macchi paused, taking a step back. "Well, it's my job to-"
"Listen to me." The boy had dead-pinned. "People like you couldn't understand, so don't even try to act like to do. Or care." He paused, scanning her through. "How old you are, anyway? Thirteen?"
"Fourteen!" Macchi replied defensibly.
"Whatever." Hao shrugged. "I'm not leaving."
Macchi was stunned. Never, had she heard of anyone who wanted to stay in Hell. She gave him one final look.
Dirty t-shirt.
Ripped Jeans.
Then only part of him that seemed a bit orderly was his long hair, tied up in a messy ponytail.
Either way, Macchi was not going to just drop this case. She had been waiting for the assignment for years, and she's not going to let it off this easily. "I don't care what you think, but you are coming with me."
Arms folded, the older boy gave her a side look. "Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" He was amused.
Macchi took a step foreword, determined to look serious. "It's my job to come for you, and it's my job to decide your future. So you can't get rid of me this easily. I don't care if you want to stay here; it's my decision to do so, not yours."
Somehow, her voice lacked its supposed tone. She couldn't help but wonder if she was stupid enough to mess around like this. For all she could know, this boy could be violent. Still, she wasn't ready to give up this easily. Always being the boldest out all her friends, she knew she could do it.
He paused, his stare deepening. "Look, Fairy. I don't want to hurt you, or let you get this bad impression of me, but I'm not interested in anything you have to say."
"No!" Macchi declared, surprising herself. "You listen to me! Just because I look young, doesn't mean you cannot take me seriously! All I'm asking you to do is to come with me and meet your twin! How hard can that be?"
The boy sighed, letting his arm lose. "It's not that I'm not taking you seriously." He paused. "But I'm not interested in meeting my so-called twin. I don't care how he's like, or what he is like now. Can't you just make your stupid decision by yourself?"
"You..."
"I know it's your job to bring me and my twin together, but I'm not interested."
Macchi paused, looking around the dock. "You know what I think? I think you're scared. You're scared to meet your brother. I think you're just mad you got stuck in Hell while he's having the life of his time up in Heaven!"
His glared was deepening by the second.
"And." Macchi paused, a little bit scared. "And you know what? I bet your twin will be pretty happy you're scared to meet him! I bet... I bet he wants you to be scared!"
Of the glare she was getting, Macchi was pretty sure she's in trouble.
Instead of the answer she expected, Hao dropped his glare and started chuckling. "You are one odd girl."
Her eyes widened. "Does that mean you'll-"
"No."
"What?" Her heart fell. "But you just-"
"I'm not mad at you, but that doesn't mean I've agreed to come with you." He had shrugged, turning around. "You better gave up Fairy, I'm not coming with you, and that's final." He reached for the door knob.
"Stop!"
He froze, but didn't turn around.
"I..." Macchi whispered softly. Never in her life, had she been so serious about something like this. "Look, I know you dislike your twin for your own reason. But if this world stopped turning tomorrow, and everyone died, would you at least be a bit regretful that you never met him? Just a little bit?"
Hao paused.
"You say you don't want to meet your twin, but that's probably non-sense!" She continued on. "I know you want to meet him. You owe you're self that! You owe your twin that too. You owe your parents and anyone who ever cared about you to at least try...
"So please, will you come with me?" It was a soft plead.
For an eerier moment, both of them were silent. Hao didn't bother to look up, and Macchi didn't dare to move.
She could almost feel him smiling.
"I'm sorry, I can't." It was his final answer. His tone contained a slightly peripheral regret.
Macchi sighed. "I guess if you really can't. I've tried my hardest." Her head bowed down. "I'm sorry for wasting both of our time, then..."
"That's okay." With a squeak, he opened the door. And then, he was gone.
Silence.
"Damn-it! What is wrong with you people?" She stomped her foot on the harbor, fuming.
For the one-millionth time in that day, Macchi sighed. How come everything just can't go her way? Why does Asakura Hao have to be so hard to convince?
The Judgment Fairy looked up at the tinted red sky. "I hope my partner is doing better with the other twin... How am I supposed to report back to the central now?"
She looked around, entering the alley for a shortcut. It was getting dark now; she really should get on a train back home. Crossing the dark alleyway wasn't exactly her first choice, but she needed to pick up her pace.
There was a soft awkward silence, as her footstep echoed through the long alleyway. It looked like another chapter out of a scary movie.
Then, a soft light lit up somewhere around. "Hey, what are you doing here at night, alone?"
Macchi jerked back, looking around. She wasn't scared, no. But she couldn't help but be a bit surprised that someone could have snuck up on her like that. "Who's there!"
"Didn't your mother teach you to not go out in the dark by your-self?" Another voice spoke up, laughing. It was anything but friendly.
"Freaks..." Macchi muttered, picking up her pace. Somehow, she found herself running.
"Where do you think you're going?" Another voice howled.
Suddenly, all the lights hit up around the alley. Macchi jerked around, awed.
She was surrounded, by a pack on street gang on motorcycles. Macchi bit her lip, already reaching for the closest thing that can act as a sort of defensive weapon. There were too many of them to fight, her only chance now was to run.
Macchi jumped over the trashcan; knocking over everything behind her. She only hoped that they would block the road for them, at least momentarily.
"Hey! Come back here!" The voices huffed. She could already hear them after her.
Damn it, why can't she remember simple spells at a time like this? What had her sensei said about wind spells? What's the point of being a Fairy when you can't even use your powers?
"You little brat! Come back here!" The voiced loomed from behind her.
Now regretting she could've paid more attention in class, Macchi turned right, hoping to lose the punks on her wheel. She seriously doubted it though.
She could hear them gaining up on her.
Macchi bit her lip, it was now or never. She stopped running, grabbing her broom out of her duffle bag. "Jack! Over soul!"
The street punks froze on the stop, staring at her pumpkin spirit. The orange light emitting over them.
"What is that thing!" One of the punks awed, staring.
"Whatever! Just get her!" The leader yelled, charging at the redhead.
Macchi swiped her broom, creating a blast of energy. It knocked the gang leader right off of his feet.
"That girl!" Another punk whispered. "She's some kind of a which!"
"Not really." Macchi smirked, grasping onto her broom. "I'm not just a Fairy, I'm a shaman." Somehow, she couldn't be more proud of her father now.
"I don't care! She's still overpowered! It's all of us against her, just get her!" The leader hollered.
Macchi dodged, she jumped, smacked, but she was getting even more tired by the second. She could be half fairy and half Shaman; but no matter how experienced she might be, she really was overpowered.
Her only choice now was to spread her wings and fly out of here while she can. She closed her eyes, focusing her energy on the ground. Glitter sparkled, and she was able to spread her wings out in time, flapping them desperately.
"Get her!" One of the snug managed to grab her feet in time, dragging her down.
Her heart sank; there was no way to escape now.
Suddenly, another bright light lit up, blind them.
Macchi looked up, seeing red. Flames. Then, a boy sitting on a giant flaming monster.
Hao.
"Women are so troublesome." Hao's voice was calm, yet he was smirking.
Macchi gasped, he was a shaman too! How come no one ever told her this?
"A monster! Run!"
"Ah!"
"Get away!"
Before she could blink, all of the street punks had fled away. Macchi blinked, cowards.
Hao jumped off of his spirit, giving her a soft look. "Don't you know not to get in trouble? This isn't fairyland. This is Hell."
Macchi glared at him. "I know that."
The Asakura chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. I know you can look after your-self. You don't quite look like a shaman either."
The redhead shrugged, picking up her broom. "My mom's a fairy, Dad's a shaman."
"Oh."
She looked up at the older boy, pausing. "Well, eh. Thanks for saving me. I guess I should get going, you know, before I get into more trouble."
Both of them fell silent.
"Can I come?"
Macchi's eyes widened. "But you just said-"
He nodded. "Maybe you're just more persuasive than you tend to believe."
"Oh, you're the best!" All dignity forgotten, she had flown herself at Hao.
Free talk
Chapter two. Yep, it's all about Macchi and Hao. Yes, you get a sneak peak of Macchi's partner and the new characters coming up in the story. So while editing this chapter, I realized that, instead of using literary devices, I used Macchi's prostrations to describe her surroundings. It makes the writing seem much more juvenile, no? XD;
Anyways, review?