Authors Notes: Hey hi once again! Here is the second part to my double one-shot! Fair warning: MAJOR SPIOLERS! Please review when you are done; I like to know how my work turns out. Constructive critisism is always welcome, but please do not flame me. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: sighs No I do not own Shaman King...
Returning Hope
I was the one who was always strong. I was always the one who never gave up hope. The one who always believed, even when no one else would. I was determined to see everything work-out in the end.
And he would be the one to always prove me right by coming back with that trade-mark grin of his on his face.
But I was wrong.
There's no such thing as a happy ending...
------
This realization hit me as the sound of breaking glass enshrouds my hearing. I realize with a stab to, what was left of my heart, that he is never coming back.
My last hope vanished with the 1080 beads. My legs gave away and I am lost in the darkness. The pain in my chest explodes and I have to lean againt the pillar for support, as tears that had never been shed before, streak down my face. The pain increases as my thoughts center around him, suffocating me. My hearts bleeding...
Please. Someone. Take this pain away.
I can't handle it anymore.
He's gone...
"We're not trying to avenge Yoh!"
"That's right! He's not gone. He'll never be gone!"
...these words break through my despair and my heart jolts. My eyes widen with realization and I slowly lift my head to view the scene before me.
I can't believe it. They haven't given up yet.
Yoh's friends are still standing up to fight. They haven't given up...
"Yoh is still here with us," Ryou yells at Hao.
"You don't have the power to take him away. Wherever we are, he'll be there with us, in our hearts, and his prescence will make us strong," Ren explains determinedly.
And I realize...they're right...
As long as we continue to fight for what Yoh believed in, he'll never be gone. He will always be in out hearts. He will always be my heart.
At this thought, I begin to...smile...
I continue to watch the battle, one hand over my heart; I have new hope. My other hand clenches into a fist by my side; I am determined to watch this fight until the bitter end.
...something is wrong...
Hao has stopped. He's clutching at his chest in pain and disbelief.
Has an attack finally hit him? Has someone actually wounded Hao?
"Anna," I hear Manta call.
His voice is laced with awe and wonderment. Has he seen the same thing as me?
I slowly turn my head to look back at him and see-
...No...it can't be...
...is this real?...Yoh...
...he's alive! Is he really standing there right behind me!
I am struggling so hard to believe it's true. I want to believe so badly. I don't want this to be just a figment of my imagination, playing cruel tricks on my heart...
"Yoh, I...," I struggle to get out. Emotions are surging through me so fast that I can't find the voice to speak.
The figure before me raises his hand in greeting, gives me his trade-mark grin and says, "Yo!"
He's back! He's really back!
My soul fills with elation and I can't help but smile as I discover my world has come back. Hope and determination engulf my heart as I watch Yoh begin to face off against Hao once again. There's just one last thing missing...
"Yoh," I call out as I walk up to him, my head down and my eyes concentrated on the ground. I reach back behind my head, take off his headphones and set the back on his head. "Here," I say.
He's gazing at me in disbelief at my small glimse of affection. I avoid his gaze by staring determinedly at an interesting spot to my left and say, "Welcome back Yoh."
He blinks a few times in shock before chuckling and replying, "Thanks Anna. It's good to be back."
He turns away from me as he calls out to his astonished friends and an enraged Hao, "Time to join the others. Let's do it! I'm coming for you Hao!" With these words he leaves my side to help his friends once more.
I set my hand against the pillar once more, but this time with a soft smile on my face as I watch the fight.
And I can't help but think about what this event has shown me so clearly. I now know these things more wholey and truly then I ever did before...
I will never allow my heart to give up hope again.
Yoh will defeat Hao once and for all.
And maybe, just maybe...
...there is such a thing as a happy ending...
