Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King
CHAPTER TWO – Six Years Later
(If you don't know the time frame, you need help. See the chapter title!)
Yoh glanced at his watch for the tenth time in five minutes. This was great, just great. He had pulled in some favors and finally gotten a talent searcher to stop by on the way through Tokyo, and his band were nowhere to be found. The person was coming at 5:00 exactly, it was 4:30 then, and they were supposed to practice beforehand.
He growled with impatience and began to practice his guitar solo. He was the lead guitarist, electric guitar, and singer of the band, No Excuses. When he finished going through it ten times, he glared at the tiny clock again, and if looks could kill, his watch was a goner. It was 4:50, and still, no second guitarist, drummer, or keyboard player.
In his frustration, he began playing random cords without realizing it. The more seconds flew by, the faster and angrier his playing became. When he realized he was playing, he didn't really care and so he began to form it into a song, making up cords and words as he went along.
"I don't care, leave me now. I'm all alone, I wonder how. You left me with no one. You knew I would die. But up from the ashes, a phoenix will fly. Now I fly up from the cinders, admit you were wrong. You thought I'd be weaker, but you made me strong. Look at what you put me through. It's over now, no chance for you. Come back now and I'll make you go. You hurt me bad, and now you know that it's too late for second chances. No excuses, no romances." he sang to the tune of his music, closing his eyes and allowing the music to flow through his lips and hands into a song.
"That... was absolutely perfect. You are coming with me tomorrow at noon onto a plane taking us to the Studio in Beijing." a female voice called from the front. He snapped his eyes open and they flew to the watch. 5:05 exactly.
"I... made it?" he asked, unbelievingly.
"Duh. Go to the Tokyo Airport at noon tomorrow. Be late and you forfeit your chance." she answered.
He took off his guitar and ran for the front of the garage, but had some trouble climbing over and ducking under things. After a few loud crashes he finally made it out of the Pit of Doom, but she was gone and his band had just showed up.
"Wazzup?" his drummer, Chino asked.
"You blockheads! You just missed the talent girl!" he barked. The others stood dumbfounded.
Then Chino yelled, "Man! We forgot to reset our clocks!"
"No excuses." Yoh told them, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"But, Yoh." Chino started, only to be cut off.
"No! No excuses! No second chances! I told you when you came in that you get one chance, no mistakes! You let me down, just like all the others." he growled darkly.
"Sorry for being human." the drummer mumbled as they turned and left.
The next morning, Yoh woke at six o'clock and ate a breakfast of toast and oranges with milk to drink. Afterwards he did 500 sit ups and push ups. Then he took a long shower and rechecked his bags. With some time to kill, he cleaned the house so it would look nice if the landlord were to visit. It was now time to go. Yoh slipped on the quadruple weights to his arms and legs and took off running, his baggage in tow. When he reached the airport, he checked his bags and was just slipping off the weights and putting them into his carry-on bag when the talent search girl arrived.
"Yoh? Is that you?" she asked incredulously. He zipped up his bag and nodded.
"I'm Yoh Asakura. Remember? You listened to me play the other day?" he asked.
"I'm not told who I'm checking out, just where. Yoh, it's me! Anna!" she exclaimed.
He stared emptily at her, looked her up and down, and said, "I don't think I know any Anna's." She gaped at him in shock and disbelief.
"You had better be joking. I'm your ex-fiancé, Anna Kyouyama. We're shamans who saved the world together!" she told him. He stared at her blankly.
"Shamans are evil demon people who murder and steal and pillage and burn villages and are possessed by demons. I've never saved the world, and I never had a fiancé and I never knew an Anna Kyouyama." he said stubbornly, crossing his arms.
Whack! Anna gave him her famous left-handed slap, right on the cheek, but was taken aback when he didn't even flinch, he didn't move at all. Zip! She now was the most surprised she'd ever been in her life, he had caught her hand in mid-strike. He held her wrist for a few moments, and then forced it back to her side.
"How the hell did you do that?" she asked in shock.
"MBNYSBO." he said.
"Say what?" she said in her harsh voice.
"MBNYSBO. My Business, Not Yours, So Back Off." he translated coldly.
Zip! His hand caught her knee easily as it made its way up to hit him in the place no man wants to be hit. Whiz! His other hand caught her right hand before she slapped him. Whoosh! Her left hand stopped an inch from his face, as though a pane of glass were there.
As one last attempt to hit him for his rudeness, she attempted to head butt him when he let her go and back flipped five times, landing with the ease of a cat and making each of his movements seem like cake. Everything was carefully planned and calculated, and you could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't even thinking about his moves anymore by the time he did them.
His smirk was driving her mad. It was one of those I-know-something-you-don't-know smiles. A mystery one, like the Mona Lisa, and at the same time, cold, harsh, hateful, and angry. However, underneath all that, she saw the faintest glimmer of hurt, sadness, and a dying hope.
"Yoh, I, I'm sorry." she said quickly, trying to get it over with as soon as possible.
"Why? You only hit me once, because I let you. Just remember one thing about me. You make no excuses. You get no second chances. You make no mistakes." he said gravely. After that, no one had anything to say, so no one spoke. They boarded the plane and got into their first class seats, him placing his bag in front of him.
She noticed something sticking out of his bag. Her eyes grew wide in recognition and she grabbed his duffel bag and pulled out her prize. He snatched the bag back and gave her the glare he usually reserved for his watch, and then held out his hand for his missing item. He had the window seat, though, and the seat belt sign was off, so she ran off to the bathroom with it. He got up and stalked after her, banging on the lavatory door.
"Anna, open up and give it back or I'll take the door down and take it back." he growled low. There was no answer so he did as he promised and took down the door. However, the bathroom had an opening bottom for emergencies and it lay open.
Damn her resourcefulness and damn these new safety lavatories. He was not a happy camper as he climbed down into the luggage compartment and, using his shaman senses, easily found her and took his book back. She followed him with an I've-got-you-now smirk.
"So, little Yoh keeps a diary?" she said in baby talk.
"It's a damned journal and I don't write about my life in it. I write songs." he told her as they climbed back up and took their seats.
"Riiiiiight. I remember this. You do remember me, you're just pretending not to." she accused.
"No, I'm not. Maybe I used to be who you're looking for, but he died about halfway through the journal. Guess how he died. You killed him. You killed his dreams, future, hope, everything." he kept his voice low as he spat out the words venomously.
"Yoh, I went back. I went back for you but you were gone. You didn't wait." she said, some faint traces of emotion seeping into her voice.
"He waited for two years for you. Two damned years. You know why I know how to fight? He tried to learn every possible fighting technique and style, to be the strongest for you. So that you would come back. But you never did. You abandoned him for John Forester, Garret Jonen, oh, and the last one, Isaac Gordo. Your former husbands. When he found this out, he died.
He tried so hard to be good enough for you, but he never could reach your standards. Oh, no, you like guys who are serial killers, like John, homeless guys, like Garret, and drug dealers, like Isaac. Have a great time with your new boyfriend, Darek, who, by the way, happens to be a stripper. Yoh Asakura gave you two chances, and that was a mistake. So now, here I am, your creation, much more improved. I'm everything a girl wants. Strong, handsome, fighter, charismatic, musician who writes his own songs, singer, and soon to be star. Who could resist? Only you." he said bitterly.
Anna, for once, was speechless. This had hit her like a ton of bricks. He had kept tabs on her, he knew her past and present, he was so hurt by her leaving, and he would never forgive her. She felt herself tearing and calmly walked off to the lavatory.