Gone and Done
By: Chiharu-chan
Themes from 55themes on livejournal.
Shaman King is copyrighted to Hiroyuki Takei, TV Tokyo, Shonen Jump, Fox Box, 4KIDS , et.
Theme Thirty-One: Haunting
Nichrome was never the kind of person to forgive easily; he knew this was the same for Macchi as well. Based on this mutual understanding, he thought that his decision to blatantly ignore the girl was fair.
His friends thought otherwise.
"Idiot!" Kanna ran a hand through her locks, shaking her head steadily. "Why are you doing this?"
Mari merely glanced between Nichrome and Macchi, sipping quietly on her tea. She carefully brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, remaining silent.
"What else do you want from me?" Nichrome replied lamely, fully aware of the fact that he was failing at whatever action he might have tried to mimic in order to end the conversation.
Kanna frowned, taking out her cell phone. "I have her number right here. Call her."
Nichrome stood up, pushing his seat backwards as he glanced around the café for a waitress. "This is ridiculous. I have class to go to."
"Are you just going to sit around and wait for her to break up with that manager of hers?" Kanna wasn't willing to let it drop. "Or are you waiting for her to come back to you? Because if you ask me, both options are stupid."
"I'm leaving." Nichrome grabbed his sunglasses.
"You'll lose her." Mari spoke up, setting her cup down. Her eyes were round and dull; but that's what made him lose focus. He knew she wasn't trying to pressure him in the same manner as Kanna; she was merely telling the truth.
"You're wrong. I lost her a long time ago."
Theme Thirty-two: Reincarnation
Nichrome looked up from washing the dishes when the new waitress came into the room. She was bland and homely, which is probably why Kyouyama hired her. She eyes were determined and reminded him of Macchi; but at this point, Nichrome probably couldn't remember her name even if he tried.
"Um… There's someone out there calling for you, Mari-san."
The blonde girl stopped in her track, setting down a bag of trash she had originally been taking out. She gave Nichrome a quick nod before heading out of the kitchen.
The waitress reminded in the room, wandering around the counter in a slow fashion as she fidgeted her hand.
Nichrome raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be going back to work?"
"That visitor." The girl spoke up after a minute, frowning. "He was really odd."
"So?"
"He looked just like Yoh-sama."
Theme Thirty-Four: Rituals
"You're here." Nichrome frowned.
Asakura Hao raised an eyebrow from his position on top of the fence. "You're reaction isn't very enthusiastic or surprised. Why is that so?"
"Why are you here?" The patch boy replied, hands tucked into his pockets. "Didn't you meet Mari at the onsen already? What's your business in front of my apartment?"
"Ah." Hao jumped off of the fence, paying no attention to the other boy's question. "Yoh told you about me, didn't he?"
"At this point, I really have nothing to do with you." The younger boy took a step aside, reaching for the doorknob to the main apartment complex. "Can you go now?"
"I suppose you're not obliged to obey me anymore." Hao shrugged lamely. "I'm not here to argue with you about your love life either, but you're being unreasonable."
Asakura Hao. Never asking for other's opinion, just putting his own out in the open. It was so like him, so nostalgic.
"Is this about the onsen?"
"It's about Macchi."
"It has nothing to do with you, then."
"Nah."
Nichrome's hand jerked back from the doorknob, frowning at the sudden increase heat of the brass object. He turned around, eyeing Hao dully; stupid fire shaman. "Seriously. What do you want now?"
"You're old enough for your patch mating rituals."
Nichrome stared at him.
"I'm being serious."
Theme Thirty-Three: Success
"Macchi, you're demo's done. Do you want to hear the new mix first before we submit it to the records company?" Her publicist poked her head out of the door.
"Hold on. I'll be there in a sec." The redhead replied softly, eyeing the clouds as she leaned partially out of the window in the hallway. She paused, taking a quick glance at the girl sitting on the bench next to her. "Mari-chan, you don't expect me to believe you."
"Why not?" The blonde looked up at her, frowning.
"Hao-sama died a long time ago." Macchi bit her lip. "I thought you were over him. I thought we were over him; why are bringing up this nonsense?"
"Mari knew you wouldn't understand." Mari stood up, grasping onto her purse. "You don't need us now that you're successful." She ran towards the elevator.
"Mari-"
"Good job. Now look what you've done."
Macchi stared at him. "Do you believe her too?"
Nichrome shrugged, heading towards the elevator. "It doesn't matter what I think; I'm not her best friend. You are. Or you were."
The redhead watched him walk off speechlessly.
Theme Thirty-Five: Non-stop fighting
"Well, this atmosphere is cheerful."
"This is no time to be sarcastic, Yoh." Anna eyed her husband flatly.
"Ah… Sorry." The brunette laughed. "What do you suggest we do, then?"
"We?" Anna raised an eyebrow.
"Well, we-"
"I'm leaving." The blonde declared. "I don't have time for your useless ideas. Tell Mari that if she drops another plate 'on accident', she'll have to pay for it."
Yoh sighed, calling Nichrome over.
"What?"
"You know what's going on, right?"
"…."
Yoh laughed slightly. "Anna says what you and Mari-chan do in your spare time is none of our business, but she's needs to stop dropping the china. It's scaring the customers too."
"Well, it's your fault."
The Shaman King blinked. "Wha?"
"You asked him to come, didn't you?"
"You mean Aniki?"
"…. Yes."
Yoh shrugged. "It was his own decision to return to Japan, I didn't know his location for the last few years either. You know he's not the kind of person to clue others in."
"But you knew he was alive!" Nichrome snapped.
"Well, yeah-" Yoh blinked, a little taking back. "Didn't you?"
"NO." The patch boy replied. "Asakura Hao isn't the kind of person to clue people in, remember? We didn't know he was alive. Do you know how much pain he has already caused us?"
The older boy paused.
"Obviously, you don't. But thanks to that, everyone is fighting now. Good job." Nichrome returned to his cleaning duties.
Theme Thirty-Six: Teasing
"Everything has been a lie, Nic-kun." Mari spoke up, eyeing the riverbank. Her glaze hasn't left the river in hours.
"You should be at work."
The blonde shrugged, not bothering to turn around. "So should you. "
"Did you quit too?" Nichrome smiled weakly, taking a seat on the sidewalk next to her.
"Everything Mari knew has been a lie." The blonde repeated. "Mari just… Mari doesn't understand. Why would Hao-sama lie to us? Why would he hurt us? Why would he hurt Mari like that?"
"He was probably teasing us." Nichrome ran a hand through his hair, frowning. "We were never that important to him; at least, not as important as he was to us. I guess that was his way of handling things."
Mari laid her head on Nichrome's shoulder. "It's not fair. Mari hate him."
Nichrome nodded senselessly, humming softly. "Yeah."
"Mari missed him."
"You loved him."
"Mari still does." The blonde sobbed into Nichrome's shoulder. "It's not fair…"
"I love her too, you know."
"Then you should talk to her."
"I should." Nichrome nodded, watching the river pass by.
Theme Thirty-Seven: Arousals
"Why are you here-" Macchi gave a small yelp as she was shoved against the wall. "Nichrome! What are you doing!"
"I miss you. Mari misses you, Kanna misses you. We all miss you. Stop being self goddamnit!" The boy hissed under his breath, eyeing the hallway for workers.
The redhead sighed. "Everyone left already. We're probably the last people in the building, so let me go already."
Nichrome jerked his hand back, rubbing the back of his neck numbly. "Sorry."
"Yeah, yeah." Macchi frowned. "Why are you here?"
"What Mari told you last time was true." Nichrome shook his head. "Hao is back. You don't have to believe me, but I think you should still meet him before deciding that we're liars."
"No." The redhead shook her head in return. "I know it's true."
Nichrome stared at her lamely.
"He came here last week." Macchi took a seat on the hallway bench. "We talk. I guess he hasn't changed much, but I have, which is why the entire thing felt like a dream. A reoccurring dream."
"You should apologize to Mari and make up. You're best friends, after all."
"Look at you, all grown up and giving people advices." Macchi grinned. "And what about us? What do you suggest we do?"
Nichrome, again, stared at her. "What?"
"Don't act stupid, Nichrome."
"I don't know. It's always the same with you. You're too unpredictable; it scared me. I think it still does."
Theme Thirty-Eight: Missing you
Her hands traveled down his back slowly as he frowned at her, trailing butterfly kisses down her neck. "I missed you."
The next morning, when he had finally woken up, she was gone.
Theme Thirty-Nine: Too late
"Why are you always around when I want you see you the least?"
Nyorai smiled pleasantly, setting her book down. "Pilica-chan told me I'd find you here." She looked around. "This is a nice university library."
"Great. Just great." He muttered. "What do you want from me?"
"You're always so hostile." The girl smiled in return. "Don't worry, there's a reason I'm here." She took out an envelope from her bag. "I'm getting married."
"Tsk, you too?"
"It's a little too late for the disappointment, Nichrome."
"How so?"
"With Asakura Hao back in town and Macchi-chan roaming around, nothing is going to stay the same for you. There's no point being annoyed at me right now, right?"
"Mind reader." Nichrome shrugged, accepting the invitation.
Theme Forty: War with myself
"Did she use you again?"
Nichrome flinched slightly "I don't know."
"She did, didn't she? I feel like I don't even know her anymore. She's too manipulative. She caused everything. She's the entire reason we're all so uptight."
"…."
"You hate her."
"I don't."
"But?"
"It's not her fault. It's all my fault."
"Nic-kun, why are you mumbling to yourself?"
He blinked at Mari.
Aftertalk
When I first started the drabble set, I had doubts about finishing it. Even now, I still do. But reality remains the same, and there's only 15 more drabbles left, which means I'll probably combine them into one set, which will be the last of this collection. If anyone is still reading this, I would be very impressed. Nichrome and the hanagumi are such underappreciated characters.
Chiharu