Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Shaman King.
Chapter III: Only the Beginning
I came home to the sound of clattering pans and my mom's resounding demands echoing through the house. Kiba and I snuck through the back door, and into the kitchen, where I found my dad struggling with pots and pans, and other various ingredients.
"Yoh, what the heck is this!" she yelled from her room. "I wanted this soup creamy! And there isn't enough salt in it!"
"Yes, Anna," my dad yelled back, which was followed by the loud crash of breaking glass.
"That better not be the new ceramic plates I just bought!"
"What about the old ones?"
I couldn't help but chuckle at my parents' animated relationship. Whether they were in their moments of intimacy or at each other's throats, their love was of a pure passion that one could only be lucky enough to see in a lifetime.
With a sympathetic smile, I bent down and helped my dad pick up the broken pieces of glass.
"Oh, Akira, you're home."
"Sorry I'm late, Dad. I kind of got caught up in something."
My dad then spotted the furry little creature that appeared from behind me.
I gently pushed Kiba forward and said, "I found him in the cemetery."
At this, my dad glanced up, and for a moment, the look of alarm passed over his usually jovial face. Soon enough, my mom emerged from her room to see us all sprawled out on the kitchen floor.
When she saw Kiba, she narrowed her eyes upon him and asked, "Is that a cat?"
Before I could answer, my dad stood up and gazed at her. There it was again. That same contemplative glance that gave me second thoughts about bringing Kiba home.
"Why were you in the cemetery in the first place?" my dad asked, this time with a hint of severity in his tone.
Uh oh. I was in trouble now. "Well," I started, unsure of how to explain myself. "I saw something in there and thought I'd check it out."
I mentally scolded myself, realizing that my reasoning came out as some stupid excuse. Unfortunately for me, it was the truth. How else could I have put it?
My parents just gazed at me, and then moved their eyes to Kiba, who had curled up into a ball near my feet.
With firm resolve, I asked, "What exactly is he?"
"Never mind that," my mom answered, rather abruptly. "First thing tomorrow you're going to bring him back to the cemetery. Is that clear, Akira?"
"But, Mom–"
"No buts, Akira," my dad affirmed.
This was it. Whenever my dad sided with my mom on an issue, something was definitely wrong. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered me. But the fact that it was concerning me and things I didn't understand had my anger rising.
"What exactly is going on?" I insisted. "What aren't you guys telling me?"
They traded uncertain glances, but didn't say a word. Frustrated, I frowned and grabbed Kiba from off the floor. I left the kitchen in a huff and marched up to my room, where I spent the rest of the night fuming over my parents' persistent unwillingness to tell me the truth.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The following morning, I brought Kiba back to the cemetery, just as my mom had told me to do. Even then, I was still angered by last night's episode, and for a moment, I thought about defying my mother's orders.
I watched Kiba from the other side of the gate, with his clear blue eyes looking sadly up at me. Those eyes. They looked so similar to the ones in my dream, and yet so different. The eyes in my dream had a degree of ferocity in them, wild and untamed. Kiba's eyes, on the other hand, were full of innocence and wonder.
I let out a regretful sigh, as I waved good-bye to my feline friend. After that, I walked off, wondering if I had done the right thing.
The rest of my walk to school was enveloped in a pensive silence, as I recalled the events from last night. This morning wasn't any better, as there was a grave tension that hung in the air of the Asakura household. It was strange, though, for my parents to hide something from me. It wasn't like them to do that, especially since – for as long as I could remember – they made it a point to be honest with me about everything and vice versa.
Suddenly, I heard the faint meow of a cat. I turned around, and behind me was none other than Kiba himself, raising his tiny paw for attention. Puzzled, I bent down before him and patted his head.
"What are you doing here, boy?" I asked. "I thought I left you back at the cemetery."
It baffled me that he managed to get past the rusty, old gates. The entire perimeter of the burial ground was surrounded by a towering brick wall, and the only entrance was those locked gates. There was no way Kiba could've squeezed through those metal bars, was there?
"You can't come with me," I said, as he purred against my hand.
"Akira?"
I turned to see Mimi with a bewildered expression on her face.
"Oh, hey, Mimi," I casually greeted, though somewhat taken aback by her expression. "Are you okay?"
"Who were you talking to just now?"
I blinked and gazed down at Kiba. "You mean Kiba?"
"Who?" Mimi asked, even more confused than before.
Something wasn't right. I bent down and picked Kiba up in my arms, then slowly approached Mimi. To my surprise, however, she clumsily stepped back, a look of horror plastered on her face.
I grinned. "Relax, Mimi. He doesn't bite."
"I don't know what kind of trick you're trying to pull, Akira, but it's not funny."
"What are you talking about?"
Instead of answering, Mimi only continued to back away. It was then that my mind conjured up an outlandish reasoning for Mimi's behavior: she couldn't see Kiba. But, that didn't make any sense. He was right in front of her. How could she not see him? Unless…
"Mimi, can you see him at all?" I asked almost hesitantly.
"See what!" she cried, countering my disbelief.
It was my turn to stumble back in shock. At length, Mimi hurriedly began to leave.
"Mimi, wait a second!" I called.
For a moment, she spun around, her face flushed red with anger. "Look, Akira, I don't know what's going on with you, but you obviously won't talk to me about it."
"But–"
She glared at me. "Just do me a favor and don't talk to me."
And with that, she turned the corner and disappeared.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I didn't see Mimi for the rest of that day, and I knew she was doing everything in her power to avoid me. I didn't blame her. I should've told her what I was going through. She was my best friend, after all. But, how was I supposed to explain to her that I had found an invisible cat in the cemetery?
I trudged home that afternoon, low in spirits, with Kiba trailing behind me. Luckily, I was able to hide him in the park while I was at school, but a lot of good that did. It's not like people would have seen him anyway.
My mom met me at the door when I arrived home. Upon seeing Kiba, however, she frowned and opened her mouth to speak.
"I know," I said, cutting her off. "And I did bring him back, but somehow, he got loose and followed me to school."
Just then, my dad emerged from the living room. He gazed questioningly at Kiba, in which my mom bluntly answered the unspoken question.
"He got loose."
"Well, what did you expect?" my dad said, with a knowing glance.
Suddenly, we heard a knock on the front door.
My dad smiled. "Hmm, looks like our guests are here."
As he went to answer the door, my mom turned to me and said, "Go wash up and get ready for dinner."
I nodded and grabbed Kiba, although part of me was disappointed. I really wanted to talk to my parents about the incident earlier with Mimi. As I headed for my room, I looked back to see that tonight, we were having dinner with the Tao family. Dinner with them was a customary tradition that had developed over the years, whenever Mr. Tao came back from a business venture. But this time, I was convinced that there was something more to this friendly reunion than my mom's chicken soufflé in the oven and my dad's corny office jokes
