Mikau: Hello! It's 11:30 here and I'm still up. I really have to take my shot and go to bed, but I wanted to get this up. I've been working on it off and on all day. I'm pretty pleased with it, though it is slightly different than I first imagined. Oh well; I'm still happy with it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
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The Meaning of Hell
It had been a bad day at school and I had only been there ten minutes. I had my least favorite class first, Science, my books were all in my locker, and I couldn't remember my combination. I was not having a good day, and my sister was not making it any easier on me.
Hoshi's locker was right next to mine, and she came skipping up to me smiling. Both disturbing coming from my sister. She had been having serious mood swings lately, and was starting to scare me.
"Morning Thorn." She opened her locker with a bright smile.
"Mornin'." I muttered back. "What's got you in such a good mood? Lots of customers last night?"
Her grin only faltered slightly. "Actually, I didn't go in to work last night. I don't plan on going in at all this week."
I nodded to show I had heard her, but I wasn't completely listening as I tried inputting various combinations on my lock.
"Anyway, I'm happy because they posted the final cast list for Grease on the theatre doors." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in.
A few seconds later when they finally did, I looked up from my lock and stared blankly at her. "The final cast list? They didn't bother having callbacks?"
"Nope. No callbacks. They wrote a note on the cast list that said it was painfully obvious who they wanted for the roles, and callbacks would be unnecessary." There was something in her cat-like grin that told me she was scheming again.
"You got Rizzo, didn't you?" I smiled simply and my attention reverted to my still impregnable locker.
"Yep." She grinned broadly, proud to be cast in the part. "You should check out the cast list too before you go to class." She shoved me out of the way and easily got my locker open with a few practiced twists of the dial.
"Thanks. Why do you say that? Did I get anything? Chorus probably. Did Hana get anything?" I grabbed my Science texts, calculator, and lab book.
"Oh, go see for yourself." Hoshi grabbed her own books and rushed off to class.
I snorted lightly as she ran off. 'That sister of mine is so eccentric at times.' I took the long way to the science room so that I would have to walk past the theatre doors.
I looked the list over, looking for my friends' names first. Makoto was the stage manager, and Ivory had gotten the role of Jan. Hana was playing Kenickie, and Hoshi was Rizzo. I scanned the list for Lian's name, but I didn't find it. My eyes fell upon Akira's name listed next to the role of Danny. I glared. 'He wasn't that spectacular. I don't see how he got the leading male role.' Finally I looked for my own name, but I didn't have to look far. It was listed right under Akira's.
My heart stopped. I checked the names and roles again. 'This cannot be happening.' I checked again, hoping I had misread something. Unfortunately no matter how many times I looked and checked and hoped that I was wrong, there was Akira's name listed as playing the role of Danny, and there below his name was mine.
I swallowed hard and tried not to faint as thoughts of the next few months played over and over in my head. There it was, May, and I had was going to be spending my summer working on a school musical, playing opposite that…that…person so that we could do the show the first and second weeks of the new school year once we came back from summer vacation.
Suddenly I became aware of the presence of someone standing behind me. I turned slightly and saw none other than Akira. I held my breath as he scanned the list. He mumbled the names one by one out loud. He smiled slightly when he read his own name, but when he saw mine, a soft: "Oh hell no." was upon his lips.
He looked at me like I was some sort of rotting piece of meat. "No. No. No. There has got to be some kind of mistake."
The summer was going to be hell; I could already tell. I had no idea what the word hell meant until after the show was over and I had suffered through countless hours of practices and rehearsals with Akira.
I walked off to class without a word to him, and suffered through the entire day wondering if I could somehow get out of playing the part of Sandy. But, of course, I knew they wouldn't let me out of the role. I was stuck. I pouted the rest of the day and most of the night too.
"I can't believe I got Sandy and he got Danny!" I paced back and forth on my sister's bedroom floor. "What are the odds that we two, mortal enemies, got paired as lovers in a school musical? What are the odds!"
Hoshi sat cross-legged on her bed, brushing her long, silky hair. "Better than you think." She mumbled to herself. "Thorn, it's not so bad."
"Yes, Hoshi. It's bad. It is sooooooo bad! I can't stand him, and I have to heavily make out with him on stage!" I cried out in exasperation, pleading for my sister to understand my dilemma.
She shrugged and continued to brush her hair. "Kissing a guy you don't love isn't too bad."
I stopped pacing and sat at the end of her bed, grabbing a pillow and holding it to my chest. "But it's Akira. I HATE Akira." It was a weak argument, but it was the only one I had.
"Not as much as you think." She muttered under her breath again. "And just why do you hate him?"
I looked down at my hands. I didn't have a very good answer for her. I picked up the hair tie that she had taken out of her hair and twirled it in my fingers nervously. "I don't know."
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" She grabbed at the hair tie and clasped it tightly to her chest.
I blinked and looked at her like she was partially insane. She blinked twice at the same time and speed that I did. We looked sort of like a mirror. She obviously was realizing how crazy she sounded as well. "It was a gift." She tried to explain. "It's very important to me and the person who gave it to me."
"If it's so important to the person, then why did he or she give it to you?" My mouth hung slightly open with the question and I leaned forward to get a better look at the precious item she held close to her heart.
"I…don't know why he gave it to me…" She looked thoughtfully down at the gift.
"He must like you a lot then." I smiled childishly.
My sister's eyes went wide with discovery and her checks darkened slightly. "Y-you think so?" A womanly blush painted her cheeks as she thought about the man who had given her the present.
"Well, whoever it is, you sure do seem to like him. I don't think I've ever seen you blush like that Hosh. Someone's got it bad." My smile changed to a sly smirk.
"Ridiculous. I don't fall in love." Her single line was enough material for me to tease her with.
"I never said anything about love. I only asked if you liked him; you're the one who brought the word 'love' into the conversation. So you love him now do you?" I took pleasure in watching my sister blush.
Hoshi easily shook me off and went back to the previous topic. "Oh stop it Thorn. Don't try to change the subject. Why do you hate Akira so much?"
"Come on Hosh! I told you all about Lian and Hana and everything! You have to tell me something about this guy! Was he one of your customers?" I whined.
"Why do you hate Akira?" She was firm in her decision not to talk about the men in her life.
I sighed and gave up the topic. I would get her later. "I don't know. He annoys me a lot. Something about him just irks me, and I can't help but want to injure him. He does something to me whenever we're together. Our personalities just clash I guess."
"I see…explosive personalities." She nodded and made a mental note. "You know, that friction could easily turn to passion if you're not careful. If you slept with him—"
"—HOSHI!" I turned up my nose at the idea, too scared and inexperienced to even think of doing such a thing.
"I'm just saying." She teased.
"Well don't." I glared to cover up the blush on my cheeks.
"Hey, you should go out with your friends to celebrate." My older twin proceeded to ramble on about a new café in the area. "There's this really great place called the Star Spinner Café down by the theatre on 3rd street. Hana took me there the other day, and they have amazing pastries and sandwiches."
"I'm a vegetarian." 'How could you forget something like that?' Normally my sister's memory was infallible; something really must have been bothering her.
"Oh yeah…well get a veggie sub instead of meat. Wait, I thought you liked turkey? You always eat it at Thanksgiving." She put her precious ponytail holder around her wrist, careful not to stretch it.
"Yeah well, turkey is different." I muttered lamely.
Hoshi got up from her bed and called down the hall to Hana. "Hey Hana! Get everyone together; you're going to the Star Spinner to celebrate everyone getting cast!"
Hana yelled back. "Sure! Sounds like fun!"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to celebrate having to spend my free time over the summer with Akira."
Hoshi had other plans for me. "Yes you are, now let's get you into some different clothes." She drug me over to her wardrobe and started pulling out clothes.
After several minutes of deliberation, she decided upon a tight fitting blue jean skirt that came down to mid thigh, a black leather belt decorated with shiny, silver stars, and a tight, white tank top that, thankfully, covered all but an inch or so of my stomach. The shirt was so tightly stretched over my chest that it restricted my breathing.
I looked at my sister like she was crazy, but she waved my look off and continued getting my outfit together. She reached into her closet and pulled out a familiar pair of black leather boots. I hesitantly put them on. Hoshi smiled and went over to her jewelry box, removing from it a green heart pendant choker. I immediately recognized it as mine. The one Lucifer had given me.
'How did she get that?'
As if reading my mind, Hoshi replied, "You left it lying on the floor in your room the other day. It looks good on you; you should wear it."
"Uh…yeah. Thanks." I lightly fingered the heart pendant.
"You know…we really should do something with your hair…" My sister played with a few of my brown tresses, planning out what she would do with them.
"Hosh, I think I'm fine the way I am. I like my hair down anyway." I hesitantly moved away from my sister.
"Right. Hanging down in your eyes." She shrugged and let me go. "Go ahead; they'll be waiting for you."
"Aren't you coming? You got cast too, so you should come with us." I raised an eyebrow at her.
My twin shook her head and smiled dryly. "I'm not feeling well." She lay down on her bed and motioned for me to leave.
I frowned slightly. She had seemed fine before; a little nervous, but fine. I decided not to let it trouble me. "You're acting really weird lately sis."
I went downstairs to meet up with my friends. They were waiting at the bottom of the steps for me all looking excited. All except Akira.
"I'll drive." Offered Hana.
"You always drive." Ivory complained. "I want to drive."
"You don't have your license yet coz." Akira humped.
"And yet I still drive better than you do." The Usui smiled evilly at the Tao. Akira's frown deepened.
"Where are you guys going?" Yoh, smiling happily, rounded the corner followed by Hao.
Hana answered his father coolly. "This new café just opened and Hoshi wanted me to take the guys there to celebrate all of us getting cast in Grease."
"What parts did you get?" Hao asked more out of politeness than actual interest.
Ivory quickly supplied an answer, "Hana-koi is Kenickie, I'm Jan, Rara-kun is Danny, Hoshi is Rizzo, Makoto is the Stage Manager, and Thorn is Sandy."
"Congratulations." My father looked at me proudly, but his smile dropped when he saw what I was wearing. "Thorn do you plan on going out in public dressed like that?"
"It was Hoshi's idea." I shrugged, not caring for the outfit any more than he did.
"I'll have to have a word with your sister." Hao rolled his eyes and ascended the stairs. Yoh followed close behind his older brother.
Hana turned and looked curiously at me. "Isn't Hoshi coming with us?"
"No. She said she wasn't feeling well." I quickly explained.
"Multiple STDs will do that to you." Akira muttered smugly.
I felt like murdering him. "Why you little!" I lunged at him, but Hana grabbed and restrained me. "Let me go! I wanna hit him! No one insults my sister like that!"
"Let her go Hana, her punches don't hurt that bad." Akira's smug grin made me see red. I struggled with my cousin to get to the Tao.
Ivory hit Akira over the head with Makoto. "Stop it Akira. You know she beat you up real bad the other day, and no one wants t' have t' doctor you if ya get her angry and she pounds you again."
Akira paled and his eyes turned to slits of hate pointed in his cousin's direction.
I smiled and laughed at the blue snow bunny's comment, deciding to let Akira off this once.
"Thanks Ivory." Hana whispered in his friend's ear.
"No prob, Hana-koi." The Ainu smiled broadly.
"Uhhhh…" Makoto rubbed his sore head tenderly. Ivory scooped him up in her arms and immediately started fussing over him.
"Oh! Makoto-kun! Are you all right? I'm sorry!"
Makoto straightened his bent glasses and waved off her concern. "I'll be okay. You can put me down now."
"Nonsense. I like carrying you." She hugged him to her chest like a doll, and we went out to the car. Hana drove, Ivory sat next to him with Makoto on her lap, and once again I was stuck riding in the backseat with Akira.
"Why am I always forced to sit next to her?" The Chinese shaman complained.
"I was just thinking the same thing." I muttered darkly.
Ivory turned around to smile teasingly at us as we sat as far away from each other on the seat as possible. "Because I like to sit next to Hana-koi, and he always drives. There's no more room up front anyway."
"Then why is Makoto sitting up there on your lap?" I chanced a stupid question.
And got a stupid answer. "Because he doesn't want to sit in-between you two while you rage world war three back there."
Akira glared at his cousin. "I'd kill you if my imouto wasn't so overly fond of you."
"I know, but you and Thorn make such a cute couple. You know we give you the whole backseat for a reason, so why don't you just get over your pride and get busy with her already?" Ivory burst into peals of giggles and turned back around in her seat.
"Why you insinuating pig!" Akira's face turned blood red and he looked like he wanted to slay his Ainu cousin.
I completely missed the innuendoes in the joke.
Hana's phone rang and Ivory stopped laughing long enough to answer it for him. "Moshi moshi. Usui Ivory wa desu…Oh hello Hoshi!…Yeah, this is his cell phone…Yeah, he's driving. I'll put him on." She turned to Hana. "Hana-koi, it's Hoshi. She says it's urgent."
Hana took the phone from Ivory and drove with one hand. "Hey Hosh. What's up? Thorn said you weren't feeling well; are you okay?…Oh. I see. Anything I can do?…Done. Whatever you say Hoshi. Anything else?…No problem. I'll see ya later."
I poked my head up front and glanced at Hana. "Is my sister okay?"
He looked sideways at me. "Yeah, she's fine. She just wanted me to do something for her. It's nothing really." I could tell his smile was fake, but I didn't bother confronting him about it.
We arrived at the Star Spinner Café soon enough, and took a booth by the window. Hana and Ivory shared a seat with Makoto on her lap, and I was inevitably left to sit next to Akira in the booth. The waiter came and everyone ordered. Mostly everyone had sandwiches; Hana had the chicken teriyaki, Ivory had pepperoni and tomato, Makoto had turkey, but both Akira and I just ordered a bagel. I glared at him for stealing my order.
"It's not like I copied you on purpose. I did order before you after all, so aren't you the one copying off of me?" He glared evilly back.
"I'm not talking to you." I sipped my water delicately, trying my best to imitate the way my sister might act if a man displeased her.
"Sure you're not. Because you can't talk to me, just like you can't get a boyfriend." Akira scoffed, enjoying being cruel and heartless to me.
"I can too get a boyfriend!" All delicate thoughts were pushed from my mind as I reverted to the childish behavior Akira brought out in me.
"I seriously doubt it. Just look at you." He eyed my body suggestively. "You couldn't attract even the most desperate man with that. Your chest is too flat, your hair is too wild, your nose is too small, your lips are to thin, your neck is too skinny, your stomach is too flat, you don't have any hips, your legs are too muscular, and your feet are too flat."
My temper flared and I couldn't sit and take his harsh treatment any longer. "Too flat, too small. Anything else? Don't you want to insult my eyes too? What are they? Too shiny for you? Or are they too dull? Too dark? Too glassy?"
"Actually, they're—" Our eyes met by chance and his lips stopped moving. He stared deep into my eyes and his own filled with recognition. "They're perfect…too beautiful to describe…"
I blinked. "What?" My brain froze and time seemed to stop. 'Did he just…compliment me?' He leaned forward. Our lips were just about to touch when I pulled away and slapped him. "How dare you? How can you insult me like that and then expect me to kiss you? What do you think I am? Don't you know I hate your guts?" I pushed past him out of the booth and was about to leave when he grabbed my wrist.
"Thorn! Wait!" He swallowed and looked me over again.
I snatched my wrist out of his grip and glared at him, awaiting an explanation.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that stuff." He stood and took my hand in his. "We need to talk…about someone named Dao Lian. Have you ever met someone by that name."
I raised an eyebrow. 'How does he know my Lian-koi?' "Yeah, I danced with him at the Masquerade. We email each other a lot too. How does someone like you know someone like him?" I made sure to say 'you' with as much spite and venom as possible.
He looked at me desperately. "Thorn…I am—" My cell phone ring cut him off.
I quickly fished the phone out of my pocket and answered. "Moshi moshi. Asakura Thorn wa desu."
"Thorn, it's Hoshi. I need you to come home right now. It's urgent, so get home as fast as you can." I didn't get a chance to say anything before she hung up.
I stood there with the phone to my ear looking stupid. 'What could possibly be the matter now?' I turned to the others. "I have to go." I rushed out of the shop before anyone could argue.
Akira was about to follow me, but Hana stopped him. "Wait. Give her ten minutes and then you can go after her." The Tao tried to protest, but my cousin somehow convinced him to wait the ten minutes.
I walked quickly towards home, going over what Hoshi had said a good thousand times in my head. Her voice had been rushed and panicked, but somehow even and controlled. She was nervous, but focused. Something was up. I quickened my pace, getting increasingly nervous as the seconds ticked off.
I was getting paranoid. There was no one out on the streets. Why? It was quiet. Too quiet. My heart beat loudly in my ears. I gulped. Something about what my sister had said and the way she said it irked me. Something was weird about the way she had phrased it…I didn't know why, but it made me infinitely jumpy and self-conscious.
It was nearly 7:30 at night, and it was getting dark. Every alleyway made my heart stop briefly. Suddenly, walking home alone at night didn't seem like a good idea. There I was, a teenage girl, alone, after dark, wearing my sister's striper's clothes. I held my breath as I passed another dark alley. I was scared to death that someone would jump out and attack me. But then, that seemed silly since there was no one out on the streets; no cars drove past either. I walked past a lamppost and the bulb shorted out. Only a dim light remained to light my way.
A dark, male voice whispered evilly in my ear. "What's a girl like you doing out all by yourself this late at night?" I didn't even have time to turn around before he grabbed me, covering my mouth and restraining my arms. I tried kicking and screaming, but I couldn't break free from his hold.
I reached for my gun, but my heart sunk in utter terror when I realized I was wearing Hoshi's clothes. My gun was in my pants pocket lying on Hoshi's bedroom floor. I blinked back tears as the man wrestled me to the ground and forced himself on top of me. My head had hit the concrete sidewalk when he pushed me down, and I lay beneath him in utter submission, floating between consciousness.
He bit hungrily at my neck, ripping off my shirt and skillfully unhooking my bra. I tried to resist, but my body wouldn't respond. I cried since I couldn't do anything else to prevent myself from being raped. The man's hands hesitantly brushed against the buttons on my skirt. I closed my eyes, not being able to stand watching any longer. I couldn't see his face…it was too dark. 'Maybe it's best. If he leaves me alive I won't have his face in my nightmares. Is this how Hoshi felt?'
The sound of footsteps walking quickly met my ears. I called out for help and they quickened their pace, running. "THORN!"
I recognized that voice. "Akira?" I could barely do more than mumble. I'm sure he didn't hear me though. At the same time I muttered Akira's name, twelve rounds from a gun fired. I don't remember exactly what happened after that, but I have enough memories to be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
After Akira shot the man that had tried to rape me, he rushed to my side and made sure I was okay. He took off his own jacket and wrapped it around me. He pulled out his cell phone and called Hana. The others arrived in a matter of minutes in the car and they all helped to get me home.
I remember my father and Valerie freaking out. Anna and Yoh tried to be as helpful as possible, but there was nothing much they could do. Faust checked me out and doctored the bump on the back of my head from where it had contacted the pavement. Akira and Hana never once left my side. Makoto comforted Ivory, and Hoshi stayed close at all times. My twin looked pale. She was extremely relieved to find out that Akira had intervened before the man had done anything serious to me. By this time I was feeling more awake, and the drowsiness from the bump to the head had worn off.
"I'm so sorry Thorn." My sister wiped a lone, guilty tear from her eyes as she hugged me. I was about to tell her it wasn't her fault and that I was okay, but she didn't give me the chance. As soon as she broke the hug, Hoshi ran upstairs to her bedroom and locked the door.
I looked to Hana as if he might know what was wrong with my sister. He looked guiltily down at me. "I'm sorry Thorn." He kissed me on the forehead and left to check on Ivory. She was even more shaken up by the night's events than I was.
Valerie sat at the head of my bed and smiled softly at me. "I'm just glad you're okay." She wiped a tear from her eye.
My father sat next to her. They sat so close together that not even a beacon of light could find room to pass between them. Hao ruffled my hair fondly. "I knew I shouldn't have let you go out like that. No more running off by yourself at night, okay? And you." My father spoke pointedly to Akira who was sitting on the other side of my bed.
Akira looked startled for a minute, pointing to himself and mouthing the word 'Me?'
Hao nodded. "I've changed my mind about you. You're not such a snot-nosed jerk after all."
"Thank you sir." Akira nodded, clearly afraid, if not, cautious of my father.
"I'm going to go make us some hot chocolate." Valerie announced. "We could all use it."
She stood and Hao followed her. "I'll come with you. You'll need help carrying all the cups."
I looked up at Akira nervously. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it before words could come out. I sat up in bed and opened my mouth again. Better to do this while at eye level with him. "I just wanted to…I mean, I owe…I really just…" I quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Akira." I lay back down and closed my eyes, feinting attempting to rest.
"You really don't need to thank me. I'd do anything for you." His tone was sweet and loving. Both characteristics unbefitting of the Akira I knew and loathed.
"Still…I owe you one, okay?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Goodnight Akira."
"Night Thorn." He kissed my cheek and left the room, flicking the light switch off on his way out.
My eyes slowly opened and my hand rose to my cheek. 'Everyone is acting strangely lately.'
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Mikau: Well so there it is. I really liked the scene between Hoshi and Thorn up in Hoshi's room…I don't know why, but I just do. Hoshi seems to be acting a little off in this chapter, but that will be explained next chapter. Speaking of which, I'll see you all then. Merry Christmas if I don't update between now and then! Actually I wanted to have this done by Christmas and post the final chapter on the 25th because it's Hoshi and Thorn's birthday, but whatever…I also only planned on having this as a 20 chapter long thing, but that didn't work out either…I'm never any good at guessing how long something will take me or how long something will be. Merry Christmas guys! I'll try and at least post a chapter on Christmas.
Thanks To: MaiValentinefan, My favorite flamer D, yo wuz up, Andrea Nefisto, HAO-Addictive, Touch of the Wind, isa18, GothicShamaness13, knux33, Dannie, LilacBreeze, DarkPisces33, and kari tao(ren's little sister).
To D: Merry Christmas to you too. Thanks for continuously reading my fics and reviewing even though you constantly flame me.
To yo wuz up: If Hao and Damien ever got in a fight, then there would be no world left when they were through, so we don't know who's stronger.
To Andrea Nefisto: A fern is a plant, and Lucifer is Lucifer's real name. He kept his angel name just in case he ever gets back into Heaven.
To GothicShamaness13: Diablo may appear in later chapters, but he won't have a huge part. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well; thanks for the review!
To DarkPisces33: Akira just realized that TornByThorns is Thorn this chapter. He didn't know before. Thorn is still clueless about everything though. Lucifer and Hao don't have very compatible personalities, and the few times that they've met, they've never gotten along. Perhaps if they put their differences aside and sat down for coffee and got talking, but they just don't really get along. Have fun Christmas shopping!
PLEASE REVIEW!