A/N: Well...this is awkward, to say the least... I feel so horrible about not writing anything in such a long time, and trust me, I'm really sorry! Please don't hate me for not writing for almost a year! (sob) Anyway, now that I've apologized for being so depressed that this was deleted fromff . net/uninspired/lazy/uninspired again/lazy again(in that order), I'd just like to send out a big thank you to everyone who's reviewed in the past and stuck with me! Thank you so much!
Disclaimer: Okay, if you still think I own Shaman King after all this time, you seriously need help.
Part XII: Of Decisions and Abandonments
Chapter i: Of Daydreams and False Accusations
(3rd Person POV)
Funbari Onsen, a few hours subsequent to Katsumi's departure...
Ren sat silently on the edge of the back porch of Funbari Onsen, his mind racing. How had he let Katsumi be taken away that easily? If he hadn't gotten so mad when he'd bumped into her that morning, he might have been able to tell her how he really felt!
He'd had it all planned out
While on their little evening stroll, Ren would take Katsumi to the park. They'd walk along the bridge over the pond, staring wistfully into their reflections in the smooth water's surface.
'Katsumi,' he'd say, talking her warm hand in both of his.
'Yes?' she'd ask, giving him one of her pouty, expectant gazes.
'You know...' he'd start. She'd somehow sense that this was an important moment in their relationship, and then give him her full, undivided attention. Ren would try to fight off every urge of his to blush and chicken out; he had to convey his message as clearly as he could!
'Mm?' she'd coax, fluttering her luminous eyes at him.
'I've never felt this way about anyone before...ever,' he'd say. 'And I hope that you feel the same way about me... I mean, I know it's way too early to be thinking about marriage or anything like that, but...I feel like I want to spend the rest of my life with you...I think I've really fallen in love with you.' Ah! He'd have said it! That would prove his manliness to Horohoro! Anyhow, Katsumi would blush and look away coyly, and for a moment, Ren would regret having just blurted everything out. But then, just when Ren would think he was a lost cause, Katsumi would meet his gaze with only pure, utter adoration and love shining in her eyes.
'Ren-san...' she's murmur, a charming little smile on her face. 'I think I love you, too.' And with that, their lips would meet shyly at the halfway point between them.
But now that she was gone, that image of himself and Katsumi was shattered -- gone forever. Ren sighed, willing himself not to break down into dry sobs over the whole matter. Now that he thought about it, what would his father think of this whole ordeal? After losing in the Shaman Tournament, Ren had allowed his heart to be captured by a girl -- a useless human girl! The two pinnacles of ultimate shame had manifested themselves into Ren; love and defeat. Even though Ren and his father weren't on such good terms, the younger Tao still had some shred of respect for En, and couldn't bear to think of his father's response to this whole ordeal...
Just when Ren thought he couldn't be any more unhappy, the door behind him slid open. Great, now someone was going to join him in his misery... Ren didn't turn around to greet his new companion; maybe they'd get bored and leave him alone.
"I'm sorry," came a cheerless voice from behind him. Not expecting any sort of apology, Ren jerked around to face the intruder. A yukata-clad Yoh stood in the doorway, the bandages on his chest visible in the moonlight.
"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Ren snapped. "Just a few hours ago, you couldn't feed even feed yourself, and now you're walking around."
"I thought this was more important than sitting by myself up in my room," Yoh said, joining Ren on the edge of the porch. He flinched when the time came to actually sit down, but nonetheless, he didn't complain.
"Why did you do it?" Ren asked, casting Yoh a glance. "Why did you make a pass at Katsumi?" Instead of answering, Yoh closed his eyes and frowned lightly.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I wouldn't have tried anything if I'd known how you felt for Katsumi...if I'd known what was going to happen..."
"But those things did happen, Yoh," Ren said, shaking his head. "And I don't know what's going to happen next...or if I'll ever see Katsumi again."
"Nantoka naru," Yoh said dolefully, staring up at the night sky.
"Is that all you ever live by!" Ren shouted suddenly, making Yoh jump a bit.
"Ren, I was--" Yoh tried, but Ren had quite possibly snapped.
"'Nantoka naru'," Ren said, mocking Yoh's voice. "In the end, Yoh -- that's the only time things should work out! What about now! What if now is the end! What if this evening was the last time we'd ever see Katsumi! What if--"
"Ren!" Yoh cut in, grabbing the Chinese shaman by the shoulder before he could go off on a tangent of hysterics. The Asakura gave Ren a very sharp and uncharacteristic gaze. "Things. Will. Get. Better," he said sternly. Ren was taken aback; he'd hardly ever seen Yoh like this -- it was more something he'd expect from Anna.
"You don't know that," Ren spat, shaking off the shock and wrenching out of Yoh's grip. His golden eyes were fixated on a place in the grass. "You're just as lost and confused on this matter as anyone else is ."
"Ren--" Yoh could tell that his purple-haired companion was getting worked up again.
"Let me finish, Asakura!" Ren barked. "And do you know what the worst part of this whole mess is?" Yoh shook his head. "This is your fault!" Ren shouted, standing up and glaring down at Yoh. "If you weren't so damn horny all the time, none of this would have happened!"
"I know..." Yoh said weakly. "And I'm sorry -- I really am, Ren. If I could, I would go and rescue Katsumi by myself just to make up for it."
"--But you won't," Ren finished for him. "I know you; you'll just sit around here on your lazy ass until Hao gets sick of her and brings her back here!" Instead of shooting back a venom-filled retort like anyone else would, Yoh just leaned back onto his hands and stared up at the stars again.
"That would sure make things easier for us, ne?" he asked. As Ren stared at him, his gaze softened slowly.
"Nani?" he asked, a little confused. Yoh glanced at him, his coffee-colored eyes shining in the moonlight.
"We'll go and get Katsumi back in a couple of days," the Asakura replied. "You didn't actually think we'd let Hao keep her, did you?" Realization began to dawn on Ren, and his mind began racing again.
"Why not now?" he asked, sounding harsher than he intended to. Yoh chuckled.
"I wanna come and rescue Katsumi, too," he said. "These burns just need to heal a little before Faust will even let me out of my bed."
"You're out of your bed now," Ren accused, his tongari twitching a bit. Yoh grinned a bit.
"Anyway," Yoh said, pulling his yukata up a little. "Now I feel like it's my fault Katsumi's gone." Ren arched an eyebrow. "'If I wasn't so damn horny all the time'," he repeated, imitating Ren's accusation earlier. "'None of this would've happened.'" He then broke out into wild giggles. Ren just rolled his eyes, fighting off a smile.
End Chapter i.
Chapter ii: New Companions and Unfulfilled Missions
(2nd Person POV)
When you awoke the next morning, you were a little surprised to find that you weren't in your bed back at Funbari Onsen. Instead, you were laying on top of a huge red plateau in the middle of a desert, a cream-colored shawl draped over you. You gasped, frantically looking around for the one who'd brought you to this place; Asakura Hao.
"Hao!" you squealed. Since last night, he, Opacho, and Spirit of Fire had completely disappeared, leaving you all alone. "Hao!"
Silence, except for a chilling breeze blowing by. You were about to holler again, but then you noticed the top of a head that had just poked itself up from the edge of the plateau. Lazy brown eyes gazed up at you, a smile twinkling in them. For a moment, you were reminded of your first encounter with Hao back at Funbari Onsen. A quick glance at an almost unnoticeable scar on your hand took you even further down memory lane...
"You screamed?" Hao asked in a most debonair manner as he hoisted his shirtless self up onto the plateau with you.
"You left me," you pouted, clutching his shawl around your shoulders tightly. He grinned as he approached you.
"I'm sorry," he replied playfully, picking you up bridal-style. "Let me apologize." With a quick wiggle of the eyebrows and a mischievous smirk, his lips were suddenly pressed to yours. You could feel his body heat seeping through the shawl, warming you up a bit. Before you knew it, his tongue was in your mouth, and you were reveling in the sensation. Just as you brought your hand gently up to his face, you felt him twitch roughly, breaking the kiss.
"Hao-sama!" a shrill voice called out from behind you less than a second later. You craned your neck around roughly in surprise to see who the intruder was and what the big fuss was all about. Of course, in your haste, you accidentally managed to wiggle your way out of Hao's grip, thus falling onto the hard red stone below you.
"Oww..." you mumbled, staring up at Hao like it was his fault you fell.
"Oops," Hao laughed as he bent to retrieve you, his suave disposition shattered.
"Hao-sama!" the same annoyingly high-pitched voice screamed. You turned around (this time successfully) to see Opacho hopping up and down in exasperation.
"What is it, Opacho?" Hao grumbled after picking you up and placing you delicately on your feet. Boy, this guy was having some serious mood swings...
"Opacho just came to tell Hao-sama that the Hanagumi is back from their errand," Opacho said sheepishly. "Hao-sama doesn't need to get so grouchy at Opacho..." The androgynous little child trailed off, dragging its bare foot in a circle on the ground. Hao stared for a moment, unmoving, until his expression brightened.
"You're right, Opacho," he said, taking your hand. "I should be nicer." Hao glanced at you. "Katsumi-chan," he said, slowly leading you to the edge of the cliff. "There're some people I'd like you to meet."
"Okay," you said skeptically, not really listening. You were worried that you might have to climb down the side of the plateau. Maybe there was a path...
"I really think you're going to like them," Hao babbled as he picked you up again. "They're some of the closest people to me, so I guess it makes sense that you should meet them first." With that, Hao leapt --yes leapt-- off the edge of the cliff. Your eyes grew to the size of old vinyl records as you clung to his neck, trying as hard as you could not to scream as the two of you descended at an unbelievably fast pace. But before you could imagine what sort of sickening splat you would make on the rocks below, Hao landed neatly on the ground. "When you think about it, the Hanagumi are almost like family to me."
"Uh-huh..." you said, nodding stiffly. You had a feeling that every single hair on your body was standing straight up at that moment. Hao didn't take notice to your evident terror as he prattled on and on about this group of people you'd never heard of before. After he rounded a rather sharp corner around a pile of rocks, he finally set you down on your feet. You felt like your knees would give out at any second, but you made an effort to stay standing.
Three girls faced you, none of them looking the least bit interesting in you, since all of their attention was on Hao.
"Hao-sama..." they chorused, kneeling before the Asakura. You watched curiously as they reported their less-than-hoped-for results of their recent errand to your said-fiancé. He nodded slowly and elegantly, as if pondering something, and for a moment, all fell silent. During this time, one of the girls --the redhead-- finally took notice of you.
"Who's that, Hao-sama?" she asked curiously. "A new follower of yours or something?" Hao shook his head, but then shot the three girls a glare. They irked at his response.
"Since you three failed to carry out your mission," he said in an annoyed tone. "I guess I'll just have to go and do it myself." The three girls looked slightly afraid of Hao as he shuffled past them, shaking his head.
"Chotto matte, Hao!" you called, running after Hao, afraid of being left alone with those strange girls. "Don't leave!" By the time you reached him, Hao had made little distance from the plateau, and it looked like he was about to summon Spirit of Fire from somewhere unknown. He turned to face you just as you reached him.
"Katsumi-chan," he said, looking gravely serious. He took his shawl from around your shoulders and put it on. "I have to go away for a little while--but don't worry, the Hanagumi will take good care of you."
"The Hana-what?" you asked, but Hao had already focused his attention back on the Hanagumi.
"You three take care of this girl!" he shouted to his followers, and motioned to you. "She's the future Shaman Queen, so if anything happens to her while I'm gone, I'll know who to blame!"
"Hao--!" you tried one last time.
"Spirit of Fire!" the Asakura yelled into the emptiness of the desert. Immediately, the huge red figure that had brought you to this place had materialized in front of you, and Hao hopped up onto it's hand. Opacho seemed to pop out of nowhere as it joined its master on the hand. "Ja ne!" Hao called to you as Spirit of Fire disappeared into the morning sky.
"Hao! Chotto matte! You can't just leave me here!" you cried after him, but it was too late. Hao was long gone. It'd all happened so fast, and you were left staring after what was now a little shimmer of sparkling red in the sky. "Hao..." You turned back to face the three girls who'd failed their mission and were now supposed to be taking care of you, wondering what to do next. To your surprise, the three of them were gawking at you, their jaws almost touching the ground.
"Shaman Queen!" they all chorused, stiff as boards.
"No way...!" the redhead whispered; she probably hadn't meant for you to hear her, though. "I didn't think Hao-sama would chose a wife this early in his reincarnation," she said as you made your way over to the three girls. By the time you reached them, though, the shock had faded considerably, and they were back to what you assumed were their regular old selves.
You stood silently before the Hanagumi; all three girls giving you judging stares.
"Mari does not think this girl will make a good wife for Hao-sama," the blonde girl said quietly, grasping her rag doll more tightly. You gulped, noticing the pistol tied tightly into the plaything's raggedy hand; one wrong move and you were gone for.
"If Hao-sama picked her to be his Shaman Queen," the redhead said, leaning on her broomstick, "She must be good at something."
"Mari does not believe you," the blonde pouted. All went silent for a moment or two, the wind blowing some red dust into the air.
"What's your name, kid?" the bluenette asked through a gently-smoking cigarette. She seemed to have more faith in you than her younger companions did.
"Katsumi," you replied shyly, but your mind was preoccupied with other things. "Where did Hao go that was so important?" you blurted out before the bluenette could say another word. She stared at you for a moment, and then chuckled.
"Slow down," she said through a seemingly-sympathetic smile. "You haven't even learned our names yet. So don't go rushing into matters that aren't even yours yet." You pouted for a moment.
"Fine..." you grumbled.
"I'm Kanna," the bluenette said calmly, then motioned to the blonde. "This is Mari." Kanna motioned to the redhead. "And this is Macchi." After saying this, though, she pulled you aside and whispered into your ear. "Watch out, Katsumi. Macchi has this habit of talking way too much, and--"
"I heard that!" Macchi yelled, a vein becoming evident on her forehead as she glared at the bluenette.
"Mari is bored," Mari huffed, rolling her green eyes. "Isn't there anything for Mari to do around here?"
"--And Mari gets bored a lot," Kanna finished, looking satisfied with herself.
"Okay..." you said slowly. "Now can you tell me where Hao went?" Kanna chuckled again.
"Since these two dopes screwed up the mission, Hao-sama went to go complete it himself," she answered.
"What was the mission?" you asked.
"We were supposed to go get some stupid human device," Kanna said, looking bored. "But there were so many different kinds in the building where they were kept, that we didn't know which one Hao-sama wanted."
"I see..." you said, still a little confused at why Kanna had called whatever Hao had gone to get a 'human device.' Whatever it was, you figured that the Hanagumi couldn't tell you its purpose or function, simply because they didn't know what it was, for some reason... A little weird, but Hao was the same way about modern technology.
You sighed...it was going to be a long time until Hao got back from wherever he'd gone...
End Chapter ii.
End Part XII.
A/N: "If you weren't so damn horny all the time, none of this would have happened!" I didn't realize until after my third editor's cut that this didn't really have anything to do with the plot...it was just a fun accusation to throw at Yoh, so I kept it. And Yoh's reaction ("I know...") just seemed to make it all the more amusing to keep in there. Then, since I loved it so much I felt I had to have Yoh repeat it, just in case someone didn't catch it the first time. Anyway, sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter. I promise I'll never make you wait that long ever again! If any of you feel like you need to yell at/scold/get Anna-psycho on me for taking so long to post this, feel free to leave a review!