"Settle down. We have a new student today. An American transfer student from the exchange program. She'll be learning about our culture and how things work in Japan to further her education. Please give her a warm welcome." The teacher said. He'd written my name in Japanese on the board, mainly in katakana.
"I'm… Renard Azalie, it's nice to meet you all." I was used to saying my first name before my last, so I stumbled a bit while saying that. But I gave a small bow and took the empty, open seat. My classmates were, unsurprisingly, the same as Yoh's and Manta's. I wondered if Snowbean had set this all up somehow. It felt like a really bad fanfiction I would've written years ago, where I was the main protagonist and was super awesome and cool. I didn't like that idea, honestly. Super awesome and cool? Me?
I wasn't the protagonist, that was Yoh's job.
The day seemed to drag on, with this being the late class on Tuesday. Today, however, was a red moon. Which… seemed ominous enough, given the fact that sometimes red moons happened. I didn't really think much of it as I headed to the apartment I was given for my stay here.
It was like I was back home, but at least this time I could study without drowning out my parents fighting with music. It was different, reading something that wasn't English and having to slowly translate each bit so I understood it better… and it made my study session a lot longer than it should've been. By the time I was done, it was practically midnight and I had to be up early the next day. With a sigh, I turned off the light and went to shower before I went to bed.
As I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, wondering what I was to do, I didn't know what was in store for me when I woke up the next morning. Because, when I woke up to my alarm, there were two other people in here with me! I nearly screamed, covering my mouth before the sound could escape, and stared at them. One of them had the stereotypical Patch look, while the other was a… very well-endowed woman. The both of them were spirits, sheerly knowing that only due to the fact my door wasn't off its hinges. Snowbean stretched, hopping off of me and then sitting near the feet of the Patch man.
"Good morning, Azalie!" Snowbean said. "Today's Wednesday!.I believe I miscalculated when the Shaman Tournament begins. It doesn't begin yet, does it?"
"It doesn't begin until after Wooden Sword Ryu awakens as a Shaman." I replied, slowly getting up out of my futon and folding it up. Putting it away, I continued speaking as I went about my morning ritual. "I don't think that's happened yet. Yoh needs to overcome Ren, start his training with Anna, fight Jun and Lee Pyron… Wooden Sword Ryu needs to awaken as a Shaman…"
Breakfast was simple, just some leftover rice with some scrambled egg mixed in. Up until this point, I'd mostly just ignored the presence of the two other Ghosts here with me and talked to Snowbean about what was upcoming. As I dug into my rice with a spoon due to not wanting to deal with chopsticks in the morning, I glanced over at them. "So… Who are you two supposed to be and why are you in my apartment?"
"I'm Rozaria. I used to live in this apartment." The woman said, shifting where she sat.
"I am Lute, one of the Patch Tribe from 500 years ago." The man said, still remaining where he was. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was related to Silva in some way.
"...Okay, why are you two in my apartment?" I slowly continued to eat the egg rice as I waited for their answers.
Rozaria sighed, tucking a bit of her grey hair behind her ear. "I used to live here until I was murdered. It gets too noisy at the graveyard, so I ditch it and come here sometimes."
"I've been wandering this world for years." Was all that Lute gave me. I sighed and put down my spoon before getting up to wash my dishes and get ready to head out for the day. Maybe I'd get some more answers if I asked around. Getting my casual clothes on, I grabbed my apartment key and headed out. If I were to keep them around, I'd have to make some form of monument or something so they'd be easier to materialize.
But I'd look weird always carrying them on my person, so maybe I'd go the Silva route and have a few rings instead. It meant window shopping until I came across some rings I'd like. The only thing about this was that I didn't have a typical 'host family' like I was supposed to. It was probably the world making sure I was capable of staying until the day we left to America for the Shaman Tournament…. or something.
I honestly didn't know at this point. I got money from a 'mysterious benefactor', I was readily accepted into Shinra Private Academy… It really was sounding like some form of weird fanfic I'd write if I was a lot younger, and I was getting annoyed with it. I wasn't having a difficult time at all!
Was this what it was like to be Mary Sue? I'd probably break if the boys of Shaman King just started randomly fawning over me for no reason. Gods above and below, this was ridiculous. Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe I was overthinking it!
"Get a grip, Azalie. You're fine. You're just having a bit of a minor breakdown because you're away from home and now you're hyper analyzing everything. Like over there! Two dumbasses standing in the road and…." I paused as I saw them. Tao Ren and Yoh, in the crosswalk, as if they were talking to each other. But it was short, brief even, as the two of them went their separate ways. With a groan, I went back to choosing which rings I wanted to present to Snowbean, and ignored the nagging feeling in the back of my head.
Note: The Patch names are taken from the Periodic Table of Elements. Lute is short for lutetium, which can be found on said table of elements. Also, I figured having Azalie be self-aware of her predicament was kinda cool. But that's just me.
