Disclaimers: I don't own Shaman King so don't sue me. Just trying to write a fanfiction here so I'm borrowing the storyline of the series for a moment to alter it to my way of thinking, kinda a what if this could happen thing. May contain spoilers to those that haven't seen all of the anime series, read the manga or heard the drama cds. Though I haven't read the manga at the time that I'm wrote this so bare with me.
© May 2003
Chapter 6 - Wounds
"Yoh?" Anna sat beside Yoh's body that was laid out on his futon. Amidamaru hovered above in hopes that his friend would wake up. "Yoh, can you hear me?" Anna tried again to wake Yoh up, but he didn't respond. "Damnit Yoh." Anna released the breath that she had been holding and examined the bruise on Yoh's forehead. They had noticed Yoh walking in the distance when Anna had called his name. Yoh had begun to run toward them when he slipped and fell. Yoh had hit his head on the curb of the street. Blood had begun to fill the street drains by the time they had caught up to Yoh's unconscious form. They had rushed him to the hospital only to find that he would pull through fine if he would just wake up.
The doctors didn't know what kind of damage had been done to him. They would be able to find out if he would wake up and that's if he woke up. Yoh had begun to form a slight fever over night, but they had been able to keep the fever from getting any worse than it already was. The doctors had tried to keep Yoh in the hospital after the fever had passed, but Anna had wanted to take him home with her. Someone had died that night while they were staying in the hospital from a similar accident and it had left her feeling that it was a bad omen to remain there any longer. It wasn't until Faust had shown up that they had been allowed them to take Yoh home.
Faust had taken care of Yoh all day and was now resting with his wife. Anna had taken it upon herself to check up on Yoh several times during the day. It had bothered her that he hadn't woken up so far. It was getting close to almost being 24 hours since he had lost consciousness and she couldn't sense anything coming from Yoh.
Anna slowly reached out and touched Yoh's hand. Amidamaru noticed the gesture from his mistress and frowned. He knew that she was worried about Yoh, but no one knew if or when Yoh would wake up. Amidamaru spiritual form faded from the room as he reappeared on the roof to wait for his master and friend to wake up. Until then he would give his mistress a moment alone with the one that she loved so much.
Anna's gaze rested on Yoh's pale hand that was covered by her own. The color had drained from Yoh's skin and she found herself wanting to see Yoh's smile again.
She had already lost Yoh once and even now she could remember that horrible feeling of being alone again. When it all came down to it, Yoh was the only thing that she really had. It was because of him that she was alive and it is because of him that she will be allowed to have a future, a future with him. Through Yoh she would be able to finally become part of a family that would really accept her and perhaps even love her. The Asakura's were a long line of powerful Shamans mainly due to Hao being their ancestor. They had even shared with her their deep, dark secret, and the truth about Asakura Hao. It had all been part of her training so that one day she would be able to help Yoh in his battle against Hao.
"Do you remember Yoh?" Anna asked though she knew there would be no reply. She didn't wait long to continue on because she knew that wherever he was he was listening because he knew better than to ignore her. He didn't have a choice in the matter. His unconscious form continued to lie across the futon not moving. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest told Anna that he was still alive. She could feel that Yoh was listening to her. He always listened and seemed to know what to do in her time of needs. Even when he had died, he had come back and the first person that he had talked to was she. She wondered if he had seen the look of relief and shock of seeing him get up and say something to her. It had all been too much. Anna squeezed his hand. "Yoh..."
The memories came flooding back through her mind to when they were 10 years old. She could remember it as if it was yesterday, the first time meeting Yoh, the Oni and even Matamune. She hadn't been able to control the power that burned inside of her and she hadn't known what to do with herself. Her family had abandoned her and left her to fend for herself as her powers ran wild. It was then that the Asakura family had approached her and showed interest in her. She had only wanted somewhere to go to since she had nowhere. Even when she met Yoh, she thought that he was weak and believed that he would just leave her alone. She hadn't wanted to endanger anyone. She just wanted to learn to control her powers and the Asakura's offered her that kind of training. What more could she have done, she believed that she was doing the right thing. The Asakura's even accepted that at that time she could create an Oni with her powers though she wasn't able to control it.
The engagement had happened and she had readily agreed to it when the Asakura's had asked her. She didn't know what else that she could do with herself in return for the only kindness she had ever received from anyone was from the Asakura's. She hadn't known that Yoh would turn out to be the person that he was. That within his personality laid a deep kindness that touched her in more ways than she had thought possible. She had learned from the start his lazy habits and just how to deal with him. Being trained by Yoh's grandmother, Kino had been experience as she had been trained specifically on how to handle Yoh.
Anna felt herself becoming sleepy so she laid her head down onto Yoh's futon though she kept her hand covered over Yoh's still. "Hurry up and wake up, baka." As her eyes became heavy and began to shut, she whispered. "You can be so useless at times, Yoh… and stop making me worry about you or I'll increase your special training by a hundred times…" She was lost in a dream of the past.
Amidamaru lied on the roof as he stared up at the heavens and asked. "Will Yoh-dono wake up, Mosuke?" There was no reply so Amidamaru closed his eyes, as he knew the answer that his best friend would give.
'Of course, Yoh-san will wake up! He's strong and defeated Hao. He wouldn't something like a street curb gets the best of him. You baka!' Mosuke would then punch Amidamaru across the face. 'Do you not have enough faith in your master that he would give up so easily on life!' Amidamaru nodded.
"Your right, Mosuke." He opened his eyes and grinned at the clouds that soared above. "Yoh-dono has many things that he has yet to do before he can leave this world and the mistress would never allow him to leave that easily." He continued to stare up into the sky feeling a bit of relief and comfort remembering was it was like to talk with his best friend, but then a bit of sadness entered his heart again. "I don't want to lose another friend, Mosuke.. What can I do to prevent it this time?" Amidamaru waited for an answer, but there came none. He wondered why Mosuke wasn't answering him and then he remembered that Mosuke had passed over to the other world. One friend was already gone though Anna could call him back when the need arose, but he found himself wanting to hear the voice of a friend. "Yoh-dono…" Tears began to form in Amidamaru's eyes though he held it in as he lay there. He refused to let them fall because he knew he had to keep faith that his master would wake up. "Wake up soon."
Hao slowly opened the eyes of Yoh's body and felt something on his hand. He looked over to find Anna's hand covering his own. 'Anna..' Hao felt it again. The feeling of envy that he felt for what his little brother had. The Itako always showed such loyalty in Yoh. Anna's hand seemed to tighten for a moment on his hand and then loosen again. Hao wondered if there was something wrong. He was able to pick up something going on in her head. She was dreaming. Yoh and Anna sat in a room listening to Boblove's song. It was the first time that they spent together as they were getting to know one another better. Yoh had even listened to Anna's music though Anna had called his music weird. She felt herself drifting even farther into the dream and into the past of when Yoh shared with her his dream of wanting to become Shaman King and that it was the reason why she continued to fight.
Hao felt it as he was reliving the memories of Yoh. Matamune was fighting against the Oni. Yoh was amazed by Matamune's strength and believed that Matamune would defeat the Oni, but Anna's words shocked him.
"If he continues fighting. He'll die." Yoh had shouted out to stop the fight, for Matamune to stop, but the nekomata refused to listen. The Oni attacked Yoh and wounded him as it took Anna hostage and ran away. Yoh had been left with Matamune. Hao felt the anger flow through him. At that moment Yoh had never know what it was like to be angry with himself for letting the Oni take Anna away and it wasn't until Matamune had talked some sense into Yoh that he had been able to calm down and think about it all.
Yoh went to save Anna only to find the Oni had left her alone to drown in her own sorrows. Anna wanted to die. Matamune explained to Yoh that the only way to save Anna was to Hyoii Gattai with him and kill the Oni even though it meant that Matamune would have to use all his powers to destroy the Oni. It would also send him into the next world and he would not be able to appear again in the human world, but to save Anna. He had to do it.
"Matamune.." Anna's eyelids fluttered and she suddenly sat up.
"Yoh!" Anna was pulled out of her dream and out from the past as she saw an awake Yoh before her. He smiled at her as he fought back the tears that he felt were beginning to form. Hao didn't know if it was because of what he was feeling or was it because Yoh's body was weaker than his owns. Hao was feeling many things as he saw Anna's brief look of relief that he had woken up. He was flooded again with the memories of what he had just experienced. The loyalty that Matamune, his former friend, had shown toward Yoh. Matamune had sacrificed himself so that Anna would be free. He had given up his place with Yoh so that Anna could have it and in doing so, Hao had been given the opportunity to meet her. A tear slide down Hao's cheek and landed on the hand that he just noticed was covering his own. "Yoh, what's wrong?" Anna stared intently at him, but she couldn't read his mind. It continued to be a jumble of mixed feelings and blocked thoughts.
Hao continued to grin at Anna. "I was dreaming.. about Matamune." And then Hao broke down and cried. He couldn't hold it back anymore.
The betrayal of his friend had been too much in the past. It had ended his life in the end, but even Matamune knew that his master would be reborn. Hao had not known that Matamune would turn against him. That the nekomata that he had created from a mere cat had harbored such doubts in Hao in the end. He didn't understand why Matamune had never approached him to just try talking to him about it since it was Hao that had given him the ability to speak. Hao didn't understand until now. Someone greater, the Great Spirit, had planned it all out. Matamune would come to sacrifice himself for his new master, Yoh, in hopes that his former master, Hao, would forgive him for his lack in believing in his master's reasons for wanting to create the Shaman Kingdom. Matamune had helped to kill Hao in hopes that it would put his masters lost soul to rest. Hao had always believed that above anyone else. Matamune would have understood the hardships that he had endured for being a Shaman and how the humans refused to understand. Matamune's decision allowed for Anna to push Yoh to be stronger as she watched over him after that, but Matamune knew all along that he was leaving Yoh in good hands. Hao wondered if Matamune would have known that he would feel this way about Anna.
Hao rested his head on the lap of Anna as his tears fell unchecked.
Anna stared in shock at Yoh as he moved to rest his head on her lap. She almost pushed him away instantly, but thought that he must have hit his head too hard to be as brave as to set his head on her lap. She still couldn't make out what he was thinking, but his tears bothered her. Hao felt that the emotions were too overwhelming in the body of Yoh and the new memories harsh. He knew that Yoh hadn't lived an easy life. Yoh had lived as complicated life as he had and even had the scars to prove it. "It hurts, Anna.." Hao pulled back the front flap of his open shirt to reveal one of the scars that Yoh had received from the fight with the Oni as he was reliving the pain from the scars.
Anna closed her eyes at the sight of it wanting to just forget about that battle that had affected their lives so much, but she knew she couldn't just push it all away with the cost that they had all paid. Yoh had paid the greatest price of all of them. Anna opened her eyes and looked at Yoh. The tears were continuing to fall and she could see the pain in his expression. She had never seen a side like this of Yoh, one that was so vulnerable. She had known that Yoh was changing, but she hadn't expected this. She felt her hand itching to slap him, but didn't as she felt that she too was changing. For once she found Yoh being serious and not fooling around. She didn't know what to do.
Anna did the next thing that she could think of. She reached out and touched the scar, leaning forward and kissing the scar. Hao sucked in a breath at the feel of warm lips on the scarred tissue of his skin. Anna wondered if the simple kiss would be enough to heal Yoh's wounds, but she knew better and hoped that the feeling behind it would count in easing the pain that Yoh was feeling as his tears had lessoned.
"Will you stay with me, Anna?" He wanted to add always after Anna nodded.
"Of course, I am the wife of Asakura Yoh." A new sadness entered Hao's gaze as he realized what she had said. She hadn't said that she would marry the Shaman King, but that she was already the wife of Yoh. She couldn't stand the look in his eyes so she lied down beside him and closed her eyes. "Go to sleep, Yoh. You need your rest." She was very relieved that he had woken up, but she knew that he would still be weak from the loss of blood and that he needed rest more than anything else, even if she had to lie down next to him to get him to rest. Hao reached out and wrapped an arm around Anna's waist and pulled her closer to him. "What are you doing, Yoh!" She was ready to kick his ass.
"Just for now. Please Anna.." Anna sighed and finally gave in as he continued to look at her with sad filled eyes. She reached out as if she was going to slap him, but as her hand came down. He didn't flinch as he continued to stare at her and she patted his cheek.
"Go to sleep, baka." Hao slowly nodded and closed his eyes holding Anna close to him. Anna could see the tears still coming through his closed eyes. She hesitated and then wrapped an arm around his waist loosely in return. "Go to sleep, Yoh." She closed her own eyes too as she couldn't bare to see him cry anymore or she would have to beat some sense back into him. She found that she was able to easily fall back asleep since she hadn't slept much because of him. 'It's all your fault, baka.' Were her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.
Hao continued to lay there with his eyes closed, but the tears wouldn't stop. Every time that Anna would call him Yoh, he felt as if the world around him would end because he was living a lie. He was living Yoh's life yet he believed that Yoh was him, that Yoh was a part of him and that what was Yoh's should be his own. Yet as he lied there with Anna wrapped around him and him wrapped around Anna. He realized that Yoh and him were very different and had many things in common. New wounds were forming inside of him as he felt the warmth of the person that he was falling in love with next to him and began to wonder if he should have just stayed dead instead of returning in Yoh's body only to suffer all over again. 'Could this be punishment for the things I've done wrong or am I am I still learning what its like to live? Yoh… do you ever feel this way, little brother?'
A/N: I just wanted to point out that Anna only calls Yoh donna once when she first met him though he didn't know who she was(according to drama cds). Yeah, my Japanese sucks, but you must hear the drama cds for yourself to understand. Don't just read the manga! Or just watch the anime series, but get the drama cds! They are WELL worth it! Especially for Yona fans. Yoh has always called Anna, Anna since he first learned her name. He even practiced saying her name which Matamune noticing him doing while taking a bath and teased him about it cause the way Yoh was acting.. you could say that he was interested though he is always thinking that Anna is cute even when she is scary and he gets slapped a lot for it. Kawaii! XD
Side note: The Shaman King drama cds are called Osorezan Revoir Prologue to Shaman and Osorezan revoir Au Revoir. Please support the series by buying your copies. Can be bought at w w w.cdjapan .co .jp or off ebay. Ebay is usually bootlegs so be careful of what your buying.