Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
~o0o~
Yoh slowly opens his eyes and surveys his surroundings. It seems he's been thrown into a jail cell while he was unconscious. Who knew a taser could knock him out?
She must've bought the one with the higher voltage...
He thought.
"Asakura, you're free to go."
Police Officer Ichiro announced. Beside him was Yoh's personal assistant Hiroshi, with a seething look on his face. After signing the paperwork, the young Asakura was led to the back of the police station, where his limousine was waiting. As soon as they were seated, Hiroshi berated him like he was a child in need of severe scolding.
Hiroshi's face was flustered and Yoh could literally hear him grinding his teeth, like it was taking every ounce of patience left in him before he explodes. In a split second...
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND? WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU COME UP TO A STRANGER, AND CLAIM THAT SHE'S YOUR WIFE?! FOR KAMI'S SAKE, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A GIRLFRIEND! YOU TURNED EVERYONE DOWN, DON'T YOU REMEMBER? KAMI-SAMA HELP ME. YOU, MASTER YOH, ARE GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME! I SWEAR!"
His agitation was above and over the threshold at the young master, which he thought of strangling for a minute or so.
"Would you just calm down?"
Hiroshi found this statement so vexing, he shouted, "CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN?! THAT'S THE MOST USELESS STATEMENT I'VE HEARD ALL DAY!"
"Hiroshi. I need you to calm down."
Yoh had purposely evened out his voice and uttered the words in an authoritative manner. It worked.
The assistant snapped out of his temporary insanity upon hearing his own name. It had been a long day - having to inform the board members that the meeting had been cancelled was one thing; but explaining the 'why' part was another thing. He can't exactly tell them that he's about to bail the young corporate out of jail.
"There, I lost it. I lost my cool. I hope you're happy."
He loosened his tie in exasperation and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, as he managed to get a grip of himself.
"What do you mean?"
"You have this habit of annoying me, in every way possible just for the heck of it. I never once gave in, but you just had to pull off this stupidity again and, I couldn't control myself anymore. You're like a brother to me, Master Yoh. I don't want you to become that insolent and incompetent brat they claim you to be. I know you have what it takes, you just needed to be given the right encouragement..."
"Stop... I have no clue what you're talking about."
Hiroshi sighed in disbelief.
"Must we go through all this motion again? Master Yoh, this is the third time you've been detained for misconduct. I've been cleaning up your mess ever since I've started and I'm telling you, it's getting old."
"But... that's the first time I've ever been in jail."
"Kami-sama..."
"Okay...here's what happened: I saw Anna. I approached her and she didn't know who I was..."
"Uhhh, yeah. Thus, the trip to the station." He said this in the most sarcastic tone he could muster, all so he could prove his point.
"I'm sure she didn't mean to..."
"Punish you?" Hiroshi said flatly.
"No. Train me. She has my best interest at heart." Yoh explained.
"Right. Running electricity all over your body was training. I think the shock just went to your head. I guess we need to make a pit stop at the hospital to get you checked out. You're all over the place, Master Yoh. And maybe I should get myself admitted at the psych ward too."
"Clearly, there's been a mistake. I am Yoh, but I'm not the Yoh you know." He said calmly. "I'm already married and my wife's name is Anna. We live in Funbari. Does any of those information help?"
"Doesn't make sense to me, Master Yoh. Maybe we're both losing it."
Hiroshi slouched and rested his head on the cushioned seat and exhaled. He's had enough for one day, that's for sure.
"All I know is that, last night, I was so tired from all the exercises my wife had put me through that I just fell asleep in our bed." Yoh spoke again.
Hiroshi briefly closed his eyes and pursed his lips before he responded with,
"But you were partying last night. I already told you this."
"Partying? Anna would kill me. Especially if she didn't come with."
"If what you're saying is true, then we have a very serious problem."
"You think?" It was actually an honest reaction from Yoh.
Awkward silence.
"But you two look so... alike. I would've thought you're Master Hao if I didn't know any better."
"Do you have an idea how this happened?"
"Beats me. Come to think of it, you seem to have lost your... finesse or something like that. You'd rather be caught dead than be seen running around in that outfit."
"You believe me?"
"I don't know."
~o0o~
Yoh couldn't help but stare at the blonde while flipping omelet. It was the first time he'd ever cook for anyone but himself (not that he cooks for himself all the time).
Anna meanwhile has her chin resting on her clasped hands, silently musing over her newfound interest on this so-called 'doppelganger'. (for the lack of a better term)
"So, tell me about this hotel..." Anna started.
Yoh looks over and smiled as he answered, "Our family had it built a little over a year ago and I'm currently managing it... along with the other business establishments we have."
He turns off the stove and transfers the omelet to a plate. He took the bread from the toaster and applied a bit of butter before serving it to Anna. He also prepared coffee.
"I'm impressed."
"Now, that's something I don't hear every day."
"See, my Yoh's too lazy to even manage his own room - unless of course I persuade him to do so. Just thinking about the possibility of him owning a corporation..." She rolls her eyes "...zero. Not even in a million years."
"Why'd you marry a man like that?" He smiled as he placed both his hands on the counter.
"Two reasons: I love him and I owe him my life."
He nodded. "I could never relate to that. I never had a serious relationship, really. They were always after the money and I despise that. Anyway, I'm surprised we're still talking casually. I mean..."
"I know. You're so different but somewhat the same,"
"You're worried about him, aren't you?"
"What do you think?"
"It's out of the question. Well, here's what I'll do... I'll make a few phone calls and maybe we can have this all sorted out."
"Sounds good."
She takes a bite of the toasted bread and complimented him "Tastes good too."
"Hey, I'm really sorry about what I said. If there's anything I can do for you... hotel accommodations, something like that, just say the word."
"Weren't you making the phone call?"
"Oh yeah...geez, you're such a distraction."
He grins at her widely. She acknowledges.
He dialed the familiar numbers a couple more times before he finally surrendered.
"Well, seems the reception's really bad today. I can't connect to any of my contacts. Would you mind if I stay here a while longer? I'm still a bit hung over from last night..."
"Okay."
"Not that I don't appreciate your hospitality but... do you just let strangers like myself, in your house?"
"If there's one thing you need to know, and I'm pretty sure you're already aware, I'm not exactly helpless."
He was suddenly reminded of the incident that blew his mind.
"Oh... yeah. I almost forgot about that. Mind telling me the secret to that trick?"
"It's not a trick. It's my guardians."
"Uh, you lost me there."
"I'm an itako."
"Uh... still dumb-stricken." He pointed at himself jokingly.
"Yoh and I are shamans."
"Shamans... they're real?"
"You bet."
"So, so..." He licked his lips. "Those w-were ghosts? Your guardians?"
"No. They're shikigamis."
Once again, he felt goose bumps just thinking about it.
"Let's stop there and talk about something else. Anything except ghosts."
"You can't see ghosts?"
"No."
"Ghosts are everywhere." She said in her casual, no nonsense tone. "We've been living with ghosts since."
"W-what do you mean? T-there are ghosts here?"
"The tenants of this inn died in a fire, years ago, before Yoh and I bought this place."
Yoh went deathly pale.
"...if you want to talk to them, all you have to do is ask me. They're nice actually." She continued.
"N-no, thanks."
"Oh, old geezer's saying 'Hi'. You should say 'Hi' back."
Yoh was shot frozen on his seat as Anna pointed where the ghost was hovering...beside him. He felt the presence and he just couldn't move.
"He-he's here?" Almost a whisper.
"Yeah. Says he misses you. That's funny. It's not like you guys don't see each other every day. By the way, his favorite spot is by the toilet. You went there a while ago, right?"
Yoh faints.
"Wuss." She reacted as he drops to the floor. "See old man? I told you he wasn't my Yoh."
The old ghost just nodded and disappeared into thin air.
~o0o~
Author's Note: Oh, yeah, I know you folks are confused...
Anyway, I came up with this idea a few months ago while I was writing my previously completed story. Um, I was actually having second thoughts about posting this because I wasn't sure how it's supposed to go (I'm talking about the story in general). It seems to be going rather well so, up to 4 or 5 chapters until everything's revealed? Don't know for sure :) Oh, and I'm not teasing! I swear! I just couldn't decide which ones to use: A or B. I'm actually thinking of a 3rd or 4th option for the plot/twist. But who reads this part, right? Hahahahahahaha.
Thank you for your insights with regards to this story. I'm as grateful as usual.
