I posted this chapter earlier than expected, because I won't be free in the next few days and I wanted to finish this chapter quick. Thanks for reviews, god, I love them a lot, please do continue reviewing! A very big ARIGATO to those who reviewed!

Disclaimer: No connections with Shaman King whatsoever...


Chapter 6: The Commemoration of Beauty

It was a clear blue day on that fine summer, a perfect weather for a holiday. The sun and clouds were smiling merrily at the participants who noticed its attendance; and one particular family along the freeway was one of them. Ryu was driving behind the wheel; his wife Jeanne was giggling at him as he sang some songs whilst their daughter Pirika sat behind, head moving along to the songs Ryu sang. It was summer; as usual, their routine was to go to the beach, or in Ryu's favourite phrase, the perfect place. The perfect place away from the hustle and bustle of the city; an ideal destination to get some fresh untainted air.

"I love the blue sky, forever the blue sky…" Ryu sang aloud, his hair bobbing as his body followed the groove of his tune. Jeanne, holding their picnic basket, laughed as their daughter; Pirika, followed suit.

"You are giving Piri bad influence!" Jeanne teased as Pirika showed her tongue at the front mirror of the car, her expression reflecting to the two adults in front, and continued singing. Ryu showed his teeth in a toothy grin and moved forward, singing near Jeanne's ear, making the brown haired woman blush in mock annoyance. "Ryusuke, stop! Look in front, you have to be careful when you're driving!"

"All right, all for Jeanne dear!" Ryu sang as he focused on his steer. Pirika followed again, making Jeanne look back from her seat and glared at her.

"You are just like your oto-san!"

"Well, that's what makes okaa-san love us in the first place!" Pirika mischieviously answered. Ryu nodded vigorously at his 'partner in crime' while Jeanne rolled her eyes.

If you had seen this family, you really would not have thought they were actually one. Umemiya Ryusuke, or Ryu to people who know him (in fact, Jeanne was the only one who calls him by his full name), was too jolly, happy-go-lucky, and somewhat immature to be a father while Pirika acts as if Jeanne and Ryu were her siblings; they were that close. Despite being a teenager and having 'teenager problems', she was always happy to share it with the most important people of her life; Ryu and Jeanne. They were the best of friends; no secrets are kept from each other; in fact, Ryu and Jeanne can tell detailed high points of their only daughter's life when some parents might fret at having a rebellious son or daughter who prefers hanging out with his or her friends than sharing the same minutes with the adults they call parents. Umemiya Pirika had help from her father in form of studies (Ryu did not become a headmaster with a head filled with nothing) and from her mother; the same taste of attire and advice when needed. To be precise, Pirika had the best parents any child or teenager could have.

Unfortunately, children had to grow up; to free themselves from cages known as homes and make their mark in the adult world; to have a successful career and then pay back to their parents for everything they have done in the investing for their offspring's' future. It depends on a child's maturity; the faster they mature; the quicker they leave the nest.

Regardless of whether Pirika had pried away completely from the teenaged world into the adult world is yet to be seen (She is only 15, after all), but unfortunately for her, she will no longer be able to pay back to her parents in the future, whether she like it or not.

"Ha-ha, look at your okaa-san! She is happy isn't she?" Ryu pointed a finger at Jeanne's nose and Pirika grinned like a Cheshire Cat. Jeanne, whose face was reddening by the minute, tore away from her husband and looked in front, her face changing completely immediately.

"Ryu! Watch out!"

"What…" Ryu turned, but he never had a chance to finish his sentence.

He never will.


Anna looked at the article that she was holding from just now, the page wilting in a ghastly yellow, since the particular segment from the newspaper had lasted for about a year, yet the printed black words were still clear as the sky as if it cannot be faded away from the world eternally. The bold words reading "Mother and daughter perished in encounter with drunk lorry driver" was drilling into her mind continuously; as if wanting her to remember the effect it had on her childhood (?) crush and how it had impinged her life.

"Kyouyama-san, you can go in now. Umemiya-san will be waiting for you." Masako murmured respectfully from her table after coming out from Ryu's office, having announcing Anna's arrival. Anna stood up from her seat and nodded.

"Arigato." Anna replied with the same grace as she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Anna straightened her blue skirt and gently nudged the door open. Dressed in a piece of brown executive suit is Ryu, hands clenched together in a supposedly stern and cool pose when Anna can see he was actually trembling; face weaved into a business-like face (despite appearance of sweat beads that actually made him look even more vulnerable). She swallowed her own saliva of nervousness and sat down opposite him. After all, this is their first proper conversation since ages.

"Hello, Ryu-san. I am here to report."

"So you are. Anna-san, you will be assigned to be my advisor to counsel me in administration affairs of this school. Your place will be next to Masako, since we have a lack of cubicles…"

"All right, I hope the school hadn't changed much since I left school six years ago…" Anna interrupted. "… and you became the new headmaster since then."

"I do not mean to avoid you, Anna-san. It was just pure coincidence that I became headmaster only after you left. The previous headmaster wanted to serve until the end of the school term." Ryu replied although his expression clearly told the truth.

"I understand you are afraid I will, in any way, be a threat to Jeanne-san and Pirika-san, therefore you chose to avoid me at all costs. No worries though, I wouldn't be any longer." Anna snapped coolly.

Ryu gazed at her in an unfathomable look.

Anna winced a little as the words echoed on the white walls, blatantly realising her mistake, but her feigned ego was too proud to admit that she was in the wrong. She only coughed slightly violently and hoped Ryu did not see the guilt building in her eyes.

"Anyway, your first job will be to view the files of the students in the past six years. You can get the files needed from Masako, she has been with me for all the years I'm here, and therefore if you had any enquiries you can ask her immediately." Ryu said without batting an eyelid, himself looking at his spotless table. Anna followed his eyes and spotted Jeanne's picture with a baby Pirika. The guilt mounted even more. She bit her lip, thinking of a way to lessen the uptight awkwardness.

"Ryu-niichan." Anna began, after a long worthwhile silence, her fingers already gripping on her papers tightly. Ryu blinked from hearing the long forgotten nickname and focused back to her, somewhat disbelieving. "Ryu-niichan, can I still call you that?"

Apparent shock emitted from the man sitting opposite her.

"Yeah… yeah, sure."

"Ryu-niichan, you and Jeanne-neechan really were perfect for each other. I admit I hated it when she married you; but I have understood that you two really loved each other. I am very sorry she and Pirika-san died. Please try to be strong and live on. Dwelling in the past is not a good thing."

"Anna-san…"

"Headmaster!" Masako ran in, her face upset. "You have to go to the auditorium; it's time for your speech!"

"All right; I will be there now. Anna-san, you follow me, I'm going to introduce you to the students. Afterwards, you can begin on the aforementioned task."

Cutting through the broken glass that was the uncomfortable situation, Ryu walked out while draping a winter coat around his shoulders, Anna following suit.

Masako swore she saw Anna looking a little down as they passed by her like wind.


"When Yoh and I reached the headmaster's office yesterday, you were already gone." Lyserg murmured as he sat with Yoh and Ren. Ren nodded.

"I was outside. Achoo!"

"Ren, you must have got cold!" Yoh muttered in concern, his head sprouting out from Lyserg's right. "Did you wear extra clothing?'

"Yes, I did… Achoo!" Ren sneezed again. "Damn the cold…"

"Isn't that Usui? Let's get him to sit with us! Usui!" Lyserg called all of a sudden. Yoh inwardly flinched while Ren slapped his own head. Horohoro, who was walking past them, raised an eyebrow.

"What are you calling me for?"

"Come on, sit down!" Lyserg cheerily spoke as he stood up and pushed Horohoro down to sit beside Ren. Satsu appeared almost immediately, as if on cue, balling her hand into a fist, aiming for Lyserg as she ran to their place.

"Lyserg Diethel, what are you doing, harming Usui-kun like that?!"

"He's sitting with Ren." Lyserg murmured, himself sitting back on his original seat. Satsu gave a look of surprise and then beamed, while Ren and Horohoro raised eyebrows of confusion.

"Well, if it's Ren-chan then I'm all right." Satsu said; a twinkle in her eyes. Ren felted goose bumps rising in his body and rubbed his nose instead. "This winter commemoration is held only once a year by the student's council, dedicated to the winter's arrival; I love it a lot! I wonder what Nemu-sama will do this year; she's the president of the student council after all…"

"I don't care. Just get this get over quickly." Horohoro absent-mindedly snapped. Satsu looked at him, face hurt.

"She's president of your fan club…"

"She's…" Horohoro began, but a hand on his shoulder made him turn and stopped his words.

"Horohoro, I hope you will like this show." Nemu murmured; voice cold and unfriendly as always. Behind her was a horde of girls, her followers possibly; and all of them swooned when Horohoro rolled his eyes, pushing Nemu's hand away. Ren shrugged a little, remembering their meeting yesterday. Is she this cold to everyone? Nemu glanced at him and Ren twitched a little, sneezing again. "Ren-chan, please stick to him if you may, I do not want him to run away and flirt with other girls."

"What do you mean by that?" Horohoro spat. Hearing an echo, he turned to his right and realized Ren had asked the same question, except that Ren's words were punctuated with a sneeze. Satsu giggled a little, clasping her hands together in happiness.

"You two are so compatible!"

"Shut up!" Ren snapped. Horohoro glared at him, having said the same thing.

"Why are you copying my words?"

"Well, it's because you two are fated together. Simple." Nemu concluded. The two teens shot daggers at her, then at each other.

"I shouldn't be sitting here." Horohoro murmured and stood up. "I do not wish to suffer from any more physical injuries."

"What do you mean?" Ren challenged, standing up also.

"Usui!" Lyserg exclaimed in desperation as he stood up to assuage the two. "Come on, you need some friends! Sit down; don't move around, all the students are here now!" With that, he pushed Horohoro and Ren down. Ren sneezed again. Yoh glanced at him with worry.

"Ren, perhaps you need to go to the infirmary. I'll accompany you."

"He'll be fine with an extra winter coat." Nemu muttered as one of her followers dropped her coat around Ren, smothering him in the process. "You cannot miss the show of today." With that, she walked off; all of a sudden, the noises of talking girls dispersed.

"Scary…" Yoh murmured.

"Well, she is Morika Nemu." Horohoro muttered loud enough for four of them to hear. Yoh pretended not to listen and instead looked towards the preparations on the stage. Ren raised his eyebrow while adjusting the coat; it was indeed warm. Did he miss something?

"Talking about it, what show will they put? I am anxious to know! Last year they had this beautiful snow dance. I like this celebration a lot!" Lyserg said quickly, making Ren turn to him and they began talking about the dance. Horohoro and Yoh kept silent, having sat furthest from each other.

"Hello, students. Today I am glad we have all assembled here for our yearly winter commemoration. Now, I also wish to introduce a new lady into our workforce; her name is Kyouyama Anna." Mr. Ryu announced as a shoulder length brown haired woman standing beside him nodded. A few gasps were heard from the audience. "Yes, she is once a student of our school. In fact, she was the pioneer student council president that held this tribute. Do you want to have a word, Anna-san?"

"Thank you, Ryu-san. Well, I only have a principle, which I hold steadfastly until now. With determination, nothing is impossible."

"Thank you…"

"Did you know that the entire student council was actually suffering during her hold six years ago?" Lyserg muttered. "Apparently she overworked them!" Yoh nodded.

"Nevertheless, they say that that year's performance remained unbeatable by its predecessors. We'll see what Morika-san can achieve this year, since both of them are kind of similar."

"How did you all know? I thought you two were not in this school yet."

"Well, her legacy lives on." Horohoro spoke. "That year, it was the flying snow dragon. The dragon seemed so real that it felted like the dragon was really soaring in the sky and above the audience."

"Wow…" Ren could not let the word remain in his mouth; it sounded very majestic.

"Kawaii!!! Ren-chan and Usui-kun look so good together!" A group of girls behind them screamed. Ren blushed as he sank deeper in his coat and sweared that he will not talk to Horohoro anymore. The other just adjusted his bandana and stayed silent as the headmaster and the new recruit left the stage. Then, Nemu came on top of the stage and bowed.

"Well, first and foremost, I am very pleased that Anna-sempai can be here to watch this year's winter commemoration with us. With no further ado, let the show begin!"

Fireworks burst into the air out of nowhere in an array of colours. It reflected in the students' eyes, giving a breathtaking illumination of light. Horohoro felted his eyes spin…


"Horohoro-sempai, look at the fireworks! They are so beautiful!" A girl said in wonder as the colours swam in her eyes. Horohoro shrugged.

"They always put fireworks before the show. Come on, you've seen it every year."


Ren stared at the fireworks, stunned by this majestic beauty.

"They are so beautiful…"

Horohoro turned to him, his mouth gaping in realization.


"Well, when I was younger, I have always dreamed of seeing fireworks." The girl murmured, blushing.


"Are they really beautiful, Ren?" Lyserg asked. "They show this every year."

"Well…" Ren began, a starry look in his eyes, "When I was younger, I have always dreamed of seeing fireworks…"


"Don't worry; you will get to see this in every year of your school life here." Horohoro kindly spoke. She smiled shyly as the fireworks erupted into its last glamour.


Ren could not blink his eyes for even a second as the colours before him turned into one single form of golden shining luminescence. Once the surreal moment insinuatingly disappeared, he felted something warm flowing through his body. Looking to his left…

He realised that Horohoro had held his hand gently.

"Ren, I swear this will not be the only fireworks you will ever see in your school life."

Ren blinked and subsequently blushed.


How did you think of this chapter? Please review. Arigato!!!! Well, I'm planning to keep the mysterious girl's name longer, but its established that she is Nemu's younger sister, so... Who do you think she is?