LITLLE ANNA'S P.O.V
I ran as fast I as could to my road, I wondered why Yoh-kun thought I ran fast. Do I really run that fast?
He did look a bit exhausted when he couldn't run anymore…
I sighed. I felt bad. Mr. Matamune had come to visit me again and I had to leave him and Yoh-kun because the sun was setting.
Dumb sun.
I saw the trees as they went wooshing pass me while I kept running, i was amazed that i could see them as I ran, not many people can do that...at least I think they can't.
I loved to run, it was a peculiar sensation, the balance between my speed and the almost clarity of everything as a passed it.
Oops. There I go again talking way to mature for my age…I always wondered why I spoke like I was older than my age.
I had heard some of Yoh-kun's thoughts today. He had tons of questions going in and out of his head, somethings about the way I spoke.
So I really did speak too old for my age, I wonder why that is?
Just when I was starting to think about my question I skidded to a stop, making a large trail behind me. I had arrived at my house.
Well, I really don't consider it a house seeing as how big the land we own is.
My house occupies 6033 tsubo. [A /N: 1 tsubo is 3.3 square meters, so it's a huge house]
I never agreed to such a large house, but my father insisted saying the space was needed.
I know what he meant by that. He meant I needed that space so that I could stay locked up in the house as if I were already living in a town, that way there would be no need for me to go outside.
My father…thinks I'm dangerous.
I've heard him think it many times. You see, where we use to live there were too many people, therefore when ever I went into a crowd my head would ache and…bad things would happen.
A chill went down my spine, I should know better than to think of the past. The past only ruins the present…at least that's what my brother says.
I opened the gate doors and closed then behind me, then in about 5 second I ran to the door of my house, opening it slowly just incase mum was asleep.
Instead I saw my brother putting up his uniform.
He turned to look at me, his expression as it always is…blank. "Did you enjoy yourself today?" he said glumly.
I frowned. No greeting, no hello, no nothing. Just going straight to what he thought was important, that was my brother for you.
I nodded my head, then he began his lecture.
"You know you're not supposed to leave our land for so long, who knows what the hell will happen…" His sentence trailed off, but even though he didn't finish it, I heard what he was going to say.
'Who knows what the hell will happen with you out there.'
My brother is very observant. He knows something is wrong with me, but he doesn't know of my ability to get inside everyone's heads.
I looked at the floor. Our father raised my brother to make him think I was a threat to humanity. Of course my brother knows me more than dad does.
He thinks I'm too kind.
He walked over to me and lowered himself to my level, his brown eyes right in front of mine.
He saw the bruise on my cheek. 'What the hell.'
"What happened?" he asked me. He noticed the scratches on my body and he took off my coat so he could get a closer look.
"Ran into a tree while running." I lied, hoping he would be fooled as I always fooled him.
He shook his head. 'It's because you run too damn fast.' I heard him think. '…at inhuman speed...' He added.
Yup, way too observant. At least he believed me.
I hate lying, but it's what keeps me from ending up locked up somewhere where I'll be examined by mad scientists.
"You're too careless Anna." He sighed. 'But as all the other bruises and scratches you come home with everyday…they should be gone soon…as if you can heal yourself.'
He patted the top of my head and then turned around and walked up the stairs to his room.
I took off my shoes and walked up to the bathroom. I replaced my filthy clothes with my pj's which is just a huge white t-shirt that covers me down to my knees.
Then I put on a yukata and was about to go out the door before I looked at myself in the mirror.
The bruise on my right cheek was very noticeable. I cupped my cheek with my hand. I always end up with some mark on me after Shio Yui comes and does something to me.
I didn't really lie to Yoh-kun when I said I'm fine with her treating me this way. As long as it makes her happy…
'I know what that feels like' I heard him think. In his head I saw a picture of a girl who looked like me but older. I guess that was his wife, Anna.
I smiled. Yoh-kun was kind and understanding.
I pulled my hand back down to my side and saw that the bruise was now gone.
It didn't surprise me though; I was kinda use to that happening…
I closed the door behind me as I walked past my brother's room and entered mine, and threw myself on my futon.
What else had I to do? I don't have any friends, just spirits and I can't talk to them when I'm at home because father might have a camera hidden somewhere to prove that I need to be send away.
I sighed and laid on my right side, I could see out my window that way.
The sun was now disappearing from the sky, slowly going down so that darkness could rule over now.
Another day at an end…
For some reason I thought about Yui…
What if one day she is cheerless and distressed and she does not find me, so she cannot let her unhappiness out, the grudge she has for me stays inside her heart…and that same day…her life is at an end…
I shivered. I do not wish to think of those things.
My father I use to ask him a lot how he could stand being around blood…that vivid crimson liquid that at many times meant death itself.
He told me he…got use to death. He saw many of his patients pass away, and many times I saw their spirits...preparing themselves to reach Nirvana.
Though I still do not know how he can stand death.
But of course he…is a cold blooded man.
I shook my head again. Why must I always think of these things? Why must I know what my father thinks when it comes to things like these? Why do I have this power?
Maybe if I didn't have this power I wouldn't have many problems.
We wouldn't have had to move out of our old town, then my brother would have never met Shio Misaka, and then Shio Yui wouldn't be so cruel to me.
Shio Yui…
My fist clenched themselves without me noticing, but I did not release their grasp.
Instead I thought.
Yui has one of the most impure minds I've ever heard in my seven years of life.
Her mind is full of hate for those who do not do as she wishes, those who are prettier than her, and those who do not worship her.
She knows it's because of her beauty that people follow her, not her character. I see it in her head. In class she hardly speaks, she keeps quite, but when she does talk her tone is icy cold.
I do not understand how many can like her.
If it's because of beauty, then I agree, Yui has a lovely face for one who is only nine years old. Misaka too, she has unique eyes…
Then why do they find me gorgeous?
I suddenly became irritated. I do not know why. But a burning fire began in me growing and growing.
Then I knew why.
I was ticked. I was not pretty and yet just because she found me pretty she decides to treat like an animal. As if my looks were completely inhuman.
I did nothing to her, and she comes and does these awful things to me, hurting me greatly.
It didn't matter if I could heal fast, if I let her do this so she could be happy…
As I pondered these things inside my head my body shook, it shook roughly in anger, then I knew what was going on when my head began to ache…
I screamed, a scream so ear-pitching that even my own ears hurt, but that was nothing compared to how bad my head was agonizing me.
I was hearing it. Her thoughts were all shoving themselves into my head, each pushing with great force to get inside.
Her desires, wishes, hopes, everything I had heard of her these last three weeks were attacking my head.
My eyes shot open and I saw white balls of transparent fire hovering around me, more and more appearing each second.
I couldn't take it anymore; I let out a huge wail of pain, I heard my door slide open behind me.
I knew who it was, though I wish he didn't come because now his thoughts were mixing in with the ones that were killing my head.
"Anna, what's wrong!" my brother shouted, pulling my body towards him so that my body faced his.
He shook me. "Anna what is it, come on!"
Then I heard familiar foot steps rushing into my room. It was mum.
"Anna!" she worried "Is it hurting again?! Anna sweetie, please tell me!"
I didn't respond, I was trying too hard not to let out another scream, but it was hard.
Then I felt something rush out of me in a quick motion, as if something had left me.
The transparent balls began to woosh around and around in circles, and they escaped out the window; I saw a huge light appear and then I heard I loud wail.
This wail was nothing that I had ever heard before, only in movies, it sounded as if it were the shrieks of a monster.
My eyes grew huge, I could not see the creature or whatever it was that was out there now. But I could feel I strong power glowing from me and the thing.
I heard long footsteps which sounded as if the thing was heavy, very heavy.
Then I heard nothing from it as if it went to a different place.
A new location……
My brother still shook me; he shook me harder each time, yelling out my name along with my mom.
I looked at them, my eyes as big as they could get.
This wasn't normal. Thing like this is not what a seven year old goes through. No, I knew something was wrong with me…
Why did I have to be this?
Tears came down my eyes, like the little girl that I was, tears were normal for a little girl right?
My brother looked at me as I winced in more pain, his eyes grew soft. He knew, he knew that my inhuman abilities were doing something to me…I could hear it in his head.
My mum just looked at me; she had never seen me like this. At least, not without something blowing up, or shattering, or breaking before her eyes.
Those were the bad things that would happen when I would scream, not this.
I felt my brother put me back in my futon, I didn't understand why, I didn't understand anything anymore.
Then I realized the phone was ringing. And my brother was the one who answered it.
On the other end of the line, I heard someone scream my brother's name frantically.
I froze. It was Shio Misaka's voice.
"Calm down Misaka!" he yelled into the phone.
Shio-san silence, and then slowly but with panic in her voice she explained the frantics.
"I heard glass shatter from Yui's room, and I went to check what it was…there's BLOOD EVERYWHERE!"
I couldn't move, I did not want to move. My heart ached as I heard Shio-san's sobs through the receiver.
Mum reached out and touched me and embraced my frozen body in her arms.
Even though my head ached, and my mum hugged me so tight she could be squeezing the air out of me, my soul was somewhere else.
It was imagining the blood, the mess of the room, the shattering glass, and Yui's body…
My brother was as stunned as me. He looked at me in horror, at my frozen expression, at my stunned body, at my wide eyes that showed the hidden guilt and pain I felt inside me.
"Hello? Hello?"
He looked away. "Misaka, just hold on, okay? I'll be over there soo-"
"I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG! I THINK WHATEVER/WHOEVER DID THIS TO YUI IS STILL HERE!!"
"What? What makes you so sure?"
"I can hear heavy footsteps and- and-"
I heard an ear-piercing shrieked take over the room and I realized it was mine, the pain in my head suddenly became impossibly fierce, it was unbearable.
But as I screamed in pain I heard Misaka scream in fear on the other line of the phone, and a wail of a monster along with both our screams.
In that small second my mum squeezed me tightly against her, as if she knew i was in a horrid but powerful pain, and inside her embrace I felt a warm and cozy feeling go through me, and, almost instantly ,the pain vanished.
I took long deep breaths, trying to restore my heart beat back to its normal counts, and I looked at my family, no one moved for a long second. we were all worried of had happened on the other side of that phone...finally my brother couldn't just imagine what happened.
"Misaka? Misaka!" He screamed into the receiver.
I held my breath, praying to Kami-sama that she would be fine, that that thing didn't get her too. And I heard her voice.
"I-I'm okay."
"Why the hell did you scream!"
"I-I saw something coming at me and, and-"
She went on trying to explain, but I saw it all through her thoughts over the phone.
Heavy footsteps came at her, leaving imprints of its feet into the floor. Then something shattered beside her, she screamed, dropped the receiver, and in a second there was silence.
She opened her eyes and picked up the phone and she saw Cadm running to her.
Cadm? What was he doing there?
My brother asked the same thing.
Shio-san couldn't explain anymore, she was crying in fear and hurt. She had lost her young sister and had almost lost her own life.
I closed my eyes, tears coming down my eyes; I did not want to hear more.
I knew it. It was my fault, all my fault.
I just stayed there in mum's arms, and I cried myself to sleep, letting the darkness that was coming over me enter…
And I fell asleep.
---
YOH'S P.O.V. (Cadm's House, the night of Yui's…death)
"So Matamune, you came to visit!" Ohachiyo happily announced.
We were all sitting in the dining room eating.
I have to admit the food was pretty good too, but I couldn't get over the fact that Matamune knew Anna before he went with me to meet her.
I popped some curry into my mouth and chewed, I was starring at Matamune.
He sat across the table from me, beside Ohachiyo. Cadm was seated beside me.
Matamune took a bit of some fish and smiled at Ohachiyo. "I had come to check up on the child." He said in a professional tone.
"The child is fine, Matamune." Cadm assured him. "I had not seen anything wrong with her, just the usual head aches."
The usual head aches? Did Anna get them that often?
I ate more curry stuffing it into my mouth without noticing I was too concentrated on the conversation.
"How many headaches had she had since she had arrived at this town?" Matamune asked his brows rising as he asked.
Ohachiyo seemed to be counting in his head. "About…257."
I choked on my curry. I began coughing, my chopsticks fell out of my hands and I reached for my glass of water, gulping it all down.
I put it back down on the table when I was able to breathe again.
"Ah," I sighed "I thought I was going to die."
Cadm busted out laughing.
"You are very entertaining at small parties such as these my friend!" he laughed.
I felt the blood rush to my head all the way to my roots. Then Ohachiyo began to laugh with him.
"A bit surprised aren't you?" he asked me.
He casually placed his hands behind his head and leaned back on the chair, in a lazy position that reminded me a bit of myself.
I grinned at him.
"Cadm," Matamune called, reverting back to the task at hand "the child, does she have any friends."
Cadm waited till he swallowed some chicken in his mouth then replied "No."
I jerked my head to stare at him.
Did I not count as Anna's friend? Didn't I just spend then whole day with her and had a fun time?
'You do not belong in this time, therefore you do not count.' He explained to me through his head 'It is best for Matamune not to know the reason you are here…and who you are.'
I understood, well partly. If Matamune knew who I was then that could do something to the way I am learning about Anna's past. At least I think that's where Cadm's going with this…
"I see." Matamune replied, he bit his little pipe and then looked at me. "What about you?" he asked me.
I stuttered "Ano…I-I'm just an a-acquaintance!" I blurted out.
I've never been good at lying to people, and starting with Matamune didn't seem like a good way to start.
I stuffed as much curry as I could in my mouth to keep myself from talking anymore. Matamune just stared at me with a thoughtful expression.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the ground began to shake fiercely.
At first I thought earthquake?
But then we heard it.
At first I had no idea what it was. All I heard was a horrifying, goose-bumps-down-your-body, screech. I froze and dropped my chopsticks again, this time I didn't bother to pick them up.
Then in an instant everyone, minus me, got up from the table and ran out the door. I stayed at the table, dumbfounded.
Then I pushed my dish away and went after then out the door.
It was hard to catch up with them, they had gone far, I kept running as fast as I could, then I noticed I caught up.
They had all stopped dead in their tracks, staring at something with a look of surprise in their eyes.
I turned to what they were looking at; I felt my eyes grow so big it was impossible to imagine how big they were at the moment.
The thing, it was…an oni.
I could have felt fear.
I could have felt hate.
I could have been alarmed.
I could have been felling so many things right now. But what I felt made no sense, I felt…hurt.
Pain. But not the type of pain you physically feel, this was the one you feel in your chest, and loves to bother you until you're destroyed.
That type of pain.
I knew why too, I just didn't want to admit it…it was too much.
Anna.
I know she did this…maybe not on purpose, but yet the oni was called by her. I knew I was right. It was that same instinct I had five years ago when an Anna's oni attacked me for the first time.
But who could be the victim?
"Cadm…" I began, trying hard not to show the pain I was feeling in my chest.
"This is the Shio residence." He told everyone in a stern tone.
Shio Yui…
He glared at the oni with deep vicious eyes. "This oni is…her first oni."
I flinched. Her first oni?
But it looked so huge! Impossible for it to be her first…then again, this was Anna…
I was too lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the others run ahead.
I ran after them, my legs were killing me! I need to do some more running soon.
I heard a loud gasp. I stopped and saw Cadm staring into a broken window, I edged closer to look.
I wish I hadn't.
The room was completely destroyed. Glass was scattered everywhere, the furniture was tossed upside down against the walls and floor, but what hit me the most was…
A trail of blood leading to a girl's soulless body…
I didn't have to walk in to check whose it was, I could tell from the two long pigtails of light purple hair.
Yui…
"It seems she got cut by the glass when the oni went through the door, the she curled herself up in a corner while it trashed her room, then it found her cut through her back and ate her soul." Ohachiyo examined.
He got closer to the body and turned it sideways; he looked at the face and sighed.
"I told Cadm that this girl would soon meet her death…" he muttered under his breathe.
I stared down at the ground. I had nothing to say about this. I hate seeing people die for no good reason.
I hate it, but no matter what she did or done…I can't…hate Anna.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" I heard a scream from the other side of the wall, and then at the same time I heard a shriek from the oni. And the ground began to roughly shake.
And it all happened so fast, yet, impossible, I was able to remember it all.
At the sound of the screams Matamune took out his onigoroshi blade and-
CRASH!
The wall busted open, Matamune jumped through the huge hole that was now at the wall.
I saw Misaka with her eyes closed, the phone fell out of her hand, she had been calling someone-
The oni was coming to her, shrieking its painful wails of death.-
As soon as it launched it hands to penetrate through her fragile body, Matamune jumped and slashed his blade.
When I heard the noise the blade made against the wind, I was blinded by a warm light; it didn't seem to fit with the furyoku coming from the onigoroshi.
But when the light disappeared, the oni was gone.
And Matamune was now at my side.
"Curse it!" he mumbled under his breathe. He looked as if he were disturbed.
"What's wrong, Matamune? You just defeated the oni! And I have to admit that light was a nice effect-"
"You saw it too, huh?" he asked me, his big cat eyes staring at Misaka-san, with concern.
Of course I saw it too. Was I not supposed to?
I must have had a puzzled look on my face because he looked at me and said
"The oni disappeared before I even attacked It." Matamune said in a tone that, I guessed, meant he was surprised by the fact.
Could it have been Anna? Or the oni itself?
"If I go out the oni appears, always making trouble and then disappears"
Anna told me herself, the oni can disappear on its own. But yet that time…
"Get away from there now! Yoh!!!"
At that moment, when Anna screamed, the oni turned back into spirit balls and disappeared.
But at that time Anna was shocked the most, as if that had never happened before…
Then what happened just now?
I looked at Misaka she was on the ground crying, Cadm was talking into the receiver.
"No, she's fine. There's no need to do that, we'll get this mess cleared up soon. Tell me is your sister okay?........mmhhmm…I see. No worries I'm sure she'll be alright by morning."
Was he talking to Anna's brother? I wanted to take the phone out of his hands and make sure little Anna-chan was alright. But I knew that right now I probably couldn't.
Anna was probably in worse pain than me.
I hoped this wouldn't ruin our plans for tomorrow…we agreed to play again.
I sighed. I wonder what was going to happen now; how this would affect Anna…I guess I would find out tomorrow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why doesn't he wake up?" Tamao asked worryingly, she clutched her sketch book close to her chest.
Arisu smiled at her. "Don't worry," she said patting her on the back "He'll wake up soon!"
Tamao wasn't convinced she looked at the ground.
Arisu looked at her with big curious eyes. "You worry about anyone don't you?" she asked softly.
Tamao blushed, and nodded quickly "I care for many people; I think I worry a bit too much."
Arisu looked away from her and looked dead ahead at the door to the room where Lyserg slept.
"That bothers me," she said absent-mindedly "…the way you worry. It doesn't seem like the way you use to be…"
Tamao blinked and looked at the girl, her expression was dead serious. Ari noticed her staring.
"Ah, sorry." –She waved her hands frantically in front of her- "I didn't mean to say that. Haha."
Tamao gave her a curious look before turning her attention back to the door, wondering what was going on at the other side.
--
"Jeanne-sama, clearly Lyserg will heal in time. There is no need for our presence here." Marco said.
He was a bit uncomfortable in how close Jeanne was to Lyserg at the moment. Faust had told them he could treat Lyserg right away, but the Maiden denied telling him to heal Ryu, while she would heal Lyserg.
Right now Lyserg lay asleep on a cot, his breathing was even, but his face was pale. Jeanne was seated beside him, rubbing his head ever so softly.
She ignored Marco's words.
Marco noticed this and shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Jeanne-sama," he tried again "We should be in the meeting room helping out on finding a way on how to retrieve Ms. Annaka."
Jeanne shoot him a bored look, she closed her eyes and sighed "Marco, since when do you bother to ponder over such things like Annaka's well being?"
A point for the Maiden. The leader of the X-Laws was speechless.
Jeanne sighed once more. "I am sorry if this bothers you, Marco, but I am only worrying over a…teammate's health. I would not forgive myself if we lost another X-Law…"
Iron Maiden: 2, Marco: 0.
Marco sighed. "Forgive me Jeanne-sama. This Marco is just rather uncomfortable at seeing you so close to a male other than myself."
"Jealousy is not a very holy deed, Marco." She replied.
He gave up and just sat on a chair nearby, crossing his arms in protest.
Jeanne continued to rub Lyserg's soft forehead.
'Hmm he seems a little warm' she noted.
She bent over and placed her forehead to his to check his temperature. Marco clutched the arms of the chairs to keep from charging towards the Maiden.
'It appears I was only mistaking.' She observed.
Then she felt Lyserg move under her. She didn't move, as he winced and drowsingly opened his eyes.
Jeanne lifted her head one inch off of his and gave a soft smile.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
The wind from her breathe reached Lyserg's face, he opened his eyes all the way and saw how close the Iron Maiden's angelic face was to his.
"Ah, Jeanne-sama!" he blushed all the way to the roots of his skin.
He jerked and sat up straight, Jeanne's face was still and inch away from his.
"Ano...uh...Jeanne-sama…" he stuttered. Jeanne blinked and turned her head slightly.
"We-we're…a b-bit close don't you think?" he asked looking down at his hands nervously.
Jeanne barely noticed how close she was to him until Lyserg pointed it out.
"Oh!" she gasped and pulled away instantly.
Marco cleared his throat. Lyserg turned to look at him, his face still red.
"Ahh, Marco. Sorry I didn't mean to be a burden." He apologized.
Marco looked at Jeanne; there was a small frown on her face as she looked at Marco.
"That's not a problem, Lyserg." He said defensively as the Maiden smiled in approval. "It was not your intention to hit your head, you're forgiven."
Lyserg got off the cot and smiled "I'm glad…but we should probably go to where the others are at, don't you think?"
Jeanne smiled. "That seems like a good thing to do…"
Lyserg walked towards the door as Marco stood and followed with the maiden in front of him.
They opened the door and saw Arisu and Tamao; they were both sitting outside waiting for the X-Laws to come out.
Tamao seemed to be in awe at something that had to do with Ari, who was beaming.
Arisu stood up and flew past the Maiden over to where Lyserg was.
"How are you feeling, Lyserg-kun?" she asked in a happy tone.
She stood at the distance the Maiden was a few moments ago; her face only and inch away from his, only, she seemed to be aware of this.
Jeanne frowned and looked at Marco; Marco pushed up his glasses and placed a hand on Lyserg's shoulder.
"Lyserg," he said in a blank voice "we really should get going to where the others are."
Lyserg shoot him a grateful look, while Arisu was all but grateful. She glared at Marco and then at Jeanne.
Then she took a step back towards Tamao.
She turned her back towards then and hid her eyes with her bangs, and walked off, leaving an angry aura between her and the Maiden.
Jeanne closed her eyes and said "We really should get going." Then she walked off with Marco and Lyserg at her tail.
Tamao just stood there watching them leave. She looked towards the X-Laws, then towards the place Ari had run off to, finally she went after the X-Laws, clutching her sketch book tighter to her chest.
--
PUNCH!
CRASH!
BAM!
Hao was outraged, he threw/broke/smashed and burned everything that got in his way.
"I'll kill them! I'll kill them! I'll kill them!" he shouted out in frustration.
He grabbed a pot next to him and whammed it against the wall; it shattered into tiny fragments of glass.
The shamans were all together now pouring tea, and drinking it. No one said a word; they were all too busy pondering over what to do next.
After pouring the warm tea into their cups, they all set down in the room of the kidnap. They all sat quietly, some annoyed, but quiet as Hao kept destroying things in his way, which seemed to be just about everything.
Manta sat next to "Heika"; he was looking at Hao in fear, wondering if one of the flying objects would come his way.
CRASH!
Manta jumped as sweat dripped down his back; he looked at "Heika".
"Doesn't it bother you that his is practically breaking your house?" he asked, shaking in fear.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The midnight girl shrugged. "Those are only material things of no value he's breaking."
Hao kicked a table that crashed onto the wall.
"Heika" frowned "Though that table was a priceless artifact." She added under her breath.
Luchist watched his Hao-sama, carefully thinking of a way to cool his nerves.
"Hao-sama-"
Horo interrupted "CAN'T YOU KEEP YOUR COOL FOR ONE DAMN SECOND!" he shouted in anger.
Hao stopped and glared at him.
"The idiot over here is right…for once. Doing this won't help get Annaka back…not that many of us miss her." The Tao added.
Hao slumped down on a couch. "Then what do you suppose we do, Tao?"
Manta fell to the ground and instantly stood up, pointing at Hao. "HOW CAN YOU CHANGE MOODS SO SUDDENLY!" he shouted, earning shocked glances from everyone in the room.
Hao shrugged "Years of practice." He said calmly, but "Heika" could see his fist clench every now and then.
Avaf suddenly appeared next to Chocolove, his arms folded out in front of his stone body.
"The first thing we should do," he began, taking the situation under his command "is to find out who took Annaka, then track them down."
Everyone nodded in agreement, except for the cloaked midnight girl who shook her head.
"Do you have a problem with us going after my wife?" Hao hissed, annoyed by the girl's presence.
She shook her head once again. "No. I just don't feel the need to go and do all that when it's obvious who took her." She stated in a relaxed mood.
It took everyone awhile to take that in.
"What! You know who took Miss. Annaka!" Ryu shouted in shock.
He had been healed by Faust soon not to long ago, so he knew only parts of what was going on at the time.
The girl gave a smug nod.
Silence.
"Care to tell us who it is?" Hao challenged menacingly, his fist balled up tighter than before.
"The Patch." She said calmly.
Someone who had been drinking their tea choked.
Nagehiko's brain numbly registered the reactions of the guest in the room.
Chocolove's cup slipped out of his hand and spilled tea all over his clothes.
Ryu froze and stared at the lovely cloaked girl, his eyes unreadable.
Faust and Eliza were calm and relaxed no expressions on their faces.
Luchist and Opacho both frowned.
Ren's hand, with his tea cup in it, was frozen in midair. He had been about to drink his tea...but Manta's words had frozen his action.
It was a good thing that he hadn't started drinking yet...he might have choked.
Hao's hands were far, too far away from his tea cup, so he didn't have the chance of choking.
Jeanne, Marco, and Lyserg, on the other hand, rapidly put down their tea cups and turned away from the shamans while covering their mouths.
Their tea cups were almost empty, a good indicator that all three of them had been drinking her tea when the words hit them.
But, unlike X-Laws who were quite silent with their choking due to their polite table manner...Horo Horo was utterly coughing, showing no manners what so ever.
"You're kidding right?" Horo said in denial "The Patch were the ones who sent us here, why wouldn't they just take her from the inn if they wanted to kidnap her?"
"Pride," mumbled Emmetto, his voice almost a whisper.
"Self-doubt," Wilhelmina added,
"The course of events," offered Ari with a smile.
Manta turned to look at the three shamans, he never heard them come in. then he saw that they weren't wearing their dark brown cloaks.
Wilhelmina was wearing a red knee-length yukata, which was one shade darker than her hair. It had a crossing collar that tied to the right, long sleeves with wide cuffs, and black sash that held two huge Chinese war fans on her back.
Arisu wore a loose tan dress which, to Manta, seemed like a smaller version of Sati's dress. It had a wine red fringed sash tied around her waistline, and a loose goldish-brown scarf tied at her hips with a bear claw at each end.
Emmetto wore some strange clothing. Thought Manta had seen it in books from the Edo period of Japan. Emmetto was dressed in similar clothing from the Edo period, similar to an onmyōji. The top part of the outfit was red; the pants were a heavy blue.
Hao seemed to be eyeing Emmetto's as well; he eyed him for a bit then smiled, those clothing brought back memories.
The midnight girl turned her head to look at her allies. A small smile growing on her face "Took you three a while to come." She joked.
The others turned to where the girl was speaking, their expressions all changed when they saw the three shamans' outfits.
Ren frowned then turned to the midnight girl, a firm expression across his face. "I suppose you expect us to fight the Patch." He glared.
Wilhelmina rolled her eyes. "I suppose you all have better ideas?"
Everyone was silent, unsure of what to say. Did they have other options? Would it be harder or easier to get through the Patch this time?
Silence.
A long and thoughtful silence…
The wine haired Chinese shaman almost thought that she wasn't going to get an answer.
It was Ren who finally answered her question after a bit of self evaluation. He hesitantly began addressing his words to her. "I guess…we have no other option." He confirmed
Marco sighed "To have to go through the Patch twice is not something I am very fond of." He said uncomfortably. "But fighting with a possible enemy" –he glared at "Heika" and the others- "is something I detest."
"Heika" shrugged and stood; she spoke innocently "If you do not want us to do the trade then…"
"-what trade?" Ryu asked raising both brows as he eyed the girl's body.
The girl smiled and folded her hands behind her back, "My life…instead of Annaka's."
Nagehiko shot up out of his seat and sprang towards the girl, a big white blob of fur blocked his way.
It was a huge white polar bear clothed in hard golden armor.
"Let me through!" Nagehiko hissed.
The girl was irritated "NAGEHIKO!" she shouted in rage "ENOUGH!"
Nagehiko growled but calmed his position.
Hao ignored the whole dramatic scene; he looked at the cloaked midnight girl. "Why are you willing to help?" he asked in his usual calm voice.
Suddenly, something horribly ugly came across "Heika's" bottom face features; like she suddenly became a whole other person, or she was forced to recall something so disgusting and revolting that she could not control her feelings for it internally. But then it was gone. Like the brief kiss of the wind.
"Because it's my life the Patch are after, not your wife's…" she said sullenly "but when they discover they have the wrong person it'll make no difference to Golva…she'll kill her either way…"
Hao felt a slow growl forming in his throat.
"And I am aware how you'll be afterwards." She finished, like if that last sentence had some hidden meaning to it.
Opacho was seating right in front of Hao's legs, sipping her tea rather quickly; she felt a strange aura and looked up.
Emmetto, Wilhelmina, and Arisu were all looking at the ground. Their fists were clenched and their hair all showed their eyes, not allowing any expressions to be seen.
For a brief moment Opacho got inside their heads.
She saw a body lying on the grass, it was a woman with long blonde hair, and she appeared to be soulless.
Then the image shifted to another woman, this one had long pink hair. She was hanging, trapped in an Onmyodu star sign by her wrist and ankles. A man in a Patch outfit stood in front of her glaring at her with hard burning eyes of fire.
The man said something and his expression changed into one of a deadly killer, the girl shrieked as her wrist and ankles began to burn inside the star…
Opacho shook her head, the image was scary almost terrifying. Before she could look into their heads for more, she realized she couldn't.
Those three had blocked their minds yet again.
Opacho frowned and looked at her Hao-sama; he stood up and looked at the others.
"Well the sooner we're out of here the sooner we can face the Patch." He said, now taking order.
Everyone else stood as well and left to their rooms to fetch their stuff.
When it was only Hao, Tamao, Manta, and Hana, Hao turned to Manta.
"Manta" he said, he looked at Manta's direction, he looked like a villain in vaudeville.
Manta got nervous at the way Hao stared at him like that. 'He wants something,' Manta thought.
Hao smiled, and then opened his mouth.
"We're going to need a plane…"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Lip, Rap, THIS IS NOT THE ONE I SENT YOU OUT TO GET!" Goldva shouted in rage at the two small girls.
Lip and Rap looked at each other, then at their grandmother "But Grandma, it was so hard to see in that dust! How were we to know?!" Lip whined in defense.
"Right, right!" Rap agreed.
Goldva stared at the two with a crossed looked. Then the look went over to Nichrome.
"Weren't you suppose to be there to make sure they trapped her!?" she questioned him loudly.
Nichrome was against the wall with his arms crossed, he turned his head towards the loud Patch leader.
"I was distracting Hao-sama." He dully said in his defense "Besides you should know better than to send two five year olds that are still in diapers."
"We can't help it!" the twins shouted, both red in embarrassment.
Nichrome looked at Annaka's unconscious body that lay on the hard rock floor. Her skin was pale and her breathing was a bit unsteady, she was sweating as if she had just lifted a hundred pounds and held it there for a whole day.
'Hao-sama will be very displeased by this' he told himself in his head.
Goldva was still shouting at Nichrome. "YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO CHECK IF THE GIRLS HAD GOTTEN THE RIGHT ONE!?"
Nichrome shrugged "You were so sure they would do a good job I didn't bother. If you would have put me in charge I would have brought Nianna with no problems like these."
Goldva took this in for a moment…
"Damn that Nianna, karma is taking a liking to her…" Goldva muttered to herself "I create her to replace Anna while we wait to make sure she's alive and then I sent someone to kill her and she escapes…how the hell did she escape in the first place?!"
Nichrome kept quiet, his mind was off somewhere else. He was picturing the girl in his head, wondering what she looked like now. He pictured Anna, then lengthened her hair in his head, then he changed the hair color to a dark midnight black, and almost golden-brown eyes…
'Hmm' he thought.
"What the devil am I supposed to do with her!" Golva questioned, pointing a finger towards the blonde "I can't possibly do anything…with…her……or can I?"
Nichrome shot his head up and stared at the Patch leader with huge eyes, Lip and Rap looked at their grandmother in awe.
Goldva grinned evilly and turned toward her granddaughters "Lip, Rap, place her inside there." –She pointed to a large container filled of water- "we will go on as planned."
Nichrome couldn't stop her now, he knew why Golva was doing this, he knew her reasons yet…
'Just because your time is almost up does not mean you have to take anyone else's.'
Goldva was getting to old to live and she thought she could rest in peace due to the fact everything was under control. But it wasn't once she saw the tapes and they showed her still being alive, Goldva wasn't going to rest until she was dead.
Nichrome looked at Annaka; she had not regain conscious, even though she was now floating in water. Not just any water…holy water from the mouth of the Spirit of Water itself.
Her long blonde locks waved and moved inside the water as if they had mind of their own, slowly moving like if a tiny gust of wind blew though them.
Her amazingly angelic face was pale, no improvement there. All she did was…staying there, floating, not noticing the danger she was in.
Nichrome shook his head and walked off to his plant.
That Queen was not going to be happy once she would awaken…
---
ANNAKA'S P.O.V
Boy was my head killing me…but of course that would be expected if you fell on it.
Though why do I not feel the smooth and cool floor beneath my body anymore? I was sure I was lying over it just moments ago.
I felt…wet.
My eyes began to open themselves curious as to where I was. Everything I saw was a blur, a bubbly blue blur.
I took a step back, or at least I tried. There was no floor under my feet, and all I felt was some kind of hard wall behind me.
Where in Kami-sama's name was I?
I moved my arm and pressed it against something blocking my way…glass?
I pushed again, definitely glass I said to myself, but when I said it no sound came out just…bubbles.
I felt my bright, blood red, eyes grow. Bubbles, the wet feeling, glass.
I was in a container of water.
One name came to me as I realized where I was, it was a name similar to a name I hated in my past life…
Goldva.
"Ah I see you are awake ex-Queen." I heard a voice say.
I hated that voice.
I glared at that preposterous old woman, I didn't care if she was a high respected elder of my people, she was utterly mad.
I saw her smirk; all it did was send anger raging through me.
"Now, there's no need for you to look at me with such rage. I'm sure you expected this." She said in an almost menacing tone.
I expected this? Out of my dead body I did! I didn't expect you to be happy with my return after what I did, but taking my life I never expected you to do you old grouch!
All that that old grouch did was smile. Like that woman from 500 years ago who had that same smile. It's as if she has risen from the dead to come and take me back to the spirit world…to take away my life.
"I suppose that, by your angered face, you do understand that this is all that girl's fault." She said to me.
That girl? What girl?
I did the only thing I could to understand, I searched her head.
All I came up with was a name and an image.
Nianna…
My eyes could not help but to once again stretch themselves. I felt my body begin to shake.
She didn't. Out of all the low level things she could do she…she…
…made a copy of Anna-san.
I saw it all, all the memories, all the purposes, all of it was flashing through my head like one's life is suppose to flash before their eyes.
How could you! I wanted to shout, but what good would that do? No sound would come out…just damn bubbles.
I began to shake in disgust.
What Goldva had done was an intolerable act, more unforgivable than what I'd done in my past life.
To make one of us, a Shaman Queen, a being that connected the three worlds and just as easily separated them…
I felt anger spew inside of me, slowly rising like a million volcanoes ready to erupt, ready to destroy the land beneath it.
And right now, Goldva was way beneath me.
"You can obviously see the great trouble I have made" she began again, drawing her own conclusions from my expressions "If we have 3 of you alive it could alter the every existence of the world."
I knew that, I knew it since the day I was able to think. And it came to my head one day.
The first Shaman Queen found a poem in the Kings old scripture book, it had his rigid writing, and it said a secret…a great secret of the Shaman Queens, of our…screams.
I see angels, there were three
And they all bowed before me.
I see angels, all with grand keys
The keys are stored within them, within their musical throats.
The keys that open those worlds, which worlds? Ha, the only three.
Upon their heads are the glistening crowns of Queens.
Shaman Queens
With a shriek the gates break open, with a song they clear.
To those angels I tell, do not shriek and do not yell.
Or the grand gates will open…the gates of Heaven, Earth and Hell.
Ever since the first Queen read that we were forced to be kept from people until the birth of the Shaman King, to keep ourselves from ever accidentally opening the gates.
But it never occurred to any of the Patch that there would ever be three Queens, I guess they should have looked that one over.
Only a second had past as I remembered all of this and that old woman just stood there, looking at me with a grim expression through her old wrinkled face.
"So as you can see, Annaka" the prune went on "one of you must die in order for the Great Spirit to be at ease."
What ever happened to 'it's all the will of the Great Spirit?'
I did not wish to die again…not without Hao, not this time.
This time I had something to live for, Hao was alive, so I could not just…leave him like that…it would break the both of us to shreds.
If I was allowed to, I would cry to get rid of the hurt, the very memory of when I lost Hao 500 years ago.
But I couldn't, I wasn't allowed, tears…were a sign of weakness.
But of course, then what do you consider what I am now?
I cannot get out of this container, the holy water prevents me from leaving, it prevents me from making and oversoul or crashing my way out.
And also it holds me still for the torture that lies ahead…
I saw the corner of Goldva's lips twitch, and I saw those two small twins come into the room.
Both of the small girls looked at the ground. 'Gomenasai.' They apologized through their tiny heads.
They looked at the ground, not bothering to look me in the eyes; I knew they were ashamed of their mistake.
Poor girls, to have to live up for so much in this world…it's truly sad, their job is a big one for such children.
But right now I feel sorry for myself.
At times I feel like my life is complicated, like God has allowed more grief and suffering to come my way than He should have.
But in my heart, I know I should be thankful that I have access to opportunities that others will never even dream of having, that I should be glad I even have loved ones, even if they are taken away from me. Or I am taken away from them.
I have had painful things happen to me, and I know what sorrow feels like, but there are always those who have been hurt deeper than me. To them I can only offer my prayers, and my sympathy.
Prayers and sympathy for those who can live on because of my death, I have lived my life before, but she hadn't.
That Nianna.
My death allows her to live on with her life so therefore I'm not mad. I, at least know that no one else has to take my place in death, one's life will be saved in exchange for mine.
I can smile because of that.
I saw five enormous spirits appeared around me, I knew their faces well; they were once my friends, my companions who generated me with their power of the elements.
So now they were going to end me.
I smiled to myself. This place, this continent, these people, these spirits…ha, it was like if I was opening a book of memories.
A book of memories that gave me a paper cut each time I turned the page.
And yet I kept coming back to a particular page, on that brought me the most pain.
Hao…
Each time I thought about him I got hit bad, a sharp bitter pain that stung worse than anything I've ever felt.
"Lip, start with the Spirit of Earth." Goldva ordered her voice now professionally serious.
Lip winced at the sound of her name; I heard her tiny thoughts 'Why do I have to begin?' She wined in her head.
The young girl's thoughts slowly came into my head. 'Gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai…'
I felt my eyes soften at the girl, she didn't want to begin the process of my death, who would?
She walked towards me, her footsteps barley noticeable due to her light weight, then she stopped.
In her hands she held a pot with a cactus planted inside, her medium.
"Spirit of Earth." She softly called.
She lifted the cactus up above her head; it began to glow with a glimmering Pink shine.
I felt the heavy footsteps behind me as the wide spirit made its way over to where I was.
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
The thumping came to a stop behind me, and the Spirit of Earth wrapped its mammoth hands around the container I was in.
My eyes closed, everything I saw was now shadowed in darkness.
I did not want to see my death, but I knew I could not prevent feeling it.
I felt the container shake, trembling roughly under the spirit's hand, then I felt the first strike…
Metal came at me, cutting through the top layer of my human-like skin, it sent a sharp sting as the water touched the wound, as if someone had decided to spill lemon juice on a new cut.
I wanted to bad to scream but what would be the point? Since when had anyone's yells ever taken away a pain?
I wanted everything out of my head, I only wanted to go to that page in my book of memories, the one that had the one I loved.
Hao…
I felt a new pain, a kick in the stomach. At first I thought that rocks had begun to come at me, but then I realized this pain was from the inside.
My body felt as if it was being dumped into a blood of acid. I did not wish to see the pool of crimson I was in at the moment; I just kept my head clear from the pain.
I wasn't able to keep my thoughts clear from one thing, another's thoughts.
Rap's thoughts poured into my head, and I dared to open my eyes to look at her as her thoughts slowly took over my head.
'I can see it' she began in her own thought 'the pain that lies in her eyes, the anger that burns from her gaze, the madness that is setting her eyes ablaze, the fear that closes her eyes, the hope that is finally dead, she…cannot trust. Her heart has been…bled,'-she gave a small shiver- 'I can see death's hand that has glazed her eyes, is she…dying inside?'
That tiny girl saw all that in my eyes, for once someone had been able to see through the situation and clearly look into my eyes.
CRACK
Oh! I gasped.
Inside me, something had yanked a part of me and was kicking at me.
Ripping. Breaking. Agony.
I couldn't breathe-a shock of electricity ran through me, destroying my ability to breathe properly under water.
I felt rocks and metal thrusting at me each one hurting me terribly with their impact.
Electricity ran through me again, and now I could feel all five spirits over me, giving me what they had with great force.
Red spots covered the blue water and I felt a new pain stab me icily into my stomach.
That pain, it felt…different then the others. It felt…wrong.
What was it?
I felt pieces of me shattering, snapping, slicing apart…
And then the pain inside of me was different.
I concentrated I wanted to find the source of the pain that pummeled me from within.
Then I saw something within my head.
Hao's face, my face, and both of our faces; I felt the inside of my stomach jump once more.
Then something sharper than knives ripped through me- my pain was making sense. In spite of the other tortures I was able to think straight for a minute, long enough for me to find out what was wrong.
Impossible, I whispered in thought.
I shut my eyes, and my tears mixed in with the red holy water, now was the time I would let myself cry.
…for the love of all that is holy…no…
_________________________________________________________________
……………………………UM, WELL WHAT CAN I SAY REALLY?....... THIS CHAPTER WAS FULL OF A LOT OF TEARS, I'M HAVING TO WIPE MY COMPUTER OFF WITH A TISSUE FROM JUST RE-READING MY OWN STORY.
"FUFUFU" *BLOWS NOSE INTO A TISSUE*
WELL *SNIFF* PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE.
SERIOUSLY I WORK REALLY HARD TO WRITE THESE CHAPTERS AND I EXPECT FOR MY READERS TO TELL ME HOW MUCH THEY LIKED/DISLIKED IT.
I MEAN COME ON I WROTE 34 PAGES FOR YOU GUYS!!!
SO R&R PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOW FOR TIME TO THANK MY REVIEWERS!
MAYA AQUARIA: HAHA MATAMUNE FAN HUH? THAT'S A FIRST! HAHA
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IMTHEMAN: NO WORRIES I'LL KEEP UPDATING, I DON'T LIKE TO UNCOMPLETE A STORY. ^-^