Wow. I really can't believe I got this far and people are actually still reading. Amazing. Oh well here comes the disclaimer;

Disclaimer: if I owned shaman king I wouldn't be writing this would I? It would just be on TV.

Many thanks to:

MoonCrest

xkoolshamanx

For being the only people who reviewed.

So, to all of you who are waiting here's the next chapter…

Chapter 4

Lyserg glanced at the door nervously. Why had they had to put her in the room next to his? Out of all the rooms in the inn they had to choose that one. It was enough to make his blood boil. Giving one last glower at the offending door, he stormed past and through into the kitchen. Grabbing his wallet he scribbled a note to tell everyone where he had gone, before going into town in order to try to find a replacement dowsing crystal. Thankfully his father's crystal was safe, but he disliked using it, as he was afraid that it would be smashed, and it was the only thing he had to remember his family by.

Faust was up early too, but his was a grimmer task. He walked into Erisas room to find her sleeping peacefully, her cheeks a much healthier colour than the deathly pallor of two days ago. Her breathing had evened out, and the ribs she had bruised were healing nicely. He frowned to himself. Why had she attempted to come back to fight them when she was in such a condition? When she probably knew that she ran a high risk of dying. While she had slept they had questioned her distraught guardian ghost who informed them that she had been ordered to come back, but immediately clammed up when she was asked about how her mistress had gotten those wounds, and who ordered her back. The ghost was even now waiting outside her room, until Faust had finished with his check-up, so she could resume her bedside vigil. The doctor mentally added those to the list of questions that they would ask the girl when she woke up. Frowning, he remembered the state that her back had been in, open wounds that had been hastily bandaged, and not very well for that matter. They didn't look like they had been caused by a halo blade, there were too many of them. And from the others accounts the attack had missed, so there should only be some minor bruising. "Curiouser and curiouser" he muttered one of his favorite quotes to himself as he stood up, and headed towards the door.

Allowing the guardian ghost to dash into the room, he moved slowly towards his room, and the medicine cabinet where he kept his morphine. However, when he got there he was horrified to find that he was nearly out. Sighing he grabbed the last of the painkiller that he had become addicted to, and moved into the kitchen where he found everyone getting ready to go on a shopping trip. The boys were complaining bitterly, but Anna had insisted they go to help with the bags. He saw Lysergs note attached to the fridge by a magnet, and smiled.

Faust was reading a book on medical science when Lyserg walked back in, a bag clutched in his hand. He looked round in surprise, and gave a startled cry when Faust spoke from the chair behind him. "Lyserg, I need you to do me a favor. I need to run down to the chemists and get some more morphine. Therefore I need someone to watch Erisa while I'm out. Since everyone seems to have gone out shopping you're my only available option."

Lyserg looked at him horrified but Faust was already at the door. "My mobile numbers by the phone if anything should go wrong." And with that he left.

Lyserg sighed, and carried his precious bundle to Erisas room. Pulling a chair next to her bed, he unpacked the contents of the brown bag, and set to work attaching the wire to the crystal, in such a way that it wouldn't snap when it was launched. When it was to his satisfaction he put it down next to him, and retrieved his crystal launcher (AN if you know what this is called tell me please). Winding the new weapon into place, he glanced down at the sleeping girl. She looked so peaceful, so innocent that he found it hard to believe that this was the same girl that had tried to kill them a few days ago. He also noticed that he guardian ghost was floating next to the headboard, and was watching him closely. He met her gaze, and she blushed and stared hard at the floor.

Lyserg looked at the cuts on Erisas face, and felt sick when he remembered what she looked like when she came there. He reached out a trembling hand and gently touched one of the shallower gashes on he forehead. " Who did this?" he whispered to the guardian ghost, who was watching her mistress sadly. " Jing-sama" she replied in a whisper. " Lyserg gaped at her, she had actually told him?

As he turned his attention back to Erisa, she moved and her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Lyserg, and her eyes widened as she remembered everything that had happened. She made a move to sit up and throw back the covers, but she was gently but firmly pushed back down again. " You shouldn't move around too much. Faust said that that would open the wounds along your back again. He's been looking after you for the past two days, since you collapsed." He watched her eyes fill with tears as the information sank in, and he felt a great wave of pity for the girl before him. Maybe Yoh was right and there was more to this than met the eye. . He knew how she must feel. After all, she had collapsed in front of her opponents, and to top that off she had been taken in by them and nursed back to health. He noticed that Yanagi was standing next to the bed, one hand on the girls shoulder. He suddenly smiled as a loud growling filled the room, and Erisa blushed bright scarlet. " I guess you're hungry then?"

That's how the rest of the group found them, her and Lyserg swapping interesting stories while their guardian ghosts watched from the corner. Faust checked her over to make sure that she was well enough to make the short walk to the lounge, helped by him and Lyserg.

"Before you all say anything I would like to say how sorry I am that it had to come to this, and how grateful I am to you all for taking me in and caring for me." She gave a short bow, and lowered herself onto a cushion. " Well, you could start by telling us why you attacked us in the park for a start, and then why you were here." Suggested Yoh. Erisa looked at him, and he could see fear in her eyes, and she stayed silent. " Well" Lyserg said slowly, " if you don't want to answer that yet, can you tell us who this Jing-sama, that Yanagi mentioned?" she nodded and said quietly " he is my master. He gives me orders and I carry them out. Otherwise, the punishments, they can't bear thinking about" she trailed off as her eyes began to fill with tears. " He told me to attack you, to test you to see your strengths and weaknesses. The same orders were what brought me here the other night."

" But why?" cut in Anna, "why do you do his bidding, like a mindless puppet?"

" He has my family," came the reply. "He keeps them prisoners in the dungeon, and if I fail first he beats me, then he beats them. Especially my brother." During this the tears had begun to flow freely from her eyes. There was a shocked silence, as one by one, the other shaman realized how much power this Jing person had over the broken girl sitting in front of them. The hard looks in their eyes softened as Horo whispered, " Was it him? Who did that to your face and back?" she didn't say any thing, but the look in her eyes told them everything.

Realizing that they were all looking at her with sympathy, she hurriedly scrubbed her eyes with the back of her pajama sleeve. Looking around her, she smiled weakly and received some small smiles in return, with the exception of Yoh who beamed at her. "One more question if that's ok with you. What was that shock wave before you fainted?" she opened her mouth to reply when the doorbell rang. Frowning Manta walked over and pulling open the door looked up into a face that he never wanted to see again. " Hello little brother" smirked Hao at Yoh. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything"

Owari

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