Mai: Ok here's the next chapter. I hope you like it.

January 23, 2008: Ok so here's my latest update. Not a lot to add just a few descriptions and fixing some mistakes and technical errors. But I do believe that it's all making my story stronger so I'm glad to do it. So enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King. Sadly all I own is Umi and Sen.

Chapter 4: How We Met

"Pirika!" Ren called as he saw his (hopefully still) future sister-in-law leave Umi's room.

"Hi Ren, what's up?" she asked trying to sound cheerful.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Well she still doesn't remember a thing beyond what we've told her, but otherwise she's fine. On the plus side she's been asking when you'll come back with that book you're reading her. By the way what are you reading her?" the Ainu girl asked finishing her report.

"Well I wrote down the story of how I fell in love with her and I'm reading it to her to help her memory."

"Wow, that's a good idea. Well I've gotta go I'm meeting Chocolove in the park apparently he wants to ask me something," the younger Ainu girl told him smiling.

"Well I'll see you later," he said her as she rushed off. As soon as she was out of sight Ren shook his head at how naïve Pirika was. Couldn't she see that Chocolove was in love with her? He had been ever since she laughed at his jokes for the first time.

He quickly brushed these thoughts aside as he entered Umi's room to see her sitting on the bed reading a book. She was wearing a red sweater and dark blue jeans today instead of her hospital gown.

"Oh hi Ren-kun!" she said smiling as she saw him enter. "I was hoping you'd stop by so I could tell you the good news. The doctors say that I can leave the hospital later today. Yoh and Anna said I could come live with them in the inn."

She had met her friends Yoh and Anna for the first time (well for her anyway) the day before. Asakura Yoh was a laid back friendly guy who always had a smile. He was about average height with messy brown hair and dark eyes. He didn't button his shirt and he wore sandals and orange headphones. When she asked about his clothing habits he said he always dressed like that.

His fiancée Kyoyama Anna was a slightly cold and cruel woman. Underneath her hard exterior however Umi sensed that she was a deeply caring person but if you told her you thought that you were dead. She was a little shorter than her fiancé and she had shoulder length blond hair and dark eyes. She wore a black dress with a red bandana and blue beaded necklace.

"That's great!" he said relived that she was all right, except for the amnesia. He really wished she was going back to their apartment but telling her that they lived together might not be such a good idea at the moment. Having her live with Yoh and Anna was definitely safer.

"So are you going to read me more of the story?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," he said amazed that he could resist the urge to kiss when she looked so perfect.

"No where were we? Oh yes…"

Umi quickly prepared herself to fight Yoh and his friends for Hao. All the while she was desperately hoping that if she won Hao would notice her a little more. Of course she was totally clueless to how much he really did notice her.

Finally she was ready and she slipped away silently. She spent about half an hour looking for Yoh's group. Finally she found them resting in a nearby canyon.

"They don't look so tough now do they, Sen?" she asked her guardian ghost.

Sen was a Japanese samurai from 600 years ago who had disguised herself as a servant girl during the day while beating up the Lord's samurai's at night. She had died while seeking revenge on said Lord for reasons unknown to Umi. In life Sen had been a tall girl with black hair and stunning green eyes and she looked pretty much the same now except for scar just below her eye that she had gained in death.

"I bet we can take them out very easily, Umi-dono," the female samurai agreed.

"No challenge at all," Umi said confidently.

"Will you shut up!" an angry voice yelled from below.

"Oh look at the weak little shamen. So weak that they fight each other instead of other teams because they know that any other team of idiots could easily kick their asses," Umi jeered revealing her self at the top of the canyon wall.

"Oh and I suppose that you're that much stronger?" retorted the angry boy. Upon further inspection she saw that he had dark purple hair styled in a spike and golden eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless red belly shirt and baggy Chinese style pants. He was probably the best looking guy she'd ever seen aside from Hao.

Cute but not worth my time, she decided.

"Who are you?" Asakura Yoh asked before Umi could think of a comeback.

"Well I don't see that it's any of your business but my name is Umi and I'm here to destroy your pathetic friends for Hao-sama," she said quickly engaging her oversoul.

"Not again!" another member of the group whined. This one had an afro and was wearing a weird skirt like thing.

"First sign of a weakling is an unwillingness to fight," she taunted before lunging at them.

They were doing pretty well but she was definitely winning. Then in the middle of the battle another member of the group stumbled into the canyon. He had blue spiky hair the exact same color as Umi, and his features were very similar to hers. She took one look at him and froze in shock. She had never seen someone who looked so much like her before.

In the second that she stood there in shock the spiky purple haired boy attacked with such force that she was sent flying and she heard a foul sounding crack echo from her leg. She could tell that it was broken.

She expected them to just walk away and leave her there but to her surprise the spiky haired boy had hit her started to walk towards her.

"Hey Umi!" Horo-Horo said coming into his sister's room, "Ready to go?"

"Yes, Ren-kun was just reading me a story," she told her brother smiling.

"Here you can continue it on your own," Ren said holding out the book for her.

"No, I like it when you read it to me," she told him.

"Then I'll continue to read it to you."

"Thank you, Ren-kun," she said. The she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Is there something going on between you and Ren that I should know about sis?" Horo-Horo asked his sister a minute later as they walked away from her room.

"No, I don't even know why I did that," she said referring to the kiss.

Even when she can't remember him her feelings are still there, Horo-Horo thought amazed. He only hoped he could find a love that strong someday. Hopefully with a certain pink haired tenant of Yoh and Anna's.

Meanwhile back in her room Ren was standing by her bed blushing from the kiss.

"That was how we met," he muttered to the empty room, "That was the day I started to fall in love with you."