Chapter XI

Cambia su color

***A song that you have to listen to, it creates the perfect atmosphere! Cocorosie-Brazilian Sun. You MUST listen to it after *I'll tell you when*

There was the sundown, and in the area specially prepared for the shaman who have passed the first probe. Akira also took Manta with her, because he wanted to see his friends more than anything else. Besides, it will keep her company and avoid boring herself. Even if she knew that in the first day almost nobody could escape, she still was obligated by the rules to supervise and formally greet the competitors.

"And also, the first that comes through this gate receives an exclusive free ticket for two persons at the hot springs!" Akira declared with pride as she was indicating the human-size portal meant to link the two worlds.

"Ugh…isn't that a bit of a rip-off?" Manta said disappointed.

"What do you mean? One hour bath is really expensive!"

"I don't think it would be a concern for us…"

"Oh, that's right….It's because you are Oyamada Manta, and your father is the owner of the international company." She said with a glance in her eyes.

"Uh that's not what I meant…"

"Shall we make a bet then? If you win, I'm going to offer you an unlimited pass ticket at the hot springs!"

"Huh, that would be nice I guess…"

"But if you loose then you'll pay me the equivalent value of that subscription."

"Ok that won't be so…wait! How much it would cost!?"

"Ah, seems like the first contestants arrived! What a surprise! Remember, I bet on that friend of yours and that commanding Kyoyama girl."

"What?! That was the team I was going to bet on!"

"Too late, no returns. So the winner is…None? Hmph." Akira said with a slight frown and Manta shockingly let a shout out when he saw a blonde haired man wearing a black elegant latino costume and a matching hat, of course. His collar was made of abundant silk pieces of material and his shoes were perfectly made for a tango. They have both never seen him before, so he was a new participant for sure. Could he be that powerful to have passed this probe just in one day?

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself. My name, ladies and…the little ones is Juan Carlos De Los Parlotes De Amadeo! But you can call me…" he makes a few step moves..."Alejandro." and put his hat on top of his head in an overly dramatic gesture.

The spectators both remained with their mouth opened when they saw this awkwardly lame and too bombastic presentation.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? How come that YOU came first here, from all the participants!?" Manta said in consternation.

"Ah, shall I explain. You see, my Mistress granted me the permission to use the escaping portal. Without her I would have forever wandered in that endlessly baneful wildness or even be slaughtered by that dreadful heteroclite!" he said with emphasis, thing which made Manta slap his head.

"A heteroclite? That is unusual…" Akira said thoughtfully.

"If it hadn't been for her brilliant plant. I…"

"Enough talking, you receive a special prize." She handed him the tickets.

"Oh! What a delightful surprise!"

"Such a waste…" Manta said to himself.

"Actually, consider yourself lucky." Akira said with a winning glance.

"But it wouldn't have been fair at all! Why haven't you bet on your daughter in the first place?!" Manta said in quick defence.

"Hmph? My daughter? She may be strong, but she still has a lot to learn." She said vacant, with a soft, calm voice, thing which made Manta to get a surprised look.

"And I hope she's fine." She thought, still thinking about the one that was standing close to her daughter before they teleported. She still didn't know what was in that boy's head, but all she knew was that she could put her trust in that strong willed look she had in that night…

The World was spinning. And the night came, as the blue moon was rising from the depths of the Spirit Lake, emanating a pure liquid light.

"Is this a safe place to sleep? It feels to me that we are a bit exposed." Rilury asked, as they stood nearside a cliff, where the sight of the vivid lake was quite clear. They were also staying in front of a soft burning fire, on a pile of leaves she put to sleep well enough this night. But still, as the sun went off, the heat also vanished with a scent of lila perfume and spilling the blue ink on the Eden's green wings.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to miss a second of this night." Hao said on a mysterious tone.

The evening was beautiful, but it started to be cold. She instinctively wrapped her arms.

She felt some cloth wrapping her shoulders. It seemed like a white cloak hanging on her, but it was actually a poncho. His poncho.

"You can cover yourself with this, I don't need it." He said not giving a great importance to his gesture, like Rilury did.

"No, I can't-, you can't stay like this…on this cold night!" she quickly added, as not to seem slightly bothered by the fact that he was half naked…again.

"Have you forgotten? Since I control fire, I am pretty good on maintaining the right temperature of my body" he said with a careless assurance. "But could it be… that you are more bothered by the fact that I don't have any clothes on?" He glanced with a smirk.

She blushed and frowned at the same time.

"NOT AT ALL! Don't be such a-"

***play the song! I said PLAY IT! D:***

She couldn't finish her sentence, because her thoughts were also interrupted by the suddenly glowing lake, which was emanating an incandescent blue.

The birds were singing the pure melody of a sweet morning.

"It started" Hao said on a soft voice, as he's been waiting for this.

Rustles. Out of the leaves the animals were unveiling themselves. First there were the rabbits, then the gentle deers followed by all sorts of other species. They were all herbivores and peaceful, and also from the surface of the lake, strange blue sparkles were caressing their fur.

Some of them would softly lean their head and drink from the lake. The little waves which were forming on the surface unleashed tiny essences of spirits, floating like feathers in the wind and spreading their glow everywhere in a mellow dance.

"The night is a favorable medium for those spirits to wander around." explains Hao. "As the normal soul becomes more vulnerable in the night, so have those animals the opportunity to live in harmony. This is a normal day for them, but it never ceases to fascinate me.". His look seemed to be quite absorbed by the vivid décor of this other part of the Graden of Eden.

The stars were nothing else but fireflies.

In a glade lightened by the warm says of the moon, the calm figure of a dreamy boy and the girl who could express herself in the middle of nowhere…there it was everything they needed.

The night was dancing in shades of blue above them.

They were hidden by the big leaves of a translucent green.

Anna sighed, but this time it was more like taking a breath. She came closer to Yoh and their arms touched. Before she could say something, Yoh also sighed.

"Harmony. This is how I usually like to imagine the world." He said while admiring the nature unfolding itself in light shaded patterns.

"It will become a reality when you'll become the Shaman King." Anna said trying to hide any inflexion of her voice.

She felt nervous for no reason, after such a long time since the Osorezian Revoir.

"Hm, you're right, Anna". He looked at her and smiled warmly. She had a slight blush and turned her look.

"All I want is for you to become happy." She said while holding her knees.

"I know."

In the blue light of the moon, her hair waved in the shadows.

In the blue light of the moon, her eyes captured the gleam of the butterflies.

He hugged her spontaneously. He didn't know what gave him this strong impulse. All that he knew was that he had the same butterflies. The same flying creatures which you would never let them go.

In the blue light of the moon, their lips touched a soft kiss that stained with a red color their pale skin which reflected the spread ink. After slowly removing his mouth, Yoh leaned on the back and held her tight on his chest.

Even if the whole world was unsettled, even if the crowds were agitated, heading nowhere, making Yoh feel lost in the doubtful emotions, making him to flawlessly react by going with the flow…

One thing was for certain. That he will never let her go.

The dreams slowly wrapped the two warm bounded bodies.

The night was revealing its splendor of magic.

The dance continued calmingly in a deep silence, and Rilury maintained it, as she was absorbed by its refulgence. Even if the animals were freely walking, their movements were so gentle that all they could produce was a soft noise, which wouldn't bother anybody. It was actually quite pleasurable for a deep sleep. Her eyes were closing slowly.

She startled, as she felt a strange weight on her right shoulder. She quickly looked on that side, to see nobody else but him, unintentionally leaning on her in his sleep.

How could he fall asleep before her? Come to think of it, the stone preserved her a lot of energy while he didn't even have time to rest since that battle. And he also consumed much more furyoku than her.

But still she felt strange. She didn't know if it was because of the contact they weren't supposed to have, or because of…

Hao's sleeping face. Even with his eyes closed, his expression seemed to be so…dreamy. Like an innocent boy peacefully sleeping, but still seeming to search for something in his dreams…

Was he the same boy from today, that wants to destroy all humans? An image of his smirking expression crossed her mind and she smiled warmly. This strong contrast makes him look now kind of...cute. Her cheeks borrowed a hot red color.

But she couldn't leave him like this. After all, she also had to sleep. She tried to gently move his head.

"Now, now Hao…I also want to have my sweet dreams…" she said on a soft voice, then she leaked a slight surprised sound, as he fell further on her lap.

She blushed even more, but then in her eyes there was a light sparkle. He really fell into a profound sleep and it seems like her knees were much more comfortable for him, as he leaked a soft breathe.

The pale moonlight was reflecting on his skin.

She's never seen him like that before: breathing so slowly...So defenceless, but feeling at the same time so safe and somehow fulfilled...

Her eyes became warm. She put her hand on his hair.

"Baka*…you sleep like a kitten." She said softly with her lips made in an apparently pouting expression, her cheeks covered in rose petals of light. She stood in that position for a while, just looking at him.

But as the time was flowing in the night's blur she unconsciously was leaning slowly on her back...even if she wanted to stay awake more, just to memorize this moment that she knew she probably won't happen again soon enough.

The night covered them up in blue sheets and green pillows. She was breathing deeply in a warm sleep, with not only the poncho keeping her warm, but also his body. Hao was resting his head on her belly and he put his arm around her. She was slightly holding his hand under the white cloth.

The spirits were dancing, and so were their subconscious feelings.

(INSERT IMAGE HERE**)

*baka=moron, silly(in this context) ~japanese

**THE IMAGE I'M TALKING ABOUT is something that I've poorly drawn D': .It's nothing, really, but I though that since I worked a bit on it, why not post it?

imgur... (slash)iHhxabZ

(...) means dotcom

dot means.

you get the rest.

OR go to my profile and visit my deviant art account. I have all the fanart posted there.

Please don't be harsh. Honestly it didn't picture Hao as well as I wanted to, but oh well :l. I hope I'll improve myself as I write the story :

Thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed it! And thanks again for the reviews, they give me a boost and I hope that more of you would share your opinion about this! :D