Forgotten Memories
By Elle Pellano
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.
Yoh caressed his swollen right cheek as he stared unbelievably at his fiancée who glowered at him with her eyes full of killing intent. After days of deep slumber, she woke up with quite a fury.
"Anna, what did I do?"
"That evil shaman you let live almost killed me, stupid." Anna snapped.
Wow, and I thought they will get lovey-dovey after all they've been through. Manta sweat dropped. But then again, this confirms that Hao is still alive.
Yoh lowered his head to beg for forgiveness. "I'm sorry… Had I known he would come back to hurt you, I would have finished him off that day," he murmured.
Somehow Anna's icy glare softened. There was that unwanted silence again. They always had this moment when no words could explain how they truly felt. Kino cleared her throat and the rest of the group began to walk out of the room leaving the two of them behind.
Yoh asked in a worried tone as soon as everyone else had gone outside, "What happened there, Anna?"
The itako did not reply at once. She was weighing whether or not she would disclose to him the real reason why she had traveled to Osorezan by herself. Should she tell him that she was just bothered by her probable past relationship with the most terrible shaman that ever lived not to mention he was his twin brother in this lifetime? Finally she decided against it, "Let's save the explanation for later. Everyone has to hear this."
Yoh inquired about the matter no further and just asked, "Do you want something? anything?"
"I want you to train." Anna said firmly.
"Ammm… ok.." Yoh wanted to faint but he had to make it up to his fiancée.
"Hao is back out for revenge. I was just lucky that I'm still alive."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you." Yoh felt bad again because of his powerlessness.
"Why did you not kill him?"
He paused for a few seconds before finally admitting, "I couldn't... He was the brother that I never had."
Anna's lips slightly curved into a little smile. "It's just so you."
"But I'll definitely get him this time," Yoh promised her. "I'll train hard if you want me to. Good thing Amidamaru just got back from the afterlife."
After hearing his name, Amidamaru materialized beside his master. "It's nice to see you awake, Mistress Anna."
There was no response. The itako did not even give his spirit friend a look.
"Ammm… Anna, is there something wrong?" Yoh deduced that she might be angry at his partner spirit as well because he allowed him to make such a bad decision as to let Hao live.
The blond itako removed the blankets covering her. "Help me get up. I'm getting dizzy with hunger."
"So... It's true. Hao has returned," said Old Kino while lowering her tea cup. Everyone was gathered again in the small room with the newly-awake Anna at the center of the table.
"Yes, Master Kino. I saw him with my own eyes. He has a new spirit with him who looked like a member of the Patch tribe." The blond itako confirmed.
"A new spirit eh? I wonder if it's more powerful than his Spirit of Fire," Horo Horo thought out loud.
"I don't think so. It should have killed Anna had it been more powerful than the S.O.F.," Ren reasoned out.
"Nonetheless, this new spirit may have special abilities that helped Hao survive for a year. We should never be too laid back on this," warned Lyserg. "Mistress Jeanne, I think we should pursue our main purpose of coming here. We'll take this as an opportunity to revive your powers."
"Yes, we could make use of them right now. I'll work hard to get them back," Jeanne said with a determined look.
"And I thought I'll be here for a vacation," Chocolove pouted.
"Lyserg is right. We have to prepare for Hao's attack," Yoh stood up holding his weapon. He had to become stronger to protect Anna. He wouldn't let his twin touch a single strand of her hair again.
"I'll join you in your training Master Yoh," Ryuu shot up from his seat. He felt excited that he could practice his fighting skills once more after a year of avoiding gang wars. Besides, he had to make up for the broken dishes back at Funbari Inn.
"I'm on this!" Horo-Horo and the rest of the group followed. Only Manta, Tamao, Old Kino and Anna remained sitting.
"Train well!" Tamao waved good bye as the gang moved out of the room.
"The inn seemed quieter without them," Manta observed. He wanted to follow them outside to watch them train but he might just be a bother so as usual he just stayed put.
Tamao smiled then noticed the almost empty pot. "Oh, we're running out of tea. Conchi and Ponchi," she called out.
The comical fox and raccoon spirits came in holding a tray with a tea pot. They seemed to be struggling on the simple task since it took an eternity for them to walk from the opened door up to the table.
"Tea, Mistress Anna?" they asked in unison when they finally got to her side.
The itako took no notice of them and continued looking at Old Kino's direction.
"Miss Anna, would you like to have more tea?" Tamao asked again in behalf of her twin spirits.
"No thanks. I'm full."
Conchi and Ponchi then proceeded to refill the rest of the cups except for the itako's.
Kino watched Anna behind her black spectacles as she sipped her drink. The girl seemed to be bothered by something. "Do you have anything you want to tell me, Anna?"
The itako shook her head. "It's nothing important Master Kino."
"I wish you would stop keeping secrets from me. I'm your teacher and your grandmother-in-law. We surely do not want to end up cultivating an unhealthy relationship if this would continue."
Manta and Tamao felt uneasy. They weren't used to seeing Anna get scolded like that although Kino did it rather gently.
The awkward moment was abruptly interrupted by a soft knocking on the door.
"Please do come in," Kino called out.
The door revealed the same girl who greeted Yoh's group by the inn's entrance.
"Ahh Suzume, everyone, I'd like you to meet one of my trainees in the inn. This is Suzume Azai. She was the one who found you, Anna."
"I am deeply pleased that you are well now, Mistress Anna," the young girl bowed down.
The blond itako acknowledged her with a nod. She wondered if the new generation of trainees looked as grim as her.
"What news do you have for me Suzume?" Kino asked with full interest.
"I am here to confirm that the headstone was broken, Master Kino."
Yoh's grandmother clasped her hands together in front of her and thought deeply, "Is that so?"
Manta was the one who was curious enough to ask. "Whose memorial was broken?"
"Not many shamans know of this legend," Kino started. I'm not really sure if the story is true because there are no existing accounts to verify them. Well, there were two copies of the record before. One was lost in the Patch village repository due to a fire incident that happened centuries earlier while the other one was stored in the restricted section of this inn's library but went missing 10 years ago."
Anna suddenly felt cold and clammy. She had a gut feeling that she knew what her master was about to say next.
"The place where Suzume found Anna was thought to be the burial ground of Patch Hao's ill-fated wife."
Thanks for reading!