Forgotten Memories

By Elle Pellano

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.

Chapter 9: Soul Purification Ritual

Yoh woke up with a jerk when an alarm clock which was strategically placed on his side of the futon did its raucous morning call. He thought he was still dreaming when he found himself in his fiancée's room. Then he remembered what had transpired last night and felt a blush creeping into his cheeks. It had been a long time since they slept beside each other again.

Last night was also one of the rare moments that he found his fiancé vulnerable not that he disliked the strong sharp-tongued Anna. There was just this silent clamor for his protection radiating from her. Old Kino's last words before she boarded the train to Izumo flashed back on his mind.

Whatever happens Yoh, please stand by Anna.

He would, even if his grandma did not instruct him to do so. He slowly turned to his right to gaze at his fiancée's sleeping form but only found…an empty futon.

Where is Anna? Yoh began to panic. Then he noticed the small note with the itako's handwriting sticking on the alarm clock's face. It said "training starts at 5 AM." It was now 5:10 AM. He panicked even more.

Yoh was geared for his usual morning jog with Amidamaru around the Asakura itako training center wearing a sweatshirt and jogging pants. He pulled his hair up in a pony tail and started stretching. He was beginning to enjoy mornings at Osorezan. Despite the smell of rotten eggs in the air that never went away, everything seemed peaceful. It was still dark but he could see the young trainees clad in white robes meditating on every spot surrounding the inn. He was amazed at how his grandmother had managed to discipline her students and had overseen the progress of every intern. They were a physical manifestation of her life's work. Yoh was proud of her.

The sun began to peek on the horizon signaling all that lived on earth that another day was about to be born. Yoh hurriedly ran towards the waterfalls located on the eastern side to catch a glimpse of the glorious sunrise in Osorezan. He slowed down his pace as soon as he spotted a familiar figure meditating under the falls. The rising sun illuminated the blond itako wearing a white robe whose wetness made it almost translucent. The spray of water from the falls had a sparkling effect on her. It was definitely a breath-taking sight. Yoh felt his jaw dropping a bit.

"Ahem! Master Yoh, forgive me for ruining the moment. If Mistress Anna finds you gawking at her instead of training, we'll be in big trouble," Amidamaru reminded him.

"Ohh.. sorry! Let's go Amidamaru!" Yoh started to jog slowly away from the falls but his gaze was still transfixed on his meditating fiancée.

"Master Yoh, watch out for that tree!"

Blag!

It was too late.

"What happened to your face Yoh?" Manta inquired innocently. The gang except for Anna had gathered again in one of the inn's small rooms that served as a dining area for guests.

"I ran into a tree," Yoh mumbled.

"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard this morning," Ren frowned.

"He was probably sleep walking dude," Horo Horo said to Ren then turned to Yoh. "I got out of bed last night around 2 AM to pee. I noticed you were not in our room. I did not know you have a sleeping disorder."

"Errmmm…" was the only word that came out of Yoh's mouth.

Tamao, Jeanne and Suzume saved his neck from his friends' further interrogation when they entered the room carrying their breakfast. "Dig in boys!" they said in chorus as they laid the dishes on the table.

While everybody is ravaging the morning meal, Yoh asked the girls, "Isn't Anna home yet?"

"She's undergoing soul purification ritual right now at the Osorezan falls. It would take a whole day to complete the first phase," it was Suzume who answered.

"What is soul purification?" Manta asked curiously.

"It's a ritual that we itako trainees do in order to condition our entire soul to effectively become a mediator of the physical to the spiritual world. Only trainees who can successfully purify their souls would be able to call or channel spirits with ease and without danger."

"I'll bring her breakfast," Yoh gathered slices of bread on a plate and was about to stand up when the Suzume stopped him.

"She should not be disturbed, Master Yoh. She's not allowed to eat or talk to someone while performing the ritual."

"Oh, poor Anna. What inhumane practices you have in this training center," Chocolove who had been listening to their conversation spoke without thinking.

Yoh couldn't agree more but it was his grandma who ran the place. He was beginning to understand why Anna had imposed a brutal training regimen for him. It's what she was used to. "You said earlier that this was only the first phase, you mean there are more to come?"

"Yes, the soul purification ritual will run for 3 days. The first phase involves cleansing the body of all impurities. The second phase requires clearing the mind of any bad thoughts. The third phase entails freeing the heart from negative emotions."

"It sounded more like an 'Iron Maiden' sort of training to me," Horo Horo remarked but was responded with a glare from Lyserg.

Everyone seemed to be paying attention to Suzume now.

"If the first phase requires fasting for a day while being subject to a cold heavy rush of water, I wonder how the next two phases will go on," Lyserg thought out loud.

"Instead of minding Anna's training, why not start our own?" Ren stood up while placing his kwan dao over his shoulder.

"That's a good idea. You go train while I check on Ryuu and the others," Faust VIII was already heading for the door.

"I'll stay with Faust. I'm on the first shift," Chocolove yawned, stretched his arms then went after the doctor.

As the gang walked out of the room, Yoh's timid voice was heard saying, "Let's train near the waterfalls" followed by teases from his friends.

Tamao and Suzume began to clear the table as soon as everybody left the room. Only the two girls and Manta remained.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help around here," Manta sighed.

"Don't be. You're supposed to enjoy your summer vacation and not work," Tamao let out a smile.

"The inn's library houses old articles and scrolls about the Asakura Clan and the itako training center. You can stay there if you want to, Master Manta," Suzume suggested.

"That seems interesting. Thanks Suzume! Please don't call me 'master' anymore," Manta beamed at her then excitedly ran out of the room.

"Pathetic girl, did you readily believe his lies?"

Anna found herself being scolded by the lady on the other side of the life size mirror once again.

"I told you, Yoh is different."

"Yoh is Hao. They were born of the same evil seed."

"Stop saying that. They're two different individuals. What do you want from me anyway?"

"I'm here to show you your past so that it could serve as a warning for what would happen in the future."

"Hao can belong to my past for all I care. Yoh is my future right now and I'm happy with my future."

Then the large mirror was consumed with the sudden burst of white light.

Anna was a bit blinded by the sun's rays as she slowly opened her eyes for the day has fully arrived almost 4 hours ago. Her body had already grown used to the coldness of the falls. The heavy drop of water actually felt like a massage on her back and shoulders. However, she can slightly hear her stomach grumbling and begging for food. The last meal she ate was yesterday's lunch and she felt kind of dizzy from hunger.

"You seemed to be enjoying down there."

Anna recognized the distinct cocky voice coming from the top of the falls. She immediately stood and looked up to verify the intruder. Hao jumped down from where he was standing and landed on the stone the itako was sitting on.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm paying you a visit of course, my wife of 500 years ago."

"I am not related to you in any way Hao."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. I'm currently wondering how an ordinary girl would become the future shaman queen… Don't you think you're way under qualified for that position? And ohhh… by the way, have the old warts from the Asakura clan's council of elders already told you of the family customs?"

"What family customs are you talking about?"

"That if in case the current selection for the heir's future wife would become incompetent that is unable to produce an heir or to meet up to their expectations, the council of elders have the right to replace her. I should know. I had been part of that insane clan for years."

"Leave me alone you bastard!"Anna instinctively reached for something in her neck but remembered she left her 1080 beads at the inn.

Hao chuckled annoyingly. "Look at you. You're just a defenseless ordinary human girl."

"On the contrary Hao, I still have these!" Anna swung her right arm to slap the arrogant shaman but Hao was able to grab it. With a swift movement, she swung her Legendary left which sent Hao slipping unto the pool of water. But before he could completely fall, he was able to take hold of the itako's left wrist pulling her into the water as well. A big splash was heard afterwards.

Anna continuously sank unto the bottom of the pool. She struggled to swim to the surface but her body seemed to have reached its maximum limit. She felt very weak of hunger and started to lose consciousness. The last thing she saw was a strong pair of arms pulling her up.

Back at the itako training center...

The inn's repository had an eerie ambiance about it with its dim incandescent light, broken heater, sneeze-triggering cobwebs, and dusty scrolls and texts in various states of decay. The room gave Manta the impression of a storage area rather than a library for the books and unrolled scrolls have been carelessly piled up on top of each other with some piles already hitting the ceiling. The little man had already dismissed the idea that if the mountain of old documents would crash down on him, he would be buried alive with no one ever finding his body. He was more preoccupied now in devouring the contents of a delicate-looking book outlining the genealogy of the Asakura Clan.

After a few minutes of reading, he slammed the book shut when all he could find were the names of the clan's ancestors with no description whatsoever. He was getting frustrated at the lack of progress he was making in his attempt to unearth small traces of hints about Patch Hao's wife and why she was buried in Osorezan. He had this gut feeling that it could help Anna regain her powers if he researched about the history of the place where she had lost them. He tried to pull gently another book from a shorter pile but despite his effort of slowly extracting the item, the mound finally collapsed on him. He struggled to free himself from the sea of paper and parchment and sneezed heavily as a cloud of dust enveloped him. He frantically began to arrange the books into a pile as soon as he could breathe properly again. He lifted a very fragile-looking book whose leaves were almost peeled off when something slid from one of the pages. It was an old black and white photograph or a class picture to be exact of a group of adolescent itakos.

He scanned the picture with his eyes assessing the probable personality and prettiness level of each girl in the photograph when he came upon Anna standing next to Yoh's grandmother who didn't look as old as she was right now. I never thought they could be so backward here when it comes to technology. Manta chuckled to himself. He flipped the photograph to see if anything was written on the back. In an almost fading black ink, he can make out the words:

To Kino-sensei,

I will never forget your teachings.

From Ayako, 1975

End of Chapter 9

Thanks for reading!