Forgotten Memories
By Elle Pellano
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.
Chapter 16: Possession
Tamao handed Old Kino a box of tissue paper from one of the small cabinets in the room. She had managed to find it despite the dim light emanating from the oil lamp in the middle of the table. The old woman took one sheet and gently blew her nose with it. This went on for quite a while until a pile of wet tissue paper formed in front of Old Kino.
Yoh fidgeted in his seat the whole time. He couldn't decide on whether to rub his grandmother on the back to ease her of her long-kept pain or not. He wasn't used to showing feelings of love and care in their family. The Asakuras were more concerned with their clan's quest to take the leadership of the shamanic community and to stop Hao, one of their descendants from destroying all non-spiritual humans. The burden was already put on Yoh's shoulders the moment he was born into the world. When he was very little, he sometimes regretted being the heir because everybody was pushing him to work hard. That's why his resolve was to become Shaman King so that he wouldn't be subject to any pressure from the clan anymore. He would be able to live a very easy life. When Anna came into the picture, his resolve became stronger because he wanted his wife-to-be to live an easy life after all the hardships she'd been through.
When Old Kino finally calmed down, she began talking once more, "Eight years after Ayako died, I found her daughter Anna at the temple. I assumed the couple who adopted her found out she had inexplicable abilities and returned her there out of fear. It was fate that led her back to her original home. I must admit Anna was more difficult to handle than her mother. She had inner issues of her own which she didn't want to share. Nonetheless, she was a very talented trainee. When the council had instructed us to look for Yoh's bride-to-be, I immediately recommended her. At first, the elders did not approve of her knowing her background but I managed to convince them by boasting her spiritual abilities and channeling skills."
"That's why when she lost them the council of elders was quick to renounce her," Ren said between gritted teeth. He couldn't get over the injustice done to his friend's fiancée yet.
"On the contrary, my boy, I believe she did not lose her powers," Old Kino stated firmly. Everyone in the room looked at each other with confused faces.
"What do you mean grandma?" Yoh asked. He observed that his beloved grandmother loved to spill out bewildering revelations minute by minute.
"This maybe the right time to tell you this…," Old Kino said in a serious tone. "Suzume reported to me the other day that the memorial, Anya and Ayako's tombstone in the form of a stone slab was broken."
Manta gasped, "The soul of Anna's mom and Hao's wife, it --!"
"It broke free." Old Kino finished the sentence for him. "The strange thing about it is that I surrounded that stone with an invisible barrier so that nothing can physically destroy it. Only a powerful spiritual force can break through the barrier and crack the stone apart."
"Hmmm… Anna told us that Argon had almost completely sapped out her furyoku in that part of Osorezan that night… The transfer of furyoku could have created a great spiritual force," Jean suggested.
"So the soul of Hao's wife/Anna's mom released itself from its imprisonment in a stone slab. What could have possibly happened next?" Chocolove was getting excited.
"The most probable thing that could have happened is that the soul settled on the most available human body she can find," Old Kino answered him at once.
"So the merged soul took over the body of the unconscious Anna. After all, it was attracted to her because it was her mother -- or rather a part of it was Anna's mother," Lyserg continued the story.
"You are truly a very bright young lad," Old Kino beamed at him.
"Wait, you mean to say Anna was possessed by the spirit of her mother/Hao's wife?" Horo Horo sounded baffled.
Yoh's grandma nodded. "It's what I really think so."
"But she did not look possessed, Master Kino," Tamao pointed out. "It didn't look like another soul took over her body. Mistress Anna acted completely normal all this time."
"Perhaps common people and other types of shamans have a different understanding of the word 'possession.' In the jargon of itakos, possession and channeling are two different things. When a soul momentarily enters the itako's body, the itako is merely channeling that spirit's thoughts and feelings. It would seem to other people that the soul is possessing her when in fact the soul is just speaking through her and the itako may still have the full capacity of her mind to purge the spirit out of her body. However, when an itako fails to realize that another soul had crept into her, real possession would take place. Then the foreign soul will have the freedom to completely control her mind and body as well as use her abilities to its own liking."
"It's like a reverse hyoi gattai or spirit unity because the medium didn't allow the soul to temporarily merge with him," Ren folded his arms in deep thought.
"That's what happened to me and Tokagero when we first met," Ryuu scratched his chin.
"Yes, that is a good analogy. However, complete possession usually takes time. Only when the itako had subconsciously allowed the spirit to access her thoughts will complete possession happen," continued Old Kino.
"But Anna is a smart girl, she wouldn't allow any strange spirit to overpower her," Yoh reasoned out.
"It is during our depressed state that we are at our weakest," Old Kino bowed her head.
Everybody stared at one another in alarm. It was Yoh who jumped off his chair first, "Oh shit! I got to find Anna before she would completely succumb to that spirit's wishes."
The young Asakura ran to the door and fumbled for the slit with his fingers to slide the wooden door open but somebody was too fast to do the task for him. Yoh felt he almost had a heart attack. He was met by a tall well-toned man with a bird mask from the other side of the opened door. An old man with a balding hairline in the middle stepped out of the shadows.
"Father! Grandpa!" Yoh exclaimed.
"You seemed to be in a hurry my grandson," Yohmei observed as he entered the room and scanned everyone's faces. Yoh's dad, Mikihisa followed him quietly.
"I'm going out to look for Anna. She's in grave danger!" The word 'worry' was written all over Yoh.
"Before you go out and kill yourself my grandson you should listen to this first." Yohmei settled on Yoh's seat next to his wife. Mikihisa stood in a lonely corner of the room -- his bird mask seemed to be floating in the darkness giving Manta several chills down his spine.
"But Grandpa…" the young Asakura insisted.
"I suggest you stand still, Yoh. We have three dangerous enemies before us," a deep voice came out of the floating bird mask in the corner.
"Don't be too agitated. Listen to your father," Old Kino beckoned him to stay away from the door. Yoh approached the group and sat on the vacant chair next to Ren.
"How was your trip Yohmei?"
Yoh noticed a slight tinge of fondness in his grandma's eyes when she asked her husband.
"We rushed here as soon as we took hold of this," the old man removed from his robe an ancient-looking bundle of smelly brownish yellow paper bounded with a string.
Anya sat up on the ground where she was laid. Her clothes had already dried and she loved the warmth coming from the crackling bonfire. She felt literally alive again. She ran her fingers through her damp short blonde hair and examined her thin mud-stricken arms and legs. This girl is too frail for me. She couldn't help but comment on the new body she had found for herself. She gently patted her temples which were not throbbing with pain anymore. Then she smiled thankfully at the translucent Patch spirit ogling at her. She was about to say something to Argon when Hao's voice echoed cockily from her back.
"So the runaway bride is awake."
Anya stood up and brushed the dirt from her black dress. It's time to do the final act. She turned to face him with her arms folded across her chest. "I'm not going to thank you if that's what you want." She heard herself say in the young itako's irritated voice.
"Did the Asakuras kick you out my dear? You're always welcome here," the long-haired shaman approached her slowly until they were a ruler apart from each other.
"It's none of your business Hao. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the inn." She stormed past him but he immediately grabbed her arm.
"You are not going anywhere, Anna."
"Let me go. Who are you to order me around?" she flashed him the itako's killer glare.
"Well for one thing, you were my wife of long ago," he smirked at her.
"So now you expect me to follow your command because I was your wife more than 500 years ago," she chuckled for a minute but her face showed rage afterwards. "You don't even remember your past wife's name, Hao. I'm sure she experienced hell with you." She tried to pull her arm away from him but he held on to it more tightly and more painfully. Break this girl's arm all you want for all I care. Anya smirked to herself while displaying a frightened Anna.
"Hao, you're hurting me," she pleaded softly.
"What belonged to me 500 years ago still belongs to me." He yanked her towards him, held the back of her head with his other arm and crushed his lips into hers.
The blonde itako broke free from the harsh kiss and slapped him hard with her Legendary left.
A red mark was beginning to form on the long-haired shaman's right cheek. Hao grinned widely nonetheless. "I thought you were enjoying it."
"You're the most despicable creature that ever lived!" she wiped her lips several times to get rid of Hao's taste.
"Admit it. You like this despicable creature in front of you more than your weak fiancé who got no balls to fight for you." That struck a chord. Well, at least to the real Anna. Anya was fighting the urge to snigger.
"Even if you run away Anna, you have no place to go. Why soak yourself in the rain outside? This cave is big enough for the two of us to stay for the night." Hao proposed.
The blonde itako walked to the other side of the cave across Argon and sat there. "Ok, but don't touch me or I'll make sure you'll be the same as your twin brother -- with no balls and all."
"That is a threat I'll have to take seriously," Hao grinned and sat by the bonfire.
Anna opened her eyes and found herself descending slowly into oblivion. There were a lot of small glass mirrors of varying sizes floating in the darkness which reflected different scenes in her life. She tried to grab one which showed Yoh's ten-year old face but it vanished as soon as she touched it. She was starting to think that she was falling into a bottomless abyss when she finally landed on soft ground.
"What are you doing here?" a voice called out from her back.
Anna turned around and saw a woman sitting on the ground who was busily braiding her long blond her. The young itako was amazed at how the woman had noticed her without glancing her way. She was sure that the lady in front of her was the lady in the mirror. However, the woman was wearing an itako's uniform instead of the usual Patch tribal dress.
"You looked different from before." Anna told her.
"This is the first time we met," said the woman without removing her gaze from her braids.
Anna noticed that the woman's eyes were dull with unfathomable sadness. She must have been suffering from inside. Anna thought.
"We always had conversations… in my dreams most of the time," Anna couldn't help but feel comfortable towards this snobbish woman.
The blond lady did not say anything and continued braiding her hair until it was almost finished.
"My name is Anna Kyouyama by the way," the young itako tried to befriend her. This was something she rarely did with other people.
The woman immediately lifted her head at the sound of her name and fixed her eyes on the young itako.
Anna couldn't understand the welling feeling of familiarity in her. The woman's eyes sparkled with tears as she stood up and held her hands.
"My name is Ayako. I'm your mother."
End of Chapter 16
Thanks for reading!