So I've decided to continue this story, obviously. I hate leaving things half done. I'm also going to continue The Key, too. As soon as I have a bit more free time, I might even upload some other fanfics I've been working on.

I own nothing!

Chapter 2

Yoh was running his usual route, Manta on a small bicycle beside him. It was springtime, but still cool enough that Yoh wasn't overheating. As he ran, he and Manta chatted about the weather, what should be for dinner, stuff like that. Finally, an exhausted Yoh jogged up to his front door, glad to be done with the run. Manta parked his bicycle, and walked inside behind him. As they took off their shoes, they suddenly heard Anna shout something, and suddenly Horo Horo and Chocolove (who had been visiting) came flying down the hall.

"Lazy bums!" Anna said, glaring at them. "If you're going to stay here, then you're going to work. Now you-" she pointed to Horo Horo- "Go serve tea! And you-"she pointed to Chocolove- "Scrub the floors! Now!" The two boys, having wisely abandoned any kind of argument, went to do their chores.

As Anna turned to Yoh and Manta, Yoh cringed; Anna always assigned harsher training when she was in a bad mood. Manta gave Yoh a sympathetic look as Anna ordered 3 hours of the invisible chair. As Yoh went out to the yard to obey, Manta following, Anna went back into the living room to watch T.V.

A few hours later, everyone was at the table as Manta and Tamao served dinner. As they ate, they listened to the T.V. in the next room. Suddenly, the show was interrupted by a news report.

"We interrupt your program to broadcast this breaking news: A local museum in Tokyo has just been robbed. The thieves apparently stole an Ancient Greek artifact, the Crown of Proteus, a one-time king of the Greek city, Syracuse, now present-day Sicily, whose crown was said to have been adorned with jewels called the Sirens' Tears. After acquiring this artifact, the thieves then vandalized the museum, destroying countless priceless pieces of art and world history. We are now getting a report that the police have observed the security camera tapes, and have determined that they have been tampered with in some way, as they show nothing of the thieves or the robbery itself. This is Koji Chu, signing off."

By this time everyone had gone into the living room, and watched as the show that had been on continued. They went back to the dinner table, and finished eating as they discussed the break-in.

"Why would they steal a crown, anyway?" Chocolove asked in-between bites of food.

"Well, they probably want to sell it or something." Manta said.

As they finished dinner, the conversation wound down, and Tamao got up to wash the dishes. As they went to their rooms, Yoh noticed Manta was unusually quiet. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? No, it's just, I feel like I've heard about that crown before, or read about it. But I can't remember where, or when."

"Hm…well, I'm sure you'll remember eventually. Just stop trying, and you'll probably remember then."

"Yeah, you're probably right." As they came up to their rooms, they said goodnight.

The next day, Anna decided that the other shamans had to train as well, and so after breakfast, they all set out on different jogging routes. As Yoh (once again accompanied by Manta on his bike) came up by the side of the river, he decided to stop for a quick break. As he sat down on the grass, movement in the water caught his eye; the water seemed to break away from itself. In the form of a woman, a water creature hovered slightly above the river, in front of the boys.

"What is that!" Manta shouted as Yoh got in front of him. He didn't have Harusame or the Futsu no Mitama, but Amidamaru was with him and, grabbing a lead pole off the ground, Hyoi Gattai-ed.

Meanwhile, the creature had begun to sing; As Yoh listened, it was like the rest of the world faded, and all that existed was the lovely music….

"Yoh-kun!"

Yoh snapped out of whatever spell the creature had had on him. What was that? A glance behind him showed him that Manta was fine, but was covering his ears. The song?

"Amidamaru! I need you to help me not listen to it's singing!" Amidamaru obeyed, somehow using their connection to dim his hearing; while that seemed to be working, it meant that Yoh now needed to use all his other senses to make up for it. He leapt and struck at the creature, to see that whatever damage he made was instantly repaired. Okay, so it is made out of water…

Suddenly a wave of water washed over him, and knocked him on his back. Coughing, he tried to get up, but felt something grab his leg, and begin pulling him into the water.

He tried kicking at it, but the creature only pulled harder. Dropping the pole, he tried to get a grip on anything he could find; Manta ran over and grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him back. A sudden wave of sound told Yoh that Amidamaru had stopped blocking his hearing, to focus on keeping him out of the water; the creature, done singing, was now shrieking angrily, and it was all both boys could do not to cover their ears.

Suddenly, a sharp, cold feeling ran up Yoh's leg; at the same time, the creature stopped pulling, and turning back, Yoh saw that it was frozen solid, Horo Horo standing a few feet away. Chocolove was next to him, and using his oversoul, clawed through the creature's arms, freeing Yoh. The rest of the creature crumbled, leaving nothing but a pile of ice.

"So, would anyone care to tell us what the hell that was?" Horo Horo said, as both he and Chocolove undid their oversouls. Yoh undid the Hyoi Gattai, but Amidamaru watched the water carefully.

"Beats me." Yoh said. Then he turned to Manta. "Hey, how did you know to cover your ears back there?" Manta suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well, it's just…I kind of…read about it…."

"Read about it? Does that mean you know what it was?" Chocolove asked.

"Well…you probably wouldn't believe me…"

"Try us." Horo Horo said. Manta shifted on his feet, uncomfortable, but finally sighed, looked at them, and said:

"It was a siren."

They waited until they got back to Yoh's to hear the whole explanation, but first they filled in everyone else at the house as to what had happened. As they sat in the living room, Manta began his explanation.

"I once read in a book about Greek mythology about beings called sirens. They were made out of water, and used their singing to hypnotize sailors into drowning, or even crashing their ships. Actually, that book was where I first heard about the Crown of Proteus."

"Wait a second," Chocolove interrupted. "You're saying that some mythical creature attacked Yoh back there?"

"It's the only explanation I can come up with. I hadn't thought they even existed, until earlier. I still didn't, until it started singing and Yoh-kun started acting strange-"

"Strange?" Yoh asked, confused.

"Yeah, Yoh-kun. Don't you remember? When it started singing, at first you just stood there, and then you started walking toward it."

Yoh frowned. He didn't remember any of that, hadn't even realized he'd moved. All he remembered was being under the creature's - siren's - spell, and then hearing Manta shout.

"Why would a siren be in a river, though," Anna spoke up. "I thought they were said to live in oceans-"

"They do, but they're also servants of Eris, the goddess of discord. The only time they act 'out of character,' so to speak, is if she orders them to." They all turned to see a strange girl standing in the doorway. She had long dark brown hair that was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and she wore baggy, patched-up jeans with a plain green t-shirt. Completing this odd ensemble were a pair of brown mountain boots, which looked to be a bit too big for her feet. On her back was a shabby looking pack, which appeared to be quite full. She grinned as they all stared at her, which only brought attention to her mischievous brown eyes.

A distressed-looking Tamao ran in behind her. "I'm sorry, Yoh-sama, Anna-sama, but she just burst right in. I didn't have time to stop her-"

"Yeah, well, pardon me for thinking that my business was a bit more important than visitor-host protocol." The girl said, lifting an eyebrow at the rest of them. "And before any of you say anything, yes, I'm willing to pay for my staying here, as well as do any work you may require of me. But I draw the line at toilets." The girl took off her pack and handed it to Tamao, then unceremoniously plopped down on the couch next to Horo Horo. "Now, about those sirens-"

"Wait a second!" Anna, now over the momentary shock, said. "Just who are you, and-"

"Name's Shay. I'm from America, but my bloodline is Greek. I came to Tokyo to visit the museum, but what I wanted to see was stolen. After that, some local spirits at a graveyard told me about this place, so I figured I'd come here. I was walking by the river when that siren attacked, and followed you guys here. And just so you know, I may dress this way, but I do actually have money, so please no arguments about me not being able to pay you. But anyway, that siren attacked you guys because it was probably ordered to."

"By that goddess - Eris, or something." Yoh said, the only one who hadn't been completely shocked by Shay's sudden appearance. Shay nodded.

"So then, why would this goddess order a siren to attack Yoh?" Horo Horo asked. He looked at Yoh. "Did you do something to upset her?"

"I don't think so…" Yoh replied. The room was silent for a moment, but then Manta spoke up. "Say, Shay-san, you said that what you wanted to see in the museum was stolen. Do you mean the Crown of Proteus?"

"The one and only. I came to see it to see if it matches up with what's in my ancestor's diary." Tamao came in with tea, and Shay accepted hers with a polite "thank you."

"Your ancestor?" Yoh asked, taking a sip from his own teacup.

"Yeah. Her name was Marina, and she was the wife of the famous pirate, Sinbad. Near the end of her life, she decided that she wanted their descendants to remember them and all the adventures they had, so she wrote them down in a diary, and it's been handed down in my family ever since." Shay said this rather nonchalantly, like it was nothing.

At that point Tamao announced that dinner was ready. Dinner was awkward, as no one was sure what to say, especially when Shay pulled out a pair of chopsticks that were plastic and were joined together at the end, apparently making them easier to use.

After dinner, Tamao told Shay that, should she want to use it, the bath was ready. Accepting, she walked out of the room, and after a moment, everyone else began to follow suit.

"Hold it."

Everyone stopped, and turned to Anna. "Did any of you finish your training today?"

The boys' eyes widened, and a couple minutes later all three were outside doing the invisible chair.