Besarki: So I have a fun story for all you Filipinos out there. However, let me start out by asking why Philippines starts with ph and Filipino starts out with f. Why? That makes absolutely no sense. And I thought I was bad with consistency! What's up with whoever thought that one up? Bah, but I digress. Back to my story: So, today, my brother and I were outside picking up leaves when the Philippines came up. We were talking about Hawaii and it's large population of Japanese people when he suddenly said something about there being a lot of Filipinos in Hawaii, but he messed up and called them Filapians. I was dying, and is manga and anime a big thing in the Philippines? Because, no joke, half the people reading this are Filipino. I have never spoken to a Filipino before I started this story. Suddenly, everyone's a Filipino. Insanity!
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I'll be out of my mind
And you'll be out of ideas
Pretty soon
So let's spend
The afternoon in a cold hot air balloon
~Hot Air Balloon, Owl City
(I was originally planning on going in a wholly different direction with this chapter, but then I saw that this song had just come out, and after listening a few times, fell in love with it and based the chapter around it. Hee hee. A cute song for a cute chapter! Fitting, don't you think?)
My feet kicked ordinarily as they hung over the side of the tall building.
We were taking a break while Naka ran out to look for lunch. I volunteered to go look originally, but Kaa-san said that I'd probably get "spirited away or something" if I went out on my own. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded bad so I surrendered and let Naka go.
And so now, here I was, peering over the rooftop of a red brick grocery store--people watching, to put things simply.
Though I'd only been sitting here for a few minutes, I'd already seen a bunch of odd things that you didn't see in passing.
Aside from the locals, who were interesting enough, I saw a ton of really weird spirits. There was a dog with two heads and a woman who army crawled everywhere who were speaking together with a little bandanna girl and a grocer right in front of the building I was sitting on! Neither the grocer or the bandanna girl found the talking dog and army woman strange at all so I guessed that they had been here a while.
Part of me wondered why they were still here and wanted to help them pass on, but they seemed plenty content with where they were now. They weren't bothering anyone so why bother sending them on, right?
"You probably shouldn't do that," Kaa-san said out of nowhere, though I knew that her voice came from behind me.
"Do what?"
"Swing your feet. I know that you're watching the spirits, but keep in mind that there are living people down there. If your shoe falls off and hits one of them, we'll be in big trouble."
"I don't wear sandals like you do, Kaa-san," I replied boredly. Through my peripheral vision, I could see her walking over and sitting down beside me.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
I pointed at my boots. "Sandals fall off. Boots don't."
"That's not always the case," She disagreed.
"Yeah it is."
"Are you going to argue with me?"
"That depends," I reasoned smugly.
"On?" She urged.
"On whether or not you have games on your cell phone."
"Huh?" Ha! Kaa-san's confused! Points for Hana!
I turned to her and reached out my hands expectantly. She gave me a weird look, which made me frown.
"Lemme see it!" I demanded.
"I don't have it anymore," She answered, blatantly lying. "I was getting sick of getting calls from Tamao so I threw it away."
"Liar. You just turned it off." It occurred to me then that she never once charged her phone yet the battery never seemed to die. Must be one of those Mega-Manta batteries that Manta invented. I really wouldn't be surprised.
"What makes you think that?"
"I went through your bag a few days ago cause I was bored. It was in there."
"HANA!" She scolded furiously. I braced myself to be backhanded, but, luckily, simply yelling seemed to suffice this time.
I sighed, relieved, but didn't let my guard down as she still looked a little miffed.
"I hate how you act so much older than you really are," She complained.
"I'm a shaman!" I argued, thinking that this was good answer to anything that regarded my behavior.
"So is Yoh and he was still acting like a little child when he was ten. Ask Matamune."
"If I do that, he'll go off on some rant about the old days which I'll have to pretend to listen to or risk him being all upset and dumpy."
"Dumpy?"
"It's a word. I've looked it up."
"If you say so."
Naka returned shortly after that. Today's spoils were the usual: some unidentified meat and a bunch of beaten up fruit. Matamune, Kaa-san, and I played a game guessing what the meat was. Ultimately, we went with Matamune's guess: bull. It seemed the most logical for where we were, anyway.
After we ate, I ran around with the horns for a while, chasing Matamune and scaring the crap out of Kaa-san when I jumped out of the bushes.
Kaa-san wouldn't let me keep the horns because "it was unnecessary and dangerous" to have them. I told her afterwards that her sentence would have been a lot more meaningful if she hadn't looked stoned when she said it. She hit me.
Several hours passed. In this time, I saw a ton of spirits. Weren't there shamans in Spain? Why were so many ghosts roaming about? After wondering this for a while, I finally caved. I had to ask.
"Why're all these ghosts here? Where are the shamans?"
Kaa-san decided to direct only half of her attention at me. Kind of offensive, but probably smart if we didn't want to have a repeat of yesterday. "The ghosts may not cause as many problems here, Hana. If that's the case, then the local shamans may just leave them alone."
"Really?" I'd thought of that earlier, but I'd never dreamed that that would actually be the case.
She simply nodded. "You should ask Matamune, though, if you want a more accurate answer."
I did, and he said, basically, the exact same thing that Kaa-san did. There were shamans present, but they just left the spirits alone.
"That's so weird! Why don't we do that?" I asked after mulling their words over. If we left the spirits alone, then they would just mellow out and turn into these guys, wouldn't they?
"Because the spirits in Japan try to kill us," Kaa-san replied, point-blank.
"Yes," Matamune agreed. "The spirits in most other parts of the world tend to be much more hostile than those that appear here."
I crossed my arms. "Why's that?" What was it about Spain that settled spirits into peaceable behavior?
My spirit ally shrugged. "I do not know. Perhaps they are just happier to be left as they are, and as thanks, they pay no mind to the living."
"That's an odd thing for a ghost to do."
"I suppose, but they are not intruded upon so why change their habits?" It sounded like he was saying that there were no evil spirits in Spain.
"That's far from what he's telling you," Kaa-san interrupted. "There are evil spirits everywhere, but sometimes, the peaceable spirits can reason with them and keep them back. Maybe that's what happens here."
Now I was lost. "But, if the peacekeeping spirits really do that, then what do they need us for?"
"Shamans are like living versions of peacekeeping spirits," Matamune replied. "The spirits themselves do their best, but they need help occasionally. That is what a shaman is for."
His words made me smile for some reason.
I'd never heard of shaman being compared to peacekeepers, especially after that messy business with Hao. It was a nice though, though. Us being the ones who help keep the peace, that is.
Then another thought struck me.
"But there are still no shamans around here. Is that because there are enough peacekeepers that shamans aren't needed?"
"Maybe," He said, "but I sincerely doubt it."
I frowned. "Huh?"
This time it was Kaa-san who spoke. "There are still somethings that only shamans can do. Even if we left the peaceful spirits alone to take care of the more volatile ones, there would still be many mortal casualties in the time it takes for the conversion to take place. The police force would be useless and people would get worried. We'd have another ghost war on our hands, and you know how those always turn out. Really, the exchange just isn't worth it."
"And the hostility of evil spirits may sometimes outweigh the righteousness of pure ones, making the whole motion useless," Matamune added.
I felt like I was being double-teamed when I had only asked a question.
"Okay, I get it. Spirit peacekeepers only: bad idea."
"When shamans and spririts work in harmony, we see something that we may not have otherwise: the chance at peace and a better life. We need each other to set the balances of the scale--to set it to equilibrium. Humans too are need in this equation, contrary to your uncle's ideals. Without humans to reincarnate into, shamans too would be lost to the world. Everyone has a purpose, some of us just have a harder time finding it." And with this said, Kaa-san headed forward without another word.
---0---0---0---0---0---
"So...we're almost through Spain, right?" I turned our map upside down and squinted, but it was no use. I still couldn't read it.
"Yes, we'll reach the border by tomorrow afternoon if all goes well," Kaa-san answered, almost entirely focused on the sewing needle in her hand. I'd ripped by overalls again and she was fixing them.
"Okay, then we'll be in the ocean?" I asked brightly. I was excited. We were almost there!
"No, then we'll be in Portugal."
My eager smile turned into an appalled frown. "WHAAAAAT?!" I yowled, throwing the map down. "I thought we were crossing the ocean next!"
She frowned agitatedly and took the map out of my hands. She laid it in front of my and stabbed a big green square. "That is where we are now. Her finger moved to the left, her right, and came to a stop on a big blue body--the ocean. "That is the Atlantic Ocean. What do you see in between the Atlantic Ocean and Spain?"
"Um...that..." I said, pointing to the long, vertical rectangle.
"What is that, Hana?" She asked venomously.
"I don't know," I answered nervously. "I can't read it."
She pointed to the various parts of the word as she spoke. "Por-tu-gal," She pronounced. "Portugal. That is where we're going next. Once we get through there, we'll cross the ocean."
I stared at her like a deer in headlights. She sighed, exasperated.
"Look, Hana. This is Spain, which is where we are. Beside Spain is Portugal. Do you see that?" Though her voice was softer now, I could still detect the signature edge embedded in it. I nodded slowly. "We've been going diagonal across Spain so to skip Portugal and go through northern Spain would be an extreme waste of time. Understand?" Again, I nodded. She exhaled and backed away from me. "Good," She said quietly.
She went back to sewing then, while I simply sat there and stared. As usual, it was just the two of us. Kaa-san had long since sent Naka away and I'd sent Matamune back to his mortuary tablet. A diminished family and a crackling fire.
I sighed and glanced up at the stars. Pretty as always, with hints of unreadable mystery. That was the story of the stars, all right.
I laid back and stargazed for a few minutes, picking out constellations and deciding on a few of my own. I used to do this a lot back home in Funbari, but I still enjoyed it even now. However, a big part of me had a sudden urge to get up and steal Kaa-san's cell phone again. She had never answered my question from earlier.
"Mmph." It wasn't worth it. Not now, anyway.
Within ten minutes, I had grown terribly bored of stargazing, and, unfortunately, I knew that there was only one alternative.
"I'm going to bed, Kaa-san," I grumbled, pulling my makeshift pillow and blanket out of my backpack.
"Okay. Goodnight, Hana."
My return was groggy. "Oyasumi."
Salutations said, I went about setting my mediocre bed before I crawled in, and closed my eyes. Within minutes, I was out, sound asleep and not to be bothered.
The fire still crackled in my dreams.
---0---0---0---0---0---
You were too hard on him.
I was not. I was just tough enough. I can't have him getting soft like you did.
Me? I didn't get soft!
You're right. You've always been soft.
Harsh, Anna-chan.
I thought I told you--
Hehehe. I'm just kidding! Playing around! There's nothing wrong with that.
I'll ring your neck.
That would hurt.
No, really?
Heh. Too strong, Anna. Too strong.
My voice or my fist?
Both.
Don't doubt it for a second.
Ha! What do you take me for?
A moron.
A moron that you love!
Why the sing-song voice?
What? You don't like it?
No. It's annoying.
Harsh.
I've been told that before.
Ah, I can't win with you, can I?
Never.
Hehehe. That's okay. I don't mind. I can still beat you in that one video game, right?
What video game?
You know, that Mega Super Martians From Mars.
Oh, yeah. That game with the redundant title.
Ha! So you do remember.
I remember you giving me the controller then me giving it back to you and leaving the room.
Oh yeah. But I still beat you.
I wasn't playing.
But I still won.
Whatever, Yoh. You won. Congratulations.
Hehehe. Thanks!
Yoh...
Man, now I really wanna play Mega Super Martians From Mars.
Well, just wait till you get resurrected. Then you and Hana can play as many times as you want.
Really? You'll cook dinner while we play?
What do I look like, a housewife?
Heh. Didn't think so. How about do the laundry while we play?
Keep dreaming.
So harsh. So Anna-san.
It's what I do best.
I know. Believe me, Anna, I know. And I'm thankful. I wouldn't want to have to play both of us.
Ugh! You couldn't if you tried.
Hahaha. I wouldn't want to be you, Anna. Your job is too hard.
No kidding. But don't get too comfy up there. As soon as you get back, you have to help me with all this.
Don't worry! I'll make sure to take Hana to school on Mondays and Thursdays!
Lazy ass.
I'm just kidding!
I know. I'd chew you out more thoroughly if you weren't.
Hehehe. You're too tough, Anna. I can't keep up with you.
Then don't try.
I won't. Hahaha.
(...)
Besarki: Oh? What was that last line? Were those parentheses in addition to bold and italics? Heh heh heh. Well, if it wasn't Anna, Yoh, or Hao, then who was it...? ;)
I'm going to transfer these conversations to a new place where I can use different text effects to better represent the speaker. When I do, I'll let everyone know and post a link, kay?
I'm trying to include Anna more. Though you may not have noticed, she's beginning to fade into being a throwaway character in this story. THAT'S BAD! She's one of the main characters, and should not have those qualities.
So, yeah, this one did end up being pretty irrelevant. It was meant to bring Anna back into the limelight a little. As I just said, if she diminishes too much, it'll ruin the story.
Also, I thought I should probably explain Anna and Hana's attire:
Anna's is basically the same as her outfit in the future (or rather past now), as shown in Funbari no Uta and SK KZB vol 27 Shaman Files and final chapter, only it has a single leaf on a black base rather than hearts. A lot of people didn't like the hearts, but I thought they were kinda cute. Not very Anna-esque, but she's a hippie now so keep that in mind.
Hana's outfit is the exact same as the one shown in the Shaman Files of SK KZB 27. At the beginning of the story, he wore a white t-shirt underneath his orange overalls, but it got scrapped up and destroyed in the battle with Turbine. Luckily, he packed more than one pair of overalls so he didn't have to walk around looking like a ratty untouchable.
Aye. That's it for now. If you review for this chapter, I'll send you a copy of MEGA SUPER MARTIANS FROM MARS! No...? Okay, then how about a little clue about the major conflict coming up really soon? Yeah? That better? Then that's what I'll do. Review equals clue! WAHAHAHA! Toodles, Munchies!