Besarki: So, I thought of this one idea for this story on Friday, and I kinda like it. However, it's not a part of my base plan and using it could add a ton of chapters to the story. My rough estimate for the length of the story as it is now is 28 chapters. That's pretty long. Obviously nothing to next to those crazies who write stories that are eighty chapters, but for a story and not a soap opera, it's long. Adding my idea, which I've temporarily titled, "The Hao Arc" would add at least ten more chapters. 38? Don't you think that's a little too long?
And so I'm left with three options. One, I can try to disregard the issue with length and add the Hao Arc to this story. You already know the flaws with this one. Two, I can write a sequel. Personally, I don't like sequels. They're never as good as the original story, and they're tough to pull off. This is the first fanfic I've ever written that even has the potential for one, in fact. For every other story, I have refused when asked. Three, I can discard the Hao arc and go on with the story. I will if I have to, but I really liked the idea. Still, I'll drop it if that's what's best for this story. And then we will all have to apologize to Hao for ditching him. :)
I'm going to leave it up to my lovely readers to decide. Leave it in a review, PM me, or send me an email. Oh, and I need a response from more than like three people. If I don't get an opinion, I just won't update this story. :) Now, that wouldn't be good, would it?
BESARKI HATES HARD DECISIONS!
I'll list a few pros and cons to all three to help decide, though I have a feeling I already know what it's gonna be. -.-
Add to Living For The Moment:
Pros:
-A character that was originally minor in the fic is now major.
-The tone is kept.
-Updating is fast.
-Less risky.
Cons:
-The story is longer than it should be.
-The original ending must be scrapped (I'M ABSOLUTELY 100 PERCENT AGAINST THIS!)
-Yoh and Anna become background characters
Sequel:
Pros:
-A new story is created to more effectively tie up loose ends
-Characters who did not appear in the first story will likely appear in the second
-Hao becomes a major character
-The idea is used without Anna and Yoh fading into the background.
Cons:
-Updating will be slower until I can pound out an entire plotline
-Sequels are never as good as their predecessors
-There will be an issue with Anna, but I can't tell you what that is yet
Scrap Idea:
Pros:
-Living For The Moment ends as it should
-Nothing purposely left open or unanswered to expand on
Cons:
-Hao remains as a minor character
-The relationship between the Asakura brothers is not touched on again
-The myriad between Hao and his minions is left slightly open.
-Besarki is sad. She liked this idea.
So, I'll leave it up to you. I'm interested to see how things play out...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there you go again
With all the trouble that you get in
It's pins and needles
We'll start a fire so big the heavens can see it
You give going up in flames such a good name
And now I'm paying for all the mistakes that you've made
This is the rescue, the rescue
The reason I've been holding my breath every night
This is where we collide
~The Rescue, Search The City
"So let me get this straight." Redseb and I sighed in unison as Seyrarm began questioning us again for the umpteenth time.
"What Seyrarm?" Redseb groaned. From what I'd been told, the Munzers were really close when they were little--the poster siblings. They never fought or carried on. They were just really good kids. I found that sort of hard to believe, listening to them now.
"Don't be mean."
He rolled his eyes. "Just ask the damn question." She ignored him, and turned to me.
"Hana, you said that Anna had a spirit ally, right?"
"Yeah."
Her face grew dark and nervous. "A-And that it was an oni?"
"Yep."
"Like...an oni oni?"
I paused and gave her a weird look. "What other kind of onis are there?" (AN: Naka's not a real oni, but Hana is forgetting that here)
"Well..." Her eyes shifted back and forth and she wrapped her arms around herself as if to protect her from some monster. A cold wind blew past us at the wrong time, and Seyrarm jumped in fright.
"BWAARG!" Redseb roared, sneaking up behind his little sister. He was wearing some kind of weird mask and a pair of fake bear claws. His hands were held high above her.
Seyrarm screamed like a banshee and jumped at least five feet in the air. You'd swear that she'd just seen a demon.
Redseb and Shigaraki rolled across the ground, absolutely howling with laughter.
Seyrarm shrieked furiously, tears leaking from her eyes. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"
"Are you kidding?!" Rebseb laughed, tearing off his mask. "That was hilarious!"
"Y-You're terrible!" She cried. "A horrible person!"
The elder teen wiped the tears from his eyes. "That was great," He wheezed. He didn't notice his sister trudging angrily toward him.
I wasn't expecting her reaction.
Seyrarm pulled her hand back and slapped her brother across the face, leaving a big red mark in the outline of her hand.
And here I thought that only Kaa-san did that...
"YEOWCH!" He yelled, jumping as far away from her as possible. "What the hell?!"
"Uncalled for!" She yelled, stomping her foot. "That was really low of you."
"Oh, grow up, Seyrarm," He grumbled, clutching his cheek.
"Me?!"
Here they went again. I sighed and continued on forward. "C'mon, Matamune," I said to my nekomata friend. He nodded and followed me down the road.
Five minutes later, I heard someone shout.
"Holy shit! Where's Hana?!"
---0---0---0---0---0---
The Asakura Munzer siblings breathed loud and heavy as they stood panting beside me.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Redseb scolded. I shrugged. Really, I don't think I did anything wrong. The rules were that I had to stay with Kaa-san, and I was trying to follow those rules by leaving to find her. I'd met up with these two by chance. They weren't babysitting me or anything.
He scowled at my gesture.
"Honestly, Hana..." Seyrarm tried this time. Same effect.
"I'm fine, you know. Even if I had gotten into trouble, I have Matamune with me. Nothing to worry about."
"This isn't Japan, Hana," Seyrarm said, scowling.
I rolled my eyes. "No duh." I lifted my hand and pointed to the left. "Japan is that way." That was really just a wild guess, though. For all I knew, I was probably pointing to Canada.
My thoughts proved to be half-right. Redseb pointed in a different direction. "You're pointing to South America. Japan is that way."
"Whatever," I said, turning and marching in the direction opposite the one he was pointing. If Kaa-san was anywhere, she was probably close to the coast.
Redseb grabbed me before I could take another step. "I don't think so," He said, an angry scowl on his face.
Seyrarm backed him this time. "You can't just march off like that, Hana!"
I was beginning to regret running into them.
"I have to find Kaa-san!" I told them.
"We know, but you can't just go gallivanting off like that," She said.
"I have to go!" But Redseb wouldn't release his hold.
"No, Hana."
I fumed. In one quick motion, I yanked away from him and glared. "I'm going whether you like it or not."
"No you're not." Redseb shook his head, flustered. "We're not trying to be mean, but you can't just run off. If you go without some type of plan or protection, you could be killed. Then who would look for Anna?"
I squeezed my fists into tiny balls. "Well, then what do you expect--"
Imari and Shigaraki's twin roars cut off my sentence.
Automatically, all three of us jerked our heads in their direction.
"What's wrong, Imari?" Seyrarm asked, uneasily. She let out a nervous little laugh and glanced around in every direction. There was no one there.
Imari scraped her paw across the ground and snarled at the empty air.
"Shigaraki?" Redseb checked. The tanuki swung his head around to look at Redseb. His eyes were on fire. His lip lifted higher and he threw his head back to glare in the same direction as Imari.
The siblings were obviously nervous. I was too.
Matamune crept up from my side and stepped toward them. His expression was wary, anxious...
"There is...someone nearby," He determined, testing the air for spiritual and living presence. His eyes searched diligently and finally rested on a tall maple tree several paces in front of us.
"Someone?" I asked, edgy, but not unnerved. I moved to my spirit ally's side. He tensed.
"Without the slightest doubt, someone lingers nearby."
I pulled futsu no mitama from my backpack and Matamune's necklace from my neck. "Awesome," I grunted. "Matamune, in bear-claw necklace! In Futsu no Mitama! Oversoul! Oni Goroshi!"
A few spiritual lights flashed, and suddenly I felt the Oni Goroshi, light as a feather in my hands.
Redseb and Seyrarm stared at the massive oversoul sword, their expressions making them look utterly speechless.
I laughed, shaking my head. Though the anticipation regarding who was near us was killing me, their idioicy somehow slightly rekindled my confidence. "Come on guys!"
They started, then were still for another moment. Seconds later, they quickly shook off their confusion and rushed up to join me.
"Shigaraki and Imari are already oversouled," Redseb told me. "So they'll be ready as soon as our visitor arrives."
I nodded, gripping the sword tighter.
...One minute...
...Two minutes...
...Four...
...Six...
Eight minutes later, there was still no one there.
"Matamune, are you positive there's someone here?" I growled, aggravated. If we'd just wasted eight minutes which could have been used searching for Kaa-san...
Matamune's eyes appeared on the hilt of the sword. "Yes! Absolutely! She is hiding, and will not come out while you are out of her range!"
"'She'?" I quoted. I had originally thought it had been one of Hao's minions, but the only females in his ranks were Hana-gumi, right? And Kanna, Mari, and Macchi were on our side. So, then...maybe this wasn't an enemy.
"No, Hana! Do not let down your guard!" Matamune scolded. I jumped at the harshness of the command.
"Why not? She might not be--"
"She is no friend of yours! Her allegiance lies with Hao-sama, and she wishes nothing more than to eliminate all who threaten his return."
"What?! How can you know this?" I demanded, glaring at the hilt-eyes.
"Because I have sensed this presence before. She has been following us since Zang-Ching was defeated, but avoided contact because she couldn't defeat Anna. She knew this because--"
Just as he hit that last word, a big blue monster burst from a flash behind that very maple tree. I knew what it was the second I saw it.
It was an oni. Just a common oni, but unlike Naka, this one was real. And real meant nearly uncontrollable and dangerous. Real meant big trouble for us.
The oni latched onto Oni Goroshi despite the immense spiritual energy it gave off.
"Let go!" I yelled, smashing the sword, oni and all, against the ground. The demon cried out, but didn't let go.
Imari and Shigaraki were there in a second--clawing and snapping at the azure demon.
It swung its claws at them, slashing Shigaraki across the face, but missing Imari.
"Shigaraki!" Redseb yelled. He was looking back and forth for something to help his spirit ally, but was seemingly coming up empty handed.
Beside him, Seyrarm noticed his unease and she too went off looking. However, unlike her brother, she found something. She gasped as her eyes locked onto the tree, and she suddenly broke out running. "Imari!" She yelled.
Her kitsune familiar turned to face her, then swiftly left the quarreling two to pick her up.
As Imari looped around her, Seyrarm grabbed onto her fur and pulled herself onto the kitsune's back. "Behind the tree!" She ordered. Imari obeyed without hesitation while Redseb looked on with a shocked expression and I continued to try to rid Oni Goroshi of the oni that hung on it. If I could get it off, I could easily strike and kill it.
Imari closed in on the tree and then part of her disappeared behind it, only to appear a moment later with someone hanging from her jaws.
It was a small African girl, probably just slightly younger than Seyrarm. The girl was dressed strangely. She wore a long orange shirt over loose orange pants and funny shoes. Her black hair was held back by a stretchy orange band. Identical bands adorned her arms like gauntlets or cuffs. This girl was the number one fan of the color orange fan club, it seemed.
I'd never seen her before, but the Munzer's were a different story.
"Opacho?!" Redseb yelled, flabbergasted and disbelieving.
The captive girl glared at us for a moment and then wildly swung her hands. Four more onis appeared.
In that same moment, Shigaraki successfully pried the original oni off the Oni Goroshi and threw it in with the others. Seeing this, Opacho concentrated and generated six more. Each looked the exact same.
Shocked beyond comprehension, Imari accidentally dropped Opacho and one of the blue onis swooped in to pick her up. Three more appeared. There were fourteen now.
"Where are all of these guys coming from?!" I demanded.
"I have no idea!" Seyrarm yelled back. One popped up beside them, but Shigaraki soon landed on it and effortlessly ripped it to pieces.
"What the...?" Since when were onis that easy to beat? I knew that Imari and Shigaraki were strong, but to defeat one so easily? I might have been little, but I wasn't dumb. Something was definitely up here.
"Don't just stand there, Hana!" Redseb yelled, climbing onto Shigaraki's back. More onis appeared around them. "Either fight or get the hell out of here!"
"O-O-Oh right! Right! Right!" I drew Oni Goroshi back to me and then jabbed it forward, swinging it and taking out a whole wave of onis in an instant.
I swung again and again, taking out oni after oni with minimal effort. We continued until the number of onis dwindled and then was finally reduced to one--the one with Opacho. Imari dove at it, but it easily threw her aside with its free hand. It did the same with Shigaraki then jumped out of Oni Goroshi's range.
"Opacho wants you to go home!" Opacho yelled, waving her hand and creating a few dozen more onis. It was strange. Onis weren't easy to call, but she wasn't just summoning a few of them, she was summoning hundreds. Yet no matter how many onis she created, she never seemed to run out of mana. Did she have an infinite reserve or what?
Imari and Shigaraki turned their backs on the oni with Opacho and focused on destroying the others. The wipe-out took mere minutes.
They turned back on Opacho's oni, and again, Opacho sent fifty or so more after us.
I swiped at them, knocking them off one by one, but this time, one got by me. With Oni Goroshi turned to the side, there was no way to block it, and I was left helpless as the oni barreled toward me, and struck.
It was like getting pelted with a bean bag.
My face dropped in surprise, and I turned. The oni was coming back. In my surprise, I didn't turn my sword. Regardless, the strength of the blow was the exact same as before.
Redseb and Seyrarm saw the whole thing, and they looked as shocked as me.
"They're illusions," I realized. "They're tangible illusions made out of small amounts of mana..." My dead expression broke into a huge smile. I figured it out all by myself! Would Kaa-san ever be proud of me!
"Ignore them!" Redseb cried. "Get rid of the one with Opacho! That's the only one that's real!"
Shigaraki and Imari snarled furiously. They were angry at being tricked. I didn't really blame them. Their fighting was draining Redseb and Seyrarm's mana. They didn't have much time left now.
Matamune and I, who had been standing in the same place almost the entire time, were a different story. We were about to finish the shortest battle to date. Ha. I felt so cool at that moment.
"Okay, Matamune. Let's get rid of this guy and go find Kaa-san!" For the first time during our very short battle, we moved.
The oni dropped Opacho and grabbed the sword before it impacted. I wasn't expecting that one. His long jagged teeth clamped down on the blade, and, to all of our horrors, the Oni Goroshi oversoul disengaged.
This...was...bad.
Seyrarm swooped around on Imari and plucked me and Matamune up off the ground.
"Are you okay?" She asked. I nodded while Matamune shook off like a wet dog. She sighed, relieved.
"Look out!" Redseb shouted. We all jerked back to what was in front of us just in time to see the blue oni standing before us with its hands outstretched. Imari wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her, and ended up running right into the demon.
The oni grabbed her by the neck and squeezed until the oversoul was destroyed. Her spirit fell out of the rock it was residing in and we fell to the ground.
Though we were defenseless, none of us gave up. Seyrarm rose and stood protectively in front of me, despite being totally drained of mana. Standing up to an oni was never a good idea.
The oni didn't care about her. It simply threw its claw and struck her with it, sending the younger teen crashing into a big rock nearby us.
'Kaa-san, this would be a really good time for you and Naka to make an appearance,' I thought to myself, as the oni stood over us.
Though it wasn't who'd I'd asked for, someone did come to our rescue.
Shigaraki launched himself onto the oni's back and bit into its throat. The oni thrashed, throwing itself around in order to rid itself of the tanuki hanging off it. Shigaraki bit down harder and the oni screeched. Its arm twisted in a way that it shouldn't have been able to, and it ripped Shigaraki off in one quick motion. The oni threw him in front of it and angrily thrust its claw through Shigaraki's chest. He roared and split into pieces. The rock fell to the ground.
"Hana, run!" Redseb screamed. Like his sister, he too stood bravely in front of the fuming oni. It was a wasted effort. The oni lifted its foot and kicked him in the stomach. He flew past and behind me.
My head whipped back to the oni. It stood mere feet before me. Matamune stood with me, hissing and snarling, but I was out of mana, and there was nothing he could do.
I could be stand up to the oni like Redseb and Seyrarm did, but I wasn't like them. If I got hit like they did, I wouldn't just bleed over in the corner--I would die. I was too little to take a hit like that. I was in trouble. I was the only one left.
My face scrunched up, and I braced myself. There was nothing left to do. I'd run out of options again, but this time, there was no one left to protect me.
I'd screwed up.
'KAA-SAN! THIS WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD TIME!' I wasn't expecting a response...
'Stop screaming! I hear you!'
My eyes flew open, and searched in every direction. Huh?!?!?!
The first thing I saw was a huge pink claw coming in to grab the blue oni.
And I smiled. I was the luckiest kid in the whole freaking world.
Naka roared from behind the smaller oni. He lifted it in front of his eyes and snarled at the demon's attempts to escape. They were pitiful to him.
Someone's arms suddenly wrapped around my waist and lifted me up off the ground. I didn't have to look to know who it was. I already knew. Kaa-san had found us.
"YOU HAVE AMAZING TIMING!" I yelled, after I latched onto her back.
She snorted, picking up Matamune. "I know, now hold onto your cat and stop moving around so much. We have to go help those two."
"Right!" I said, taking Matamune and letting him hang over my looped arm.
"Naka-Oni," Kaa-san started. She gestured over to Opacho who was shaking terribly while she stared frustrated at us, "watch her. I don't care if she runs away, but don't let her near us."
"Rrrrrrrr."
She nodded and made her way over to Redseb. He was the worst of the two, but he was okay.
"Come on...get up," She urged, helping him stand. "Can't just roll over and die. Too strong for that."
"I'm not five, Nee-san. That doesn't work on me," He grumbled, hanging off her shoulder. He looked funny standing next to her. Even though Redseb was sixteen and Kaa-san was twenty three, they were just about the same height. In fact, he may have been taller.
"Mmm, I see. Then stop whining and act sixteen," She teased. Redseb grunted and pushed her a little. She nearly fell over.
She headed over the younger Munzer. Though Seyrarm was bleeding, she was in better shape than her brother.
"And Seyrarm," Kaa-san said, lifting her up and letting her hang off her other shoulder. Poor Kaa-san was going to collapse with all three of us here.
"Rrrrrrrr!" Naka growled. Redseb, Kaa-san, and I looked in the direction he was pointing in. Seyrarm probably would have, too if she hadn't been unconscious.
Opacho was trying to sneak away. Coward!
Kaa-san shrugged. "Let her go if she wants. We're not going in that direction so we'll be fine." The oni thrashed in Naka's hand as if to remind him that it was still there. "Oh, almost forgot about that thing."
"RAAAAAAA!" It shrieked. Kaa-san rolled her eyes.
"We should kill it, but if we do, Opacho will just go looking for another one. Mmm. Just let it go."
"Rrrrrrr," Naka rumbled. He glared at the oni, and then, rather than simply drop it and let it return to Opacho, he threw it at the ground and stomped threateningly beside it. The blue oni was quick to grab Opacho and flee.
"Go figure you'd get rid of it in no time," Redseb mumbled. Kaa-san smiled slightly.
"You did a good job wearing it down, and I have to thank you for protecting Hana. It was very irresponsible of me to let him get out of my sight."
He grunted again, but didn't say anything.
"Naka-Oni," She called. The big pink demon glanced at her, then made his way over. "Hands," She instructed. He hummed, and formed a little cradle with his oversized hands. "Arigatou. Redseb, Naka-Oni will carry you and your sister until you can walk again."
"I'm fine," He tried to reason. She wasn't having it.
"I said--"
"Okay, okay. Fine," He cut her off, not up to arguing. She smiled smugly.
"Good."
After Kaa-san helped Redseb into Naka's hands, and they both moved Seyrarm, we started forward again. It wasn't late, and we could still walk for a little longer. I was able to walk by myself, but Kaa-san wouldn't let me. She insisted that it was better to let me rest than take chances. If we got into another battle and I wasn't myself, it could mean trouble. At least, that's what she told me.
Though it was probably just to placate me, but oh well.
"How'd you find us?" I asked her after a while.
"How could anyone not find you?" She replied. "You were so loud. Plus, Naka-Oni sensed another oni so we hurried over for the sake that you were in a battle. I don't know if we could call ourselves lucky, but at least we found you."
"It's lucky. We could've been dead!" I pointed out. Her face darkened.
"You don't have to say it like that," She mumbled.
I laughed. "Sorry, Kaa-san."
"It's fine." She glanced over her shoulder. "What's the story with those two?" She asked, looking at Redseb and Seyrarm. They were both fast asleep with the downsized spirits of Shigaraki and Imari curled up beside them.
"They're visiting. They said that they haven't been here since the Shaman Fight, which was like, eight years ago."
"Keiko didn't come with them?" She asked, surprised.
"Probably didn't want to leave Japan. I don't think she knows much English, anyway."
"Probably right."
Hours passed. I glanced up at the orangish sky and watched the seagulls flying overhead. Redseb told me earlier that we were in New Jersey. When I asked where that was, he pulled a map out of his pocket and put his finger on a state that was next to a big box and below a horse head. (AN: Pennsylvania and New York) I asked about Old Jersey and he laughed at me.
I'm not sure why. I was serious.
I later asked Kaa-san if Tou-san was in New Jersey. She said no. Then I asked which state he was in. She didn't know.
"How can you not know?!" Hadn't she been in that state when she had to turn around?
"I didn't pay attention to borders or signs. I just followed my senses."
"And you're going to do the same thing now?"
"That's the plan."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"It'll work. Trust me."
"Alright," I said. I stared at her for a second, and then spoke again. "Do you know any of the states you were in?"
"Hmm." She thought for a moment before answering. "I went through Ohio."
"Ohayo?"
"Not that oh-hi-yo."
"Oh." A minute passed. I asked another question. "Any other states?"
"Umm...no."
"You're useless."
"Thanks a lot, Hana. Means a lot to me."
"Hehehe. I'm just kidding." I quickly snatched her head band and placed it on my own head. "Look Kaa-san, I'm a hippie."
She gave me a dirty look, rolling her eyes.
It was all I could do to laugh hysterically.
Besarki: I suck at battle scenes XD.
Originally, my plan was that Redseb and Seyrarm won the battle, and then they found Anna, but as I was writing, I could tell that that wasn't going to work out. So, yeah. You know what happened.
And so now I admit a huge flaw in my plan! ...I don't know what state the resurrection is in. -.-; I'm thinking either...Nebraska...North Dakota...or Arakansas. There's a Hot Springs, Arkansas. I should totally make it there XD Maybe...I'd do PA or OH, but they're a little close...hmm...still...there're good places in both of those...I'll think it over. We'll see. :)
Quick note: Because Oni (That's what I'm calling Opacho's oni. Original, don't you think? Hahaha) was introduced after I saw the volume 16 Shaman Files, he is displayed as the correct color. Otherwise, I probably would have made him pink too. Another thing: that whole illusion thing? I did some research on Opacho because I wanted to see if there was anything else out there about Mama (so I dropped that for this story). I couldn't find anything about her spirit, but I did notice that she apparently has the ability to create illusions. I don't remember anything about illusions in the manga, but I used it anyway. Last thing about her: For those who have forgotten, Opacho has reishi, too, which is why she can create onis.
So I was watching the English dub earlier (because I was feeling masochistic, I guess) and I have to say...HOW MANY F****** POKEMON VOICES MUST THEY USE?!?!?! Okay, they're both 4Kids, but 4Kids has more than the PKMN team working for them! Honestly!
Oh, god, though, Pino's voice was killing me. I wanted to stab my eardrums with icepicks. Oh, and then there was the happy rainbow sound effect. I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard.
God. I love Hao, but I want to stab him in the dub. Actually, I don't. Hao, we like, "Zeke" we don't. "Zeke" should be trampled, mangled, thrown in the incinerator, obliterated, resurrected, obliterated again, stabbed, shot, massacred, and then left to manga Anna to do away with. Bah!
So, now that I'm talking about this, another question. Does anyone who's reading this like the anime (any language) more than the manga? Or do you like them the same? The anime takes serious bashing from manga-lovers like myself.
Last thoughts for the incredibly long author's note:
Next chapter is chapter 19. Volume 19 was the start of the Osorezan Revoir arc, so that means that I gotta make chapters 19 and 20 special. Hmm. What shall I do when I don't have Yoh anymore...? Meh. I'll think of something.
Don't know how long Redseb and Seyrarm will be staying. They leave before the main conflict starts, but that's not for a few more chapters, so...you know.
Don't forget to vote on the Hao arc idea!
Lastly, I wasn't going to update because the quota wasn't met, but I really wanted to get this chapter up. I don't know why. Just did. Anywho, I won't do it again...so...right. REVIEW OR NO CHAPTER!
Toodles!