Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King!

Thought / dreams

'Telepathic voice'

[Voice from the past]

=Telephone=

Letter

"Dialogue"

Emphasis

A dangerous tone

The once calm school ground was now a full blown battlefield, and Manta could only stare out of the window as his friends were fighting out there. He didn't know why they were fighting at all, and it only served to increase his worry.

He looked at his watch and saw that it was 00:30 AM. The party would be over in half an hour, and he knew that it would be bad if the students and their friends or family got out when the fight was still raging on out there, so he had to do something to prevent it. It's the least he could do to help his friends.

He turned away from the window and began looking around for a certain someone, one that he knew would be able to help in this situation. He found the person and walked to them immediately. "Father." He said to the old man who was as short as him, but maybe taller by a few inches or so from him.

Oyamada Mansumi – his Father as well as the Headmaster of Shinra Gakuen – turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Manta?" He asked curiously, "It's rare that you aren't with Yoh in a party like this".

"Well …" Manta sighed and looked at his Father seriously, "I need your help to do something, for the sake of these students's safety".

Mansumi narrowed his eyes, "The Dai Onmyouji's stuff?" He asked seriously, having a pretty good idea of what his Son was going to ask him to do, and was confirmed when Manta nodded in answer. He sighed and nodded back. "Will be done in a minute." He promised with a smile, "But I want you to help me convince him to return to his former job, alright?".

Manta smiled, "I will try my best." He promised before sweat dropping, "Although I really doubt he will go back at all".

The Headmaster laughed, "We only need to bug him until he gets pissed!" He said confidently, "Once he got pissed, he will agree to return, if only to stop the pestering".

Manta sighed and shook his head, his father was a bit strange sometimes.

XXXXX

Hao was panting heavily as he avoided another attack from Venstar. He might be the Leader of the Demons of Heart, but it was because he happened to be the strongest one. On the other hand, Venstar was the 4th in the Rank of the Angel Force, among a big army of Angels. He was not the 4th for nothing, and he had more experience in fighting than Hao since he was older than Hao. But at least, he knew that he was in an even fight with the Angel. He was just worried about how long he would last, before another Angel arrived to back them up.

"Let's take a break, shall we?" Venstar asked suddenly as he lowered his sword. He was panting as well and was injured at his left waist. Hao was faster than him due to his smaller size, so it was hard for him to land an attack at the Demon.

"What?" Hao stared at him in confusion while still keeping his stance.

Venstar sighed as he looked around. "The battle won't last much longer anyway." He said tiredly before smiling a bit at Hao, "You really keep up to your title, Leader of the Demons of Heart. You are a strong one".

Hao frowned. "You are a strong one as well." He was not letting his guard down, but he figured that a short chat to catch his breath wouldn't hurt, "As expected of the 4th in the Rank of the Angel Force".

Venstar smirked at him in response before looking around again. "You really have gained many strong Allies, huh?" He asked with crossed arms, "It seems that we are the one losing this fight, for now".

Hao was really confused then. "What do you mean?" He couldn't help but ask.

Venstar chuckled, "As I said, that Yoh boy was a famous boy, but I didn't expect you to gain the favor of the Daughter of the Matisse as well." He said as he sheathed his sword. Hao shot him a confused look again, so he sighed and gestured to the rest. "Look at the Onmyouji and the Half-blood Witch, then you will understand".

Hao was still confused, but he felt like he can trust the Angel this time – just this one, so he looked around at his friends to see how they were doing with their fight.

XXXXX

"Homing!" Lyserg yelled as he launched his attack by throwing his Pendulum at the Masked Angel. He could control the movement of his Pendulum with his Magic, so he could break the defense of the Angel easily enough.

Cebin sighed, a White light surrounding him and protected him from the Pendulum – but since he was on full defense mode now, he couldn't launch his own attack. He had to keep all of his attention on defense, since the Pendulum was still striking on his Light Barrier on all sides. "You have a unique weapon, Demon." He said with crossed arms, "I admit my defeat this time. My name is Cebin, the 6th in the Rank of the Angel Force. What's your name?".

Lyserg growled when he couldn't break the Angel's Barrier. "Lyserg." He answered shortly.

"I see." Cebin responded calmly, "I will remember that." He then looked at Venstar direction and saw that the other was not fighting anymore, "It seems that it's your win, for now".

Lyserg's eyebrows were raised in surprise, "What?" He could only ask that.

XXXXX

Macchi blocked another attack from Denbath with her left hand, while she raised her right hand above her head, with a Fireball being formed on her palm. "With the Magic bestowed upon me through my Blood Heritage, I call upon Binding Chain to aid me." She whispered as she threw her attack to the Angel.

Denbath blocked the attack with difficulty, but he had to block it, since the attack would only chase him around – and keep chasing – if he just flew away from it. What he didn't expect was when he blocked the attack, many Orange colored glowing chains appeared so suddenly from all around him and tied him up. He struggled to get free, but the chain wouldn't move at all.

"It's a special Magic that only a few could use." Macchi said with crossed arms, "You chose the wrong opponent, Angel".

Denbath looked at Macchi with a smirk. "You are a strong one to be able to use your Magic even though you're dead." He commented with an amazed voice, "I'm Denbath, the 5th in Rank of the Angel Force. What's your name, Witch?".

Macchi smirked back at him. "Half-blood Witch Matilda." She said confidently, "The Daughter of Witch Matisse".

"Daughter of the Matisse, huh. No wonder you are strong." Denbath said with a snort, "Alright, you win this time, but don't hope to win the next time".

"Do you think that I will let you go just like that?" Macchi asked with a raised eyebrow, "You were attacking Marion and Yoh, I won't let you go that easily".

"Is that so?" Denbath asked calmly.

Macchi narrowed her eyes suspiciously, the man's answer was too calm and she didn't like it at all. It was as if he knew that something was going to help him.

XXXXX

"Die!" Porf yelled as he attacked Yoh with Light Energy wrapped Sword.

"You had been saying that for awhile now." Yoh said calmly as he blocked the attack and sent out his Shikigami to attack at the same time, "I'm bored hearing it".

Porf growled as he was forced to fly back, else he got stabbed by the Bird Shikigami with beak that was as sharp as a sword. He already got injured on his right upper arm already, making it hard for him to use his full strength, and yet he didn't even manage to give the boy a scratch! And what really angered him was the fact that the boy wasn't even serious in fighting him!

He knew that the boy was an Onmyouji, but to fight evenly with an Angel was not an easy thing to do, let alone not fighting seriously and already managed to wound an Angel. He was really starting to wonder if the boy was not a human at all.

"Who are you, boy?" Porf demanded with a scowl.

Yoh raised an eyebrow, "The proper manner is to introduce yourself before asking someone's name, in the case where you were the one who start the fight." He stated calmly as he stopped his attack. The Bird Shikigami was flying in place near him, waiting for his silent order.

Porf growled and opened his mouth to retort, but someone else beat him to it.

"It seems that I'll have to apologize for his rudeness." A new female voice said calmly from above them, gaining all of their attention. Yoh looked up to see a Light Brown haired Angel staring down at him, which he answered by staring right back at her. "I forgot to teach him some basic manner. He should know to introduce himself first if he wants to know the name of his opponent. If he was the one who started the fight, that is".

"Meene!" Porf called out with an excited grin, "Good! Now that you are here, help me get rid of this boy! He's siding with the Demons!".

"No." Meene said calmly as she looked at Porf, before looking at the rest of the Angels, "Retreat this instance. That's the order from the Arc Angel".

"What?!" Porf exclaimed in disbelief, "Why retreat?! We could win this fight now that you are here!".

"No, Porf. Meene is right." Venstar said as he flew to them, "We are going to retreat now. We are the one losing this battle, with or without Meene joining the fight".

"How come something like this happened, Venstar?" Meene asked as she looked around to see Cebin already flying to them, but Denbath was still held captive, "You should know better than to let Porf engaged into a battle with Him of all people".

"Well, I wasn't fast enough, and I figured that it would be a good lesson for him to learn about being careful in choosing his opponent. So I thought to just fight with Hao until Porf lose, and then we're going to retreat." Venstar admitted with a sheepish smile, "I didn't expect for Cebin and Denbath to join in though, they should have known better." He sent a look at the two other Angels, who sweat dropped.

"Sorry." Both Cebin and Denbath said with an awkward smile – though Cebin's smile was hidden behind his mask.

Meene sighed and looked at Yoh, "Does this mean that you choose to join the Dark Side, Yoh?" She asked seriously.

"I already said it once and I will say it again." Yoh started calmly as he crossed his arms, "I'm not someone who chooses either Light or Darkness. I'm on the side of those who had become victim of this cruel world's injustice, the Kind and Gentle Soul who have suffered for no reason." He then raised an eyebrow at Meene, "You should know better than to ask me that, Meene. You are someone with a Gentle and Pure Soul, who only wish for the good of others. You are a better Judge than you let yourself to be".

Meene and Yoh were having a staring contest for a few more moment, before Meene sighed again. "I'm still thinking about the meaning of your words actually, even now." She admitted with a smile, "If you would be kind enough, would you please let this Newbie go? He has yet to learn to never raise his Blade against you. Along with the others as well, if you don't mind".

"I knew that, that's why I didn't get serious when fighting that Porf guy." Yoh said with a smile and looked at Macchi, who nodded and released Denbath from her hold. The Angel flew up to join the rest immediately. "Besides, I don't want the Arc Angel to come here just to get these guys back." He uncrossed his arms and shrugged, before thinking to himself. I don't want to see that guy's arrogant face just yet.

"Who is this boy actually, Meene?" Denbath asked when he arrived, the rest of the Angels, along with Hao and Lyserg, were now staring at Meene and Yoh. "I have heard that no one aside from the Arc Angel should raise their Blades against him, but who is he, actually?".

"The one whose name is even known in the Three Realms – the Human Realm, the Heaven, and Hell. Feared by many and respected by all, the one with Power could match even that of the Arc Angel." Meene said with a hint of pride in her voice as she looked at Yoh, "The Dai Onmyouji (Great Yin Yang Master) of the Asakura Clan, Asakura Yoh is his name." She smiled at Yoh.

Yoh smirked, "I'm flattered, Meene, although you are exaggerating it." He said calmly, earning a chuckle from Meene, before he set a serious look on his face. "Let this be a Warning." His serious tone caught Meene's attention, and she looked at Yoh seriously as well. He raised his hand in a gesture for his friends, "They are my friends, and by that I mean the Demons of Heart are included as well. They are under my Wings now, therefore they are in my Protection." He looked at all of the Angels, "Previously, I haven't met Hao yet, so I will let go of the fact that you nearly killed him. This time, you all didn't know about this yet, so I will let it slide as well. But …" His eyes then narrowed at them, "The next time you attack them, let alone injure them, that would make you my Enemy. I won't have any mercy for those who cross the line …" He then focused back to Meene, "This Warning counts for you as well, Dear Cousin".

"COUSIN?!" There's a chorus of gasps of shock answering Yoh's statement.

Meene smiled in amusement. "You really like to pull that kind of stunt, aren't you, Cousin?" She asked before sighing again, "Whether we are going to be Enemy of not, I will let Fate to decide it." She started flying backwards slowly, "See you then, Cousin, try not to get yourself killed because that stubbornness of yours".

"You love me anyway." Yoh said softly with warm eyes, "That's why you didn't hesitate one bit to throw your life away in order to keep me safe. I haven't thank you for that yet, have I?".

Meene smirked, "Because there's no need for that." She said and flew away, "Take care of yourself, Yoh!".

"You as well, Meene." Yoh said calmly with a wave of his hand.

Meene started glowing before she shot up to the sky, the rest of the Angels followed only a second behind – mostly because they were still shocked over the fact that Yoh and Meene were Cousins.

Yoh sighed as he stared at the Sky, before slowly lowering himself onto the ground. "Yoh?" He blinked and looked at Hao, who had just landed and was looking at him in worry, "Is that alright?".

"What?" Yoh asked with a smile.

"Going as far as opposing your own Cousin just to protect us." Hao said uncertainly and in concern.

"I don't know if we really are going to fight." Yoh said as he looked back up at the Sky, "Meene is a better Judge than she let herself to be, and I know that she will see for herself what really matters in this world – instead of letting other people's opinion to rule her".

"But, if she really is going to kill us, will you really go against her?" Lyserg asked seriously and cautiously as he landed beside Hao.

Yoh looked at him and smiled, "I won't go back on my words, if I said that I will protect you – even against my own Cousin – then I will." He said before looking at Mary, "Mary, you didn't get hurt, did you?" He asked in worry.

Mary smiled, "Mary is alright." She said happily, "Macchi protected Mary".

Yoh smiled, "Thank you for helping me earlier. That was very brave of you." He said as he walked over to the girl.

"Either she was very brave or very stupid." Kanna said as she walked out of the bush to join them, "That was really reckless, you know, Marion? If it's not for Macchi, you might get killed already." She said as she hit Mary's head lightly with her knuckles, "Don't scare me like that ever again".

Mary pouted and shook her head, "Mary doesn't care! Mary will keep doing reckless things if that means she will be able to help her friends!" She announced boldly.

"If that's so …" Macchi said as she make a gesture of cracking her knuckles, "Be prepare for a hell training that I will give you, My Dear Marion, for I will turn you into a Sniper!".

Mary paled as she looked at Macchi's wicked smirk. She just knew that Macchi wasn't exaggerating about her Hell Training that she was talking about.

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To be continued …

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