Authoress' Notes: This chapter, of course, is based on Chapters 39-46 of the manga so feel free to read it to catch the nuances that I left out!
Yoh versus Faust VIII
Teardrops in the Rain
The moment that the front door of the Asakura's residence opened, Silva was met with just the pair he was looking for: Kyoyama Anna and Higurashi Kagome. The itako and miko made quite the contrasting pair in both appearance and personality, anyone could see that by just looking at them. On one hand, Anna was a slim and petite girl with straight sandy blonde hair that fell to her shoulder blades and sharp, calculating brown eyes that gave off an "out of my way" vibe. On the other hand, Kagome's figure was more rounded with her delicate muscles and curves, complemented by long hair that was as dark as night and round, welcoming blue pools for eyes.
When the girls saw the Patch shaman at their door, their faces expressed mild surprise before changing to irritation from Anna and curiosity from Kagome. "Oh, Silva-san," The priestess spoke with her curiosity shining through in her voice. "What are you doing here?"
Silva nodded politely while offering Kagome a small smile, "Kagome-chan, it's been a while. Good to see you that you're doing well." Despite the grievous reason for his meeting with the girls, he still felt the need to show Kagome respect and kindness. She was like Asakura Yoh, a contender who had caught his interest and support. He then looked down at Anna and grinned widely, "You must be Yoh's infamous evil wife, Anna-chan! You're quite the talk of we commissioners!"
Kagome was quick to jump behind the blonde girl and loop her arms around Anna's to prevent her from launching a reckless assault on the cackling, grinning man. Feeling the restraint from the priestess behind her, Anna settled for indignantly stomping her foot and pointing an angry finger at Silva while shouting with reddened cheeks, "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME -CHAN?!"
The priestess found herself sweatdropping and smiling sheepishly as she tried soothing the seething Anna, "I'm sure that Silva-san meant no offense by it, Anna-chan..." Kagome blinked when she felt Anna pull away from her and aim a flustered glare at her now.
"And you too!" The itako pointed at Kagome next. "Who gave you permission to address me as such?!" Silva sweatdropped as he lost the spotlight, despite being the visitor and a Shaman Fight coordinator.
"Hmm..." Kagome looked up with a thoughtful expression as she raised a finger to her lips. "Well, you began calling me 'Kagome' in chapter nine so I think it's fair," She pointed out. 'I already called you that in chapter ten too,' she mentally noted with a half smile.
"Stop breaking the fourth wall!" Anna spat before taking a deep breath to cool down. One moment later, she crossed her arms impatiently before turning to look at Silva with an impatient look. "Well, what do you want? We're on our way to see Yoh's match so if you have no important business then get out of our way."
Both girls noticed how Silva's carefree expression hardened into a grave one. He was quick to respond with a voice that carried the burden of bad news. "That's actually why I'm here, ladies..." He began. "I want you to convince Yoh to forfeit today's match."
Unsurprisingly, Kagome looked confused and a bit upset at the request while Anna immediately increased the intensity of her glare and retort flatly, "Yoh will do no such thing."
The priestess tilted her head a bit, "Are you asking Yoh to forfeit because you truly believe that he has no chance in winning?" She paused for a moment before adding, "Or, worse?"
"You are correct, Kagome-chan," Silva informed them without budging from his spot in front of the door. "After some investigation, we've discovered that Yoh's opponent is a serial killer."
Kagome's eyes widened as she released a gasp. Anna did not bat an eyelash however, she merely stuck her nose in the air and replied in a saucy tone, "So what? All Yoh has to do is win. He can and he will."
"Serial killer aside," the priestess piped up, her expression becoming more worried. "There have to be more reasons why you don't want Yoh to fight this person, right?"
Silva stifled a chuckle before closing his eyes while slumping his shoulders in defeat. "Correct again, Kagome-chan," he said. His brown eyes reopened as he continued speaking, "The odds are stacked against Yoh in this fight. I don't want him to die, that's why I'm here."
"Stop beating around the bush and tell us what's gotten your panties in a bunch already!"
"A...Anna-chan..." Kagome smiled and sweat dropped from beside the itako.
"Alright then..." the man sighed before explaining, "The Great Spirit decided to test both Yoh's strength and the limits of his opponent by setting their match in a cemetery." Anna did not look impressed with the information while Kagome nodded for him to continue. "And his opponent is no ordinary shaman. He is a powerful necromancer."
Despite the shock that appeared on the girls' faces at the news, Silva continued to elaborate, as he knew that he needed to completely brief Anna for her to change her mind. "As you probably are aware, necromancers are European shamans who achieve oversoul while using corpses as objects. And the more powerful the necromancer, the more corpses that they can control at once."
Anna's eyebrow twitched at the information as Silva added, "And the cemetery where they will fight hosts forty-five hundred dead soldiers."
"What kind of twisted mind does your Great Spirit have?!" Anna spat out in outrage.
Ignoring the itako's blasphemous outburst, Silva elaborated even more, "A long time ago, the necromancer Faust terrorized Germany with his frightening power..." He then crossed his arms, "Generations later, Yoh's opponent is the heir to that power and madness... Faust the eighth."
The priestess and spirit medium then turned and looked at each other, one looking upset and worried and the other looking angry but just as worried. "Anna-chan..." Kagome whispered.
Anna nodded silently before looking up at Silva, "Yoh will fight, and he will prevail." She then looked the girl at her side and added, "You go on ahead. I have an important errand to run."
Kagome nodded back as she gave Anna a determined, reassuring look, "Leave it to me."
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
Miroku quietly wandered into the isolated, woody area alone. Because of his heightened spiritual power, he was able to stroll through the eerie scene without fear. He easily used his energy to scan the area and see beyond the limitations of his eyes. The downpour that pelted Tokyo painted a peaceful picture with a hazy silver backdrop. This was the type of weather that sent the young monk into the furthest reaches of his mind.
'It was a rainy day just like this one...' He thought calmly as he continued walking through the greenery. Like a moth to a flame, his eyes snapped down at the sight of a perfect, four-leaf clover standing all alone in his path. He paused mid-step, just before his sandal-ed right foot crushed it beneath his weight. For a moment, he was shocked, almost terrified at the sight of the rare variation of the three-leaf clover. From the rain to the lone, misplaced four-leaf clover, that he bent over and plucked from the ground, everything was reminding him more and more of the fateful day that changed his life forever...
"I guess something good is supposed to happen to me soon..." Miroku half-heartedly mused as he rolled the thin stem between his fingers. He was unsure if he had repeated the same phrase from those years ago purposely or unconsciously. This clover felt and smelt like the one from that day...
Miroku was only twelve years old when his life had changed. Back then, he lived at a monastery with his father and grandfather in the mountains. The monastery oversaw an ordinary town that he often fled to in order to escape training and goof off with the local children. He used to have no interest in becoming a monk. All he wanted to do was live a thrilling and free life with the humans who accepted him, despite being a monk-in-training.
It was a rainy spring day when young Miroku was sent back to the monastery by the towns' adults because all of the other children were called inside to avoid catching colds. Disappointed and annoyed, but obedient and defeated, the monk-to-be began his two-hour trek back up the mountain path. Along the way, a patch of green growing between two gray boulders caught his eye. Curious as any other child, he halted his ascension to investigate the splash of color. His eyes lit up happily when he noticed that he had stumbled upon a four-leaf clover.
His hand immediately went to snatch the small plant by its stem. A wide grin stretched across his face at the thought of all of the good luck that his discovery would bring him. "I guess something good is supposed to happen to me soon!" He told himself as he gripped the clover tightly. He hoped that Koharu, the girl that he had his eye on, would agree to be his girlfriend. "Or maybe, the monks will make something tasty tonight," Miroku smiled. He placed a hand to his stomach. "I hope so. My stomach is rumbling up a storm."
A moment later, Miroku's eyes widened when the rumbling grew closer, louder, faster. The small tremors beneath his feet made him first think of an earthquake. But the thunderous boom of boulders moving and splintering of wide trees caused his head to turn in the direction of the pandemonium. His usual young, hot blood ran cold.
Moist but loose soil carrying snapped trees, boulders, and other natural debris bounded downhill towards him. 'Landslide...' Was Miroku's only thought before he was the mercy of nature. Like an unsuspecting fly into a hungry toad's mouth, he was swallowed up without a fight or chance of fleeing.
There were no memories of his time sliding with the mass of rushing soil, no memories of his time buried in the darkness. Miroku's next memory was of being jerked back into consciousness by his arm. His eyes stung with tears as they tried to flush out the mud and splinters of twigs caked beneath his eyes lids. Confused and disoriented, he could only swipe at his eyes and spit the dirt from his mouth while crying out in agony. "Don't worry. I'll ease your pain," came the voice of a child years younger than himself.
That was the day that Miroku had first met his lord and savior: Asakura Hao. It was a miracle in itself for him to have survived the devastating landslide that took the lives of all of the monks and two-thirds of the town below it. It was another miracle to be found and rescued from the wreckage before he had died of suffocation. It was this day that Miroku had grown to scorn humans.
After ignoring the smiling child who had saved his life, Miroku immediately scrambled to check on the townspeople. Instead of his concern being reciprocated, he had found that the humans had lashed out at him. He was blamed for the tragedy. It was because he skipped out on his training and prayers that the gods decided to punish everyone. He ran away from those accusing, irrational words and went to check on Koharu's house...only to find it completely buried beneath more mud and debris than the survivors could handle.
It was Hao's promise of protection and companionship in exchange for loyalty and cooperation that led Miroku down the path that he lived. It was the only path that he did not have to walk completely alone so he willingly took it. More importantly, he felt indebted to the person who had saved his life and healed his injuries. To Miroku, following Hao was a righteous path that fate wanted him to walk. Ever since that fateful day, Miroku lived as Hao had instructed. He had spent these past six studying under Hao's hand-picked instructors' tutelage, all in preparation for the shaman tournament.
"Do you really have time for spacing out, Miroku?" the familiar voice of his master asked.
Miroku was quick to whip around, get down on one knee, and lower his head respectfully, "My apologies, Hao-sama. Today reminded me of the day that we met and I found my foolish self lost in memories."
Hao let out a soft chuckle before commanding in a casual tone, "You really ought to learn to relax." The shaman smiled as he added, "On your feet. I have a gift for you."
Miroku readily complied with his master's orders and stood up at his full height, which was more than a full head taller than Hao. "A gift?" The monk feigned innocent surprise. "I'm honored that you would think of me so fondly in these stressful times, Hao-sama."
"Stressful?" Hao laughed in amusement before he went quiet for a moment. His usual relaxed smile turned into a confident smirk. "How small... I am the most powerful shaman alive. Not even the shaman tournament is enough to cause me stress."
"Forgive me, Hao-sama," Miroku nodded while placing a hand on his heart sincerely. "I mean no offense, but, did you not call Kagome-sama the most powerful being alive before?"
"Kagome, huh?" Miroku noticed how Hao's smirk faded back into a calm smile at the mention of her name. "Yes, indeed," The Asakura agreed. "She is the most powerful being alive, but as she is now, she's not on my level as a shaman."
"I understand," Miroku replied. "Kagome-sama may possess extraordinary spiritual power but she still is unable to tap into it properly. That means that not even she is a threat to your ideals," corrected himself.
"Correct," Hao responded before snapping his fingers, "Now, onto business." An orb of light appeared on the Asakura's shoulder. With a distinct popping sound, the orb became a red-haired, green-eyed child with a bushy tail.
Miroku could not help but blink before gawking at the faint demonic aura that the spirit gave off. "I presume this is the fox spirit that you took in. Shippo, is it?" He asked while making direct eye contact with the child. It was strange how the spirit looked so shocked then glad to see him, as if this was not their first time meeting.
"Yes. As of right now, I have no use for him," Hao explained, smiling scarily sweetly as he patted Shippo's head. "He's so weak that he wouldn't even be suitable fodder for my Spirit of Fire," the shaman pointed out in a nonchalant tone that got under Shippo's figurative skin.
"Hey!" Shippo protested with clenched fists as the brunette grabbed him by the tail and tossed him into Miroku's arms. Despite this Miroku not knowing of their bond or their shared history, Shippo could not help but feel safe and protected near him. The monk made him feel so brave that he shouted at Hao while shaking a fist at him. "Don't just throw me away like some toy!"
Miroku shook his head before whispering to the spirit, "If you value your existence, you'd watch your tone around Hao-sama." The monk then forced a smile to his face as he replied, "I thank you for the kind gift, Hao-sama. I promise to put him to good use."
"I should hope so," Hao replied. "Your next match is against my Kagome," he beamed. "Make sure to make it entertaining for me, and don't go easy on her." The bewildered and incredulous look on his underling's face caused the Asakura to chuckle softly. "I want to see how much she's grown since I've given her my Furyoku," he added.
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
Yoh was completely unprepared for the change in weather. Just a half-hour ago, the sun was shining down on the Asakura and his human friend. Despite the cognitive dissonance that the shaman had received after being informed that the people laid to rest here were not cremated before being buried, it still looked to be a beautiful day for a Shaman Fight...until fate decided to prove him wrong by rolling in dark, saturated clouds overhead.
"It's a shame that both Anna-san and Kagome-chan will miss your match today," Manta stated as he looked up at the sky, allowing the rain to plop and plop against his skin. "I'm sure that they both want to see you in action," he said before offering his best friend a sympathetic smile. "Eh?" He blinked when he noticed a foreign expression on the young shaman's usually carefree or cheerful face.
A wide scowl accompanied furrowed eyebrows as Yoh focused a stare off into the distance. As the two of them sat side by side against the black iron gate of the cemetery, the silence between them drowned out the rain. Manta had never seen such a troubled expression on his friend's face before.
It was clear that something had happened, something momentous.
Manta's smile dropped. But instead of shying away from the weighty topic, he decided that he would do what he was there for: be Yoh's best friend. The blond's mouth reopened to form the question in his mind, but the shaman suddenly spoke up. It was as if Yoh could sense the question in Manta's mind.
"You're right about that, Manta," Yoh replied as he continued to stare off into the distance. "They're both wonderful people." Manta blinked at the sudden statement. It seemed completely out of the blue, despite being true. "And I don't deserve either of them."
Manta's big eyes then widened a bit as his jaw went a bit slack. The last statement was enough for him to connect the dots and realize the source of his best friend's inner torment. The love triangle that he had long predicted was coming into fruition. The conflicted emotions in Yoh's brown eyes pierced Manta's chest like an iron arrow.
This love triangle was nothing like the hilarious hijinx pictured in manga.
Manta's easygoing, big-hearted best friend, Asakura Yoh, was in pain.
"Ah, Yoh-kun..." The words quietly died in his throat. He wanted to offer words of comfort and reassurance, but he honestly did not know what to say. Neither of them had experience in situations like this one. And even if Manta did have the experience, who was he to act knowledgeable and strong in a situation that hurt both of his best friends? For a moment, all the smaller teen could do was look up at Yoh's friend.
After a moment of silence, Yoh finally looked down at Manta. Despite the small, forced smile on his face, Manta could see the tears that tried to camouflage themselves as raindrops. "It's okay," Yoh insisted. "You don't have to cheer me up."
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a heavy, splashing footstep stopping short of them. The duo looked up to find that the newcomer was no one that they knew. The person was a rather tall man with short, tousled blond hair and deep blue eyes above dark, saggy eyelids. His entire ensemble was bizarre. The stranger sported an oversized, belted jacket; baggy, patchwork pants; black leather boots; a long scarf and a strange elongated hat that was decorated with a single flower. In one of his gloved hands was a suitcase.
"Ah," Yoh blinked his tears away as he took in the man's appearance. His eyes did not miss the small glimpse of an oracle bell peeking out of the stranger's sleeve. The older shaman gave them a close-eyed smile as he politely removed his hat to greet them.
"Hello there~" The man's tone was light and airy, so innocent in comparison to most of the other shamans that they knew. His blue eyes fell on Yoh's unhidden oracle bell before he stated casually, "So you must be the one called Asakura Yoh."
"Yeah, that's me," the said shaman admitted as he pointed at the blond man. "And you must be—"
This time it was the stranger's turn to nod, but he added a friendly smile. "Pleased to meet you," He stated. "I am your opponent for today's match, Faust VIII." Both Yoh and Manta were shocked and thrown off by Faust's meek attitude. It was truly unlike most shamans that they had met up until now. "Please go easy on me..."
Needless to say, Faust's mild disposition caught Yoh off guard, but he was raised properly so he was obliged to return the pleasantries. The Asakura's flushed a bit as he and Manta scrambled to their feet. "Um..." the brunette scratched the back of his head as he responded in kind, "It's not like that. I was hoping that I could learn a thing or two from you too."
Faust let out a hearty chuckle before he replied with a cheerful smile, "No need to be so modest!" His smile widened as he easily admitted, "This is truly wonderful! I was worried about what I would do if my opponent turned out to be scary!"
'This is weird,' Yoh scowled as he felt puzzled by his opponent's good nature. 'How come he looks so weak?' He wondered to himself.
Suddenly Amidamaru sounded a warning to him from within his mortuary tablet, "You mustn't underestimate him, Yoh-dono!" The samurai spirit then emerged, "This man..." he continued as he got into a battle-ready stance, "He carries the smell of death with him!"
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
Kagome gasped and abruptly halted mid-stride. 'That flare of energy...that's Amidamaru-sama...' The priestess noted as her senses screamed that something was amiss. She reached into the pocket of her white jean shorts and pulled out her cellphone, not caring that a few raindrops fell onto the screen. It was not quite time for Yoh's match, so why would the samurai spirit be so worked up?
The priestess's expression hardened as she whispered to her spirit, "Sesshomaru."
"Hn," was his initial response as he made his presence known. "I can smell the scent of death all the way from here," Sesshomaru confirmed with his partner.
"I'm worried about Yoh and Manta-kun," Kagome stated as her blue eyes met Sesshomaru's golden ones. "Looks like we're going to have a fight on our hands today," the priestess said as her serious expression broke into a light smile. With that said, the priestess increased her pace into a spirited power-walk.
Her quick, powerful stride only broke from the sound of her spirit's voice looking behind her, "The boy's fight is his own." In the demon lord's eyes, the last thing that they needed to do was coddle and rescue anyone else. If anyone was not strong enough to hold their own in the Shaman Fights, then they deserved their loss.
"It's not about that..." At that moment, Kagome turned around to face Sesshomaru. Her form was glowing brilliantly, illuminating and bringing color to the dull gray atmosphere. Never before had such gentle eyes and a sweet smile looked more powerful and resolute. The priestess's reply was simple and sweet, "Yoh is my friend, and so is Manta-kun. And that means, even when they don't ask me to, I'll be there to help them."
Sesshomaru's neutral expression did not show that his partner's rebuttal surprised him the way that it did. Kagome used to look to him for guidance. She used to be content with following his orders, even if she ended up complaining as she did so. But now, the girl before him had blossomed into someone more confident in herself and her own decisions.
Images of Kagome's troubled past flashed through the spirit's mind. Sesshomaru stood on the sideline as he saw his partner sitting at her desk. Her head hung low to hide her silent agonized expression and the tears streaming down her face. Sitting all around her were the classmates ignoring her pain that was obvious if you simply looked at her.
This was the side of Kagome who she kept hidden from everyone who could not sense her inner heart as Sesshomaru could. When he first possessed her body so many months ago, he immediately noticed the darkness that she kept tucked into the furthest reaches of her soul. It was a darkness that she hid and ignored up until recently.
Suddenly the door of the classroom opened and in marched a smiling Kagome who held her head up high. This Kagome was followed by all of the new friends that she had made this past year. The small procession walked over to the crying Kagome. The smiling priestess suddenly slammed her hands on her desk, startling the crying one to look up at her.
Blue eyes met each other.
No words were exchanged.
The smiling Kagome then reached down for the seated Kagome's hand. With a swift tug, the standing Kagome pulled her counterpart to her feet and into her. "Hn," Sesshomaru witnessed the two Kagome's merge into one, leaving only the smiling one behind. The Kagome who doubted herself and secretly scorned herself for her past cowardice was no more. It was a Kagome who had been accepted by herself.
The only Kagome that was left was the one who insisted that she would go to her friends' aide. Sesshomaru even surprised himself. He found that he was satisfied with this outcome.
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
The direness of their encounter with Faust had escalated since Amidamaru's initial warning to Yoh. They not only learned that this Faust was indeed a descendent of the Faust who resorted to summoning a demon to quench his endless thirst for knowledge, but also that the original one participated in the shaman tournament. "Damn you, Faust!" Yoh shouted as he struggled against the group of skeletons that restrained him.
It all happened so quickly.
In a matter of seconds, Faust revealed that Amidamaru was correct in his assessment of his true, dark nature. The necromancer threw his hat to the ground, and out jumped a skeletal dog carrying a cross-shaped polearm. He then removed his bulging coat to reveal a human skeleton that he kept chained to his arm.
Despite knowing that Faust was a necromancer, the sight of skeletons frightened Manta to his core. Incorporeal spirits were one thing, but the dead moving around in physical form was another! The blond began making a hasty retreat from the scene.
"Manta!" Yoh called after his friend, who yelled back, "That's it! I can't take anymore!"
"So..." Faust whispered as his fingers wiggled. "That child's name is Manta, huh?" He looked at the small figure that was creating more distance between himself and the two shamans. "What a strange little fellow. His height and bone structure are much too small for his age," the necromancer observed aloud. "He must have a skeletal abnormality."
Faust's brief visual evaluation of Manta did not bother Yoh in the slightest. Not until the deranged doctor continued with his line of thought, "Perhaps I could use him for research and unravel the mystery of life to some degree."
The Asakura shot Faust a suspicious glare, but it was for naught.
The necromancer made up his mind. He spread his arms out wide as he summoned the souls that dwelled within the cemetery. He commanded the spirits who wanted to return to physical form to follow his command of, "Seize that boy!"
Yoh clenched his teeth at the sight of Manta screaming in sheer horror in the distance. All around them, fleshless fingers began clawing their way through the graveyard soil. "What the hell is going on, Amidamaru?!" The shaman asked of his spirit. "All of the buried skeletons are crawling out of their graves!"
"Damn it!" The samurai cursed as he explained, "This is his true nature, Yoh-dono! You must defeat him quickly! Otherwise, Manta's life will be in jeopardy!"
Despite his ignorance of the true nature of necromancy, Yoh could still sense the urgency in the situation. But before he could form an Oversoul with Amidamaru and Harusame, the skeleton that had been chained to Faust's arm suddenly rushed him with a weapon made of bone. A decisive thrust of bone to Yoh's stomach knocked the shaman back.
"I'd like to introduce you to my assistant Eliza," Faust called over to Yoh. "She's registered as my special spirit for the Shaman Fights." The blow from Eliza's bone spear caused the brunette to stumble backward into the grasps of the group of skeletons.
That was what led them to the situation that they were now in.
Yoh's heart dropped at the sound of Manta's pained and terror-filled scream.
With expertise and madness that the Asakura had never seen before, Faust easily used his scalpel to slice through the layers of Manta's skin. The blade carved a symmetrical cross into the teen's chest. Youthful blood splattered against the necromancer's face as he got to work with his sharp, medical tools.
Faust was the sole individual who did not feel the surrealism of what he was doing.
Despite the horrified expression on the child's face, the doctor did not flinch or waver.
It was just like any other experiment or examination that he had performed before.
The seconds that it took for Faust's tool to mar and lacerate his body felt like an eternity to Manta. "...the chest region looks normal enough," Faust muttered to himself as he callously examined the sight before him.
Manta dared to look down at the doctor's handiwork and he immediately felt sick to his stomach. Four corners of skins were peeled back and held in place by medical scissors to reveal his bare chest, red muscles and all. Blooding began pooling around his body that was paralyzed from the shock.
In that instant, his brain finally registered what he had happened to him. An excruciating sting that Manta never felt crashed into him. The pain alone was enough for Manta to wonder if this was where he would meet his end. He was panting heavily, taking deep gulps of air. His heart was racing, blood rushing to activate endorphins to ease his pain. "Yoh-kun..." he whispered out as tears began stinging his eyes and rolling down his cheeks.
Faust did not mind the loud screams of the human in front of him, nor did he mind the shouts and curses from his shaman friend. "Oh?" He blinked slowly when a streak of blue energy shot through the air and crashed into the skeletons surrounding him and Manta. The skeletons stood frozen in place, sizzling and steaming.
"What's this?" His blue eyes narrowed when his bone puppets then crumbled into dust.
"That light...!" Amidamaru gasped as both his and Yoh's eyes backtracked the path of the light until they landed on a familiar figure. Yoh's eyes widened at the image of Kagome and all of her glory. She stood over twenty-five yards away. Her usually warm blue eyes were narrowed and full of anger. She was armed with her glowing Crescent bow. The curve of the bow was adorned by the image of Sesshomaru's demon dog head.
"Kagome!" Yoh shouted, instinctively trying to reach for her but he gritted his teeth when the skeletons surrounding him held him firmly in place. "That man is my opponent, a necromancer named Faust!"
"I know! Silva told us!" The priestess called back as she simulated drawing back an arrow. A second later, the familiar blue light appeared in the form of an arrow. "Faust VIII..." She stated as she charged the arrow with both her holy powers and her Furyoku. "Will be punished!" She let the arrow fly.
As the energy sliced through the air, it increased in speed and intensity. The arrow quickly grew and took the shape of a blue shooting star. 'So strong...' Yoh thought as the arrow flew across the area, engulfing and disintegrating all the skeletons in its path. The young shaman shut his eyes and turned his head away as the light shot towards him.
"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru called out, worried for his partner as he was caught in the explosion that consumed the undead soldiers that restrained him. Once the light of explosion faded away, the samurai blinked then smiled in relief at the sight of Yoh surrounded by piles of ash, completely unharmed.
"I see..." Faust muttered from his spot next to Manta's incapacitated, panting form. "So this girl must be another shaman, a very special one." He took in the damage that Kagome's arrows did to his soldiers. "Though the souls still exist, they are unable to possess the bones," he noted as he casually kicked a nearby pile of ash. "Strange, very strange..." He hummed as he placed a finger to his lips.
"Thanks to Kagome, I'm finally free," Yoh muttered as he unsheathed his katana. "Amidamaru, in Harusame!" With his Oversoul now formed, the Asakura pointed his glowing sword at Faust. "You bastard, you'll pay for what you did to Manta." He then locked eyes with the priestess, "Kagome, you've done more than enough. Tend to Manta."
"Un," Kagome nodded. She and Yoh both darted at Faust and Manta from opposite ends of the graveyard. Faust then looked between the shamans closing in on him. His neutral face became a deathly stony one.
"Children are so rude nowadays..." The necromancer muttered. "I warned you not to interrupt my diagnosis..." The man hissed as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. Yoh was silently taken aback by his opponent's foolish behavior. He was blatantly leaving himself open and vulnerable for attack.
It was too suspicious.
Furthermore, despite the bubbling anger mixed in with his airy tone, Faust seemed content to stand in place as the shaman duo dashed towards him and Manta. Yoh grunted when he finally spotted Eliza silently flanking Kagome from her blind spot as she got closer to Manta's fallen form.
"No, you don't!" Yoh shouted as he launched himself forward and parried Eliza's secret attack with a downswing of his weapon. "I've got your back! Keep going, Kagome!" He encouraged the priestess before slashing a wave of Furyoku at the skeleton before him. Eliza was surprisingly nimble, as it quickly jumped several yards to the left to avoid the attack.
Faust's eyes, as blue and cold as glaciers, were both calculating and wise. He noticed how Yoh's brown eyes kept flashing between his precious Eliza and the mysterious young girl who interrupted his diagnosis. 'I see...' The doctor's purple-painted lips widened into a demented, knowing smile. He knew what that look and what those eye-motions meant. 'Yoh and this girl are like how my dear Eliza and I used to be.' He then watched the girl fearlessly approach him and Manta.
"Manta, I'm here!" Kagome shouted as she finally reached her friend. She dropped her bow as her hands flew over her mouth at the sight of Manta. His body was motionless aside from rising and falling of his open chest. His eyes were shut and teeth clenched as he tried to bear the pain. The priestess quickly knelt down beside him and placed a comforting hand on his cheek. "Don't worry, I'm here now..." She whispered as she transferred some of her holy energy into him.
"K-Ka..." Manta's eyelids twitched. "Kagome...chan...?" It was like a miracle. Seconds after that soft hand touched his face, the pain that ravaged his body subsided. With no pain, he was able to relax the tension and open his eyes to find that he was staring up at Kagome's worried face.
Manta immediately noticed how the girl's usually sunny disposition was distorted with fear and pain. 'Kagome-chan...she looks so sad...' He thought as Kagome scooped him into her arms. 'She's that worried...for my sake...' If it were not for the events that brought them here, he probably would have smiled knowing that she cared so much for him. He also noticed how her drenched hair was wavier than normal and the splashes of muddy water on her face. 'She must have raced over to help us...'
Kagome glared Faust down after she was on her feet with Manta protectively in her arms. "Your little sick game of operation is over," She told him. She was not surprised when more skeletons began digging themselves out of the ground, surrounding her and Manta.
"On the contrary, darling girl," Faust whispered as he smiled widely. "I'm curious to find out why your powers are able to neutralize the undead," He stated as he pulled out his bloodied scalpel. "I'm going to enjoy dissecting you and discovering the secret power in that little body of yours. Let's see how well you can defend yourself while cradling that child." He then held his arm out, gesturing for Kagome and Manta. "My undead underlings, capture that girl!"
From across the slippery, muddy field, Amidamaru called to Yoh from within Harusame, "Yoh-dono! Kagome-sama is in trouble! Faust has his sights set on her now!"
Yoh gasped and looked over his shoulder to see a group of eleven skeletons trapping Kagome and Manta within a circle, slowly closing in on them. "Kagome!" He called over to her as he narrowly dodged a frontal thrust from Eliza. "Faust, don't you dare touch a single hair on her head!"
"Don't worry about me, Yoh!" Kagome shouted back to him. "I've got this! Sesshomaru and I won't lose to someone like him!" Her hands were quick and fluid in their movements as she carefully removed the offending scissors that held the peeled flaps of Manta's skin back. 'I can do this...' She told herself as the skeletons grew closer. 'Focus...' The priestess quickly flooded Manta's body with her holy energy.
'Focus...' Kagome told herself, imitating the words that Sango and Ren used to often tell her during train. 'Steady your breath...' Her blue eyes darted down at Manta's face then his chest. His eyes were closed but his expression calm. Most importantly, his torso had been completely resealed and unmarred. She looked up and found that her vision was obstructed by the white of walking bones.
"Oh, look here, Yoh!" Faust taunted across the way. "Your beloved Kagome is all mine now!"
"Dammit! I don't have time for you!" Yoh cursed as he dodged another attack from Eliza. He turned his back on the skeleton completely and began dashing towards Faust and his friends, whose figures were completely blocked by a crowd of skeletons. "I swear if you harm my friends again, I'll—!" His eyes widened at the sound of Kagome's cry.
"Full Moon... SLASH!" The priestess's voice bellowed before a circle of blue light pierced through the boney mid-sections of the skeletons. A second later, the skeletons were vaporized. Yoh's gasped when the souls that inhabited the skeletons ascended towards the darkened heavens. "Hmph," Kagome huffed once her unscathed form came into view. As her left arm carefully held Manta to her chest, her right arm held Tenseiga with Sesshomaru's Oversoul.
"Look what you've done!" Faust shouted angrily, his scowl twitching at the edges as his emotions deepened from outrage into fury. "You've banished the wandering souls to the afterlife! They're useless to me there!" The priestess readily returned his glare. "I see..." He muttered as his oracle bell began flashing and chiming with a countdown. "Thanks to your shenanigans, I've run out of time," He stated. "I'll have to diagnose Manta and dissect you after the Shaman Fight."
"You'll do no such thing," Yoh told him flatly he finally reached Kagome's side. He placed a hand on her shoulder and stated, "Thanks for everything. I'll handle it from here." He then glowered at Faust as he pointed his glowing Harusame at the necromancer. "There's already hell to pay for hurting Manta. But hurting Kagome..."
Kagome's eyes widened after he completed his declaration, "...over my dead body."
"Oho?" Faust smiled in a sickly sweet way. "It seems that I've angered you," He taunted. "Not just that small friend of yours... But the thought of losing your sweetheart is enough to harden your heart, right?" He asked.
'Sweetheart?' Kagome thought as heated blood rushed to her cheeks. Before she had the chance to deny a relationship like with Yoh, the Asakura held up an arm in front of her.
"The match is starting so I need you to get Manta to safety," The young shaman told the priestess. The girl nodded affirmatively and darted away from the scene.
"No matter how angry you get," Faust continued taunting the younger shaman as he thrust his cross into the moist ground. "The outcome of this match has already been decided!"
"Yoh-dono, get ready!" Amidamaru warned his partner. "He's getting serious now!"
"Hear my command and ARISE!" The necromancer shouted to the remaining souls in the area. "Bone Dead RE-BORN!" Once again, the samurai's observation was correct. Within the blink of an eye, a legion of skeletons quickly jumped out of their graves and leaped towards Yoh. The lone shaman was but a tiny island surrounded by a sea of reanimated bones.
Kagome only stopped and turned at the sound of Faust's maniacal laughter and demands, "HAHAHAHAHA! Strip that child's flesh from his bone until he is as bare as you!"
"It's not enough," Yoh muttered, his tone and expression as grim as the grave as itself. With a single slash of energy, he laid waste to a third of the army. The Asakura then turned to his left and swung his glowing Harusame at the skeletons in that direction. The masses erupted and shattered into disassembled bones.
Faust was genuinely shocked at the display of power. Yoh was the second shaman to show him power beyond what he thought possible for shamans their age. 'He destroyed that army so quickly?!' The necromancer thought as Yoh flew towards him, his katana dragging behind him a double-handed ready pose. 'It's incredible! This is his Oversoul?!'
Just before Yoh was within striking distance, the necromancer jumped back a few meters. A mountain of bones quickly amassed behind him. "My servants, protect me!" He commanded. "Bone SHELL!" The skeletons did as their master wished and joined together to form a protective shield around Faust. "HAHAHAHA!" He cackled aloud. "You're strong but can you destroy 1273 kilos walls of calcium?!" He asked.
"It's futile!" Yoh shouted as he slashed at the walls of bone. "I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!" Kagome watched in awe as Yoh's Oversoul easily broke through the bone barricade. The blast was so great that all of the bones were shattered and Faust was sent flying into a broad, stone tombstone with a sickening crunch.
"You were right about one thing, Faust," Yoh stated as he calmly walked towards his opponent. "The battle has been decided. I'm not going to lose to you." The Asakura took in the appearance of the necromancer. He looked so vulnerable in his injured state. A large bone was jutting straight through his broad chest and his right leg appeared to be fractured. Yoh felt absolutely no sympathy for the monster sitting before him. Not even his low hanging head that dripped blood down his face was enough to elicit any compassion from the younger shaman.
Faust panted heavily as he strained to raise his head, "Haaa...O-Oh my... Yoh-kun, you're quite the joker, aren't you?" His icy eyes met Yoh's fiery ones and got caught in a deadlock. "You winning...it's an impossibility," The injured doctor was able to crack a challenging smile. "Because the winner will be me!"
Meanwhile, Kagome watched the battle from on top of a nearby hill, figuring that the high ground would provide safety and a sufficient vantage point for spectating. Manta was resting soundly in her arms, most likely exhausted from the physical exertion and mental distress. She unconsciously held him a bit tighter when she saw how Faust cut out and removed his own fractured femur.
"Sesshomaru, this necromancer...he's unreal..." Kagome whispered to her spirit. Despite Silva's warning about this man's madness and power, she would have never imagined meeting someone so deranged.
"Hn," Sesshomaru appeared next to his partner. Faust tossed his removed bone to Eliza, who easily caught it, and ordered the skeleton to find him a replacement bone with exact same blood type. "This human has the conviction of someone who has lost everything. That very same conviction drove him into depths of insanity."
Kagome could not hear the words exchanged between the dueling shamans. But from the look on Yoh's face, he was just as disgusted and shocked by Faust's behavior as she was. Yoh then launched himself at the broken man, only to be surrounded by another hoard of skeletons with the snap of Faust's fingers. "Those are all the skeletons that Yoh defeated before! They regenerated?!"
"Attacks from an Oversoul are not enough to nullify the necromancer's powers," Sesshomaru stated. "They are nothing like your purification powers."
On instinct, Kagome closed her eyes as she thought about summoning the Crescent. A second later her eyes snapped open when she realized the situation, 'Wait—I can't...!' No matter how much she wanted to help Yoh, she couldn't. She did not know if she could forgive herself if she cost him his match because she could not control herself.
Suddenly Manta groaned groggily in her arms, temporarily drawing the girl's attention away from the ongoing battle. Kagome looked down at his face just as he was opening his eyes. "Manta-kun, you're awake!" She smiled while fighting back tears of joy.
"Yeah," Manta smiled back while nodding. "Thanks to you and Yoh-kun," he replied. Before he had the chance to ask for updates about what he had missed, he found himself drawn into a tight embrace. He was not surprised to be hugged in a situation like this. He merely returned the affection and patted the priestess on the back.
It only lasted for a moment, but that was more than enough for the time being. After they pulled away from each other, Manta could not help but smile sheepishly. "And you know, you can put me down now," he told her in an embarrassed tone.
"Oh, right!" The priestess quickly obliged and proceeded to tell Manta about everything that he had missed since losing consciousness. As her innermind recalled the events since the beginning, Kagome found herself feeling more and more worried about Yoh. Something about Faust's actions did not sit quite right with her. It was not just his insane and cold behavior. But it was also all of the taunts that got under Yoh's skin and how, even now, he was fighting the same skeleton army over and over again.
"So after the beating that Yoh-kun gave him, Faust is completely healed?!" Manta asked with wide eyes as he looked between the faces of the opponents. "And Yoh-kun..." He noticed how his friend was sweating profusely and taking quick, deep breaths. "He looks exhausted!"
Kagome's heart dropped at the sight of the enlarged image of Amidamaru around Harusame beginning to flicker and fade away like a dying flame. The look of shock and panic on Yoh's face confirmed her fears. "Yoh/Yoh-kun!" She and Manta shouted in unison when their friend suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"That's it, isn't it?" Kagome asked in a whisper. "Yoh has been walking into a trap all along..."
"Eh?" Manta blinked when Silva suddenly landed to his left. "Silva-san?!" He shrieked in shock. "What are you doing here?! He asked while pointing a finger at the man.
"Manta, did you forget?" Silva asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the fight below them. "I am a Shaman Fight commissioner," he answered simply. His eyebrow twitched when Silver Wing squawked out, "Silva was worried so we came flying to the rescue!"
"That's right! We have to stop this fight before Faust kills the kid!" Silver Shield piped passionately. Manta's felt his blood running cold at the word 'kill'. He knew how ruthless Faust was from firsthand experience.
A shiver ran down the teen's spine as he remembered how unfeeling Faust's eyes were as he casually cut him open to examine his insides. Manta had no doubt that necromancer was not above killing anyone to satisfy his own needs and desires.
Kagome then turned to look at Silva and his five spirits. Despite the brave face that Silva was trying to put on, she could tell that he was just as worried for Yoh as his spirits. "Don't worry, you guys," She stated while holding Tenseiga out to them, allowing them to take in the sword appearance and aura.
Despite the gloomy overcast, the blade had an uncanny sheen to its steel length. "As long as there's breath in my body..." She paused and shook that thought away. "Even after my last breath, I'll never allow that to happen." She paid no mind to the shocked looks that they gave her. "I'll protect Yoh, no matter what."
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
"Hmph," HoroHoro huffed out with a confident grin. He sauntered towards the four teens who had spectated the Shaman Fight that he easily won against a surprisingly weak shaman named Ginta. "So San-tan," He began while casually slinking an arm around the Tao's shoulder. "Whaddya think?" He asked while leaning closer and poking a finger to her cheek, "I'm pretty cool, right?" He pressed on, seemingly oblivious to flaring auras from Sango and Ren.
Pirika, who would always be on her brother's side in his romantic pursuit, beamed as she pumped her fists excitedly, "My Onii-chan is the coolest ever, right?!" Sango sweatdropped and almost faltered at the sparkling of the younger girl's eyes.
Sango had the mind to grab HoroHoro by his offending finger and squeezed it until he begged for mercy, but there was no way that she could do something like that in front of his adorable little sister. With a sigh, the brunette Tao lifted a hand to remove the offending finger.
But there was no need. Ren was immune to Pirika's cuteness. He tore HoroHoro away from his cousin, grabbing the taller boy by his collar, "Hey now." Golden eyes narrowed at HoroHoro as he asked in a hissing tone, "What did I say about harassing my cousin?" He pulled the blunette closer till they were eye to eye. "Huh?"
HoroHoro was not deterred by Ren's threatening demeanor. He easily tore the Tao's hands away and merely shrugged, "Dude, chill. I asked—."
"Begged," Ren and Sango deadpanned in unison.
"—San-tan to watch my match because I want to prove myself! I'm courting her," HoroHoro explained straightforwardly. Pirika was glowing at her older brother's bold nature and confession. She cupped her hands together and silently hoped that she would find the courage to be like her brother the next time that she meets Bankotsu.
"Tch," Ren rolled his eyes. "As if an idiot like you even knows the first thing about courting."
HoroHoro chuckled while glaring at the scion who set himself up for his rebuttal. "I don't want to hear that from a guy who gets tongue-tied when his crush looks at him." The smug shaman did not notice the angry vein that sprouted on Ren's forehead.
Pirika snapped from her stupor when she sensed Ren's silent fury growing. She looked up at Sango, hands still cupped, "D-Do you think that Onii-chan will be okay?"
The younger girl was surprised when Sango suddenly beamed down at her. The brunette placed a hand on Pirika's head and rubbed it reassuringly, "Don't worry, Pirika-chan. Your brother's head is especially thick. And he's too stupid to die." Those words made the blunette girl's jaw drop as she stiffened and went pale.
"You know what else?" HoroHoro continued, unaware of how Ren grabbed his kwandao from seemingly nowhere. "A little birdie told me that you proposed to your dream girl, but only as a backup." The oblivious shaman's eyes landed on the two girls. Pirika looked fearful and was shaking her head viciously while Sango was giving him an unusual thumbs-up while smiling angrily.
A moment later, he paled as he felt a murderous aura creeping closer behind him. It was then that HoroHoro realized that Sango was actually encouraging her cousin. "I guess you have a death wish," Ren whispered as he leaned in close and tilted HoroHoro's chin up with the pole of his weapon. The spat between the duo continued.
Sango looked up at the sky and spoke, "I wonder how Yoh-kun's match is going right about now." The squabble died instantly as HoroHoro and Ren both turned their attention to her. They listened to her words without Ren retracting his weapon or HoroHoro letting ago of his fistful of Ren's tongari. "I've been interested in him more and more lately."
HoroHoro's froze, releasing his grip on Ren's hair as he felt an invisible spear pierce his heart at those words. Ren merely narrowed his eyes and shot Sango an incredulous expression. Pirika fell to her knees dramatically, crushed under the weight of defeat.
"I spent a lot of time hearing why he's great from Kagome-chan and I'd like to see it for myself," Sango continued, unaware of the effect that she was having on the others. "So I was hoping to learn more about him from his Shaman Fight. The way an individual battles says a lot about their personality and ethics, you know." After her explanation was finished, Ren relaxed while the Usui siblings breathed deep sighs of relief.
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
With clenched teeth and Harusame tightly gripped, Yoh struggled to rise. Faust seemed amused by the boy's attempts to get up, despite the obvious exhaustion overtaking him. "Hmph! You should know by now that you cannot defeat me," He smiled widely. "It would be easier for you to just admit defeat..." The words of advice were not genuine. He thoroughly enjoyed seeing Yoh in this state and planned to end his life, regardless of if he forfeited or not.
"Admit defeat...? Not a chance," Yoh grunted as he pushed himself off the ground. The thought of giving up was enough to bring the shaman back to his feet, albeit staggered. Faust was surprised when the Asakura defiantly pointed his sword at him and shouted, "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR HURTING MANTA AND THREATENING KAGOME!"
"Heh," Faust smirked at Yoh's surprisingly obstinate behavior. When he first met the younger shaman, he pegged him for a weakling that would resort to begging for his life like the countless others who had the misfortune to meet him. "You're unbelievably foolish, Yoh-kun." While it was impressive to see the Asakura back on his feet, it was also apparent that it was taking his last reserves of strength to do so.
Meanwhile, Silva was in shock at Yoh's display of determination. He could sense the minuscule pool of Furyoku that the shaman had left. Most other shamans who had such an insignificant amount of Furyoku would have lost their Oversoul or consciousness by now. "Is this really the carefree Yoh from before?! How is he able to hold on in this situation?!" the Patch shaman questioned aloud.
"Because they're Yoh's friends," Anna suddenly stated as she walked towards the group of spectators. All eyes then turned to the fearless itako as she made her entrance. "And Manta is special. He's Yoh's first human friend."
"...you talk too much, Anna," Yoh told the blond girl as she made her way closer.
Her fiancee's slight ire did not stop Anna. She merely asked, "So what if I do?" She continued to speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, "You've been called 'Demon Child' since you were little. Everyone in the village hated you and you treated like the devil."
Kagome gasped, her shock enough to make her lose her grip on Tenseiga. 'Yoh was...treated like that since he was little...?' She thought. 'Someone as warm and kind as Yoh was treated like a...like a...'
Manta was in a similar state of shock. He could not fathom how anyone could think of someone like Yoh as a devil. His eyes moved away from Anna over to Yoh. The way that Yoh bowed his head to hide the pain as those memories came fresh to his mind.
There were so many times that he tried to greet the other children when he was younger...
and so many times that he was rejected or spat on.
At one point, he had given up on reaching out and just resigned to being alone until someone special stumbled along and spoke to him.
That time did not come until almost a year ago...
Anna then explained how the esteemed Asakura clan had been powerful shamans for ages and many generations. Such divine powers used to be hailed as a gift from mankind. But in a time where human had forgotten their morals and connection with the rest of world, such powers inspired feelings of fear instead of awe.
"Yoh was always shunned by kids his own age for being different," Anna stated, not knowing that flood of emotions that she brought to both Manta and Kagome. "Yoh has been in the company of spirits since he was a small child...so he got the worse treatment of all. He's always been alone."
'What I experienced...back at my old school...' Kagome could feel her heart racing. 'Yoh lived with that kind of treatment most of his life...' For a moment, she felt so pathetic and weak. She had ran away from something that Yoh struggled through for so much longer and from a fragile age. How did someone who was so lonely and scorned maintain such a warm, kind heart?
"When Yoh left the village, he finally met two people who could see ghosts just like he could," Anna stated as she looked down at Manta. "One was even a human who was willing to talk him and befriend him..."
Kagome inhaled and exhaled, slowly and deeply, to calm her heart. She could not allow herself to be overcome by emotions again. She had to be strong for Yoh. She picked up Tenseiga while shooting Anna an annoyed look, "What took you so long?"
Anna was not phased by the priestess as she replied,"A lot of the shops were sold out of raincoats." The rest of the spectators fell over in shock.
"All of this rage for your friends, huh?" Faust asked. "How touching..." He then snapped his fingers, causing the army of skeletons to fall apart all around the cemetery. Yoh stayed in his battle stance as the sole standing began glowing and got into its own ready pose. "You see now, the last skeleton standing is..."
Everyone watched in shock as Faust's concentrated Furyoku melded hair, skin, and facial features onto the once naked sketelon. "My beloved Eliza!" Before they knew it, the skeleton had completely transformed into a beautiful young woman with long, wavy blonde hair and blue eyes.
"A nurse...?" Yoh muttered at the sight of her pink, retro nurse's uniform. "Who is this woman?" He asked of the necromancer. Something about Faust's words and choice of her as his primary spirit told Yoh that she was someone important to the necromancer.
Faust narrowed his eyes as he replied coldly, "Little boys don't need to know that. She's just a small, pretty girl." Without warning or verbal command from her master, Eliza suddenly dashed forward and thrust her cross into Yoh's ribcage.
"That woman is so weak compared to Yoh's past opponents," Anna commented as she watched Yoh take a relentless beating from Eliza. "But at his current state, he can't stand up to even such a weak Oversoul."
It was both horrifying and amazing to watch Yoh struck, knocked down, and stand back up again over and over. The fact that he still had the will to fight on was beyond Silva's comprehension.
"Yoh is reaching his limit..." Kagome nodded. "He can't lose though... Not now..." She whispered as she watched Yoh fail at parrying Eliza's attack, resulting in a direct strike to his left arm. "He...can't lose..."
'I can feel it...I can feel Yoh's desire...his inner heart'
It was an overwhelming thirst for justice and retribution.
It was fueled by love.
'I want to make it happen... I want Yoh's wish to come true...'
The priestess closed her eyes as she was overcome by this feeling.
'I think...that I've felt this feeling before... This yearning for Yoh's happiness, for Yoh's dream.'
For a split second, her mind's eye flashed an image of an older Yoh to her.
He was smiling so kindly while patting her head.
'I want to give him everything that he wants...'
Silva gasped when Kagome began glowing a deep blue light. He recognized this feeling—this energy. He felt it once before. This was the same, strange energy that was released when Tao Ren made his unexpected victory against Shichinin Bankotsu. 'I can't imagine how you've come to possess this power, Kagome-chan...' He fought the instinct to rush the girl. Instead, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Kagome gasped and snapped back to reality. 'Eh? What was I doing just now?' She looked up at the shaman, "Silva-san...?" From the inquisitive look in her eyes, he could knew that the priestess was unaware of her ability. He merely shook his head at her and decided that now was not the time to talk about it. Stopping her before she released her power was enough.
Or so he had thought.
The examiner did not expect for the priestess to hold up her sword after his spirits once again warned that Faust was going to kill Yoh. "That's not going to happen," Kagome insisted as Tenseiga began to glow. "Sesshomaru and I will send that woman to the next world."
Anna nodded in agreement, "Yes, Yoh is at his limit. It's best for him to admit to defeat and learn his lesson." She then called over to the Asakura, "You hear that? Kagome is coming to your aide so just give up and accept it!"
Yoh growled while shaking his head, "No! Manta got hurt under my watch! I have to be the one to avenge him!" He looked over to Kagome with pleading eyes that made her falter and lower her sword. "Kagome...let me do this."
That look in his eyes...
Who was she to deprive Yoh of the closure that he needed?
Anna then whipped her head over to look at Kagome disapprovingly. Kagome ignored the look as she replied, "thirty seconds..." She shouted over to Yoh, "You have thirty seconds to win or else I'm jumping in!"
"Thirty seconds, huh...?" Yoh panted out while shakily holding out Harusame. "Fair enough..." He then glared at his opponent and declared, "This game of dolls is over Faust VIII!"
The younger shaman's declaration struck a chord within Faust's heart. "Doll...?" He asked in a scarily low voice. His eyes widened as he seemingly stared off into space, "You say that my dear Eliza is a doll?"
It was in that moment that Faust remembered exactly what brought him down the dark path of necromancy. Years ago, he fell in love with Eliza, the only girl in town who ever regarded him with kindness. As fate would have it, the beautiful and kind girl was afflicted with an incurable malady that was destined to claim her life. He dedicated his medical studies to finding the cure, all for the love of his life.
After the doctor finally discovered the cure to her disease, the two of them became joined in matrimony. Together, they built their own clinic. It was a dream to come true to work in the profession that he loved, with the person who he loved. But then...a simple bullet to the head destroyed that dream life before it could even begin...
"YOU THINK I'M PLAYING A GAME WITH ELIZA AS A DOLL?!" Faust shouted, his eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled down into a toothy glower. Eliza began striking Yoh relentlessly. Her attacks were brutal and wild, reflecting Faust's rage.
After deflecting an attack from the blonde's polearm, Yoh sideglanced at Kagome. The priestess tightened her grip on Tenseiga. 'Fifteen seconds left...' He told himself. "Shamans are people who help those struggling to live. We call the dead to this world to help them part with the past."
"So Faust, you who are tied to the past..." Everyone could see that Yoh only had enough Furyoku to focus his Oversoul into the very tip of Harusame. Meanwhile, Eliza's entire body was enveloped into Faust's energy. Yoh and Eliza were but a meter away from each other, both in attack stances.
This was the final gamble.
"HAVE NO RIGHT TO BECOME SHAMAN KING!"
Yoh ducked to dodge Eliza's attack as he slashed forward with all of his might.
The strike severed Eliza's legs from her body. Faust stared dumbfounded and broken as his late wife's legs fell to the ground. The clatter of bone was muffled by the moist soil and endless rain. With no feet to stand on, the rest of her body too came crashing down, helpless. "Eliza...!" He was immediately at her side.
Silva Wing and Silva Shield immediately began cheering, thinking that Eliza being immobilized meant that Yoh had won. But alas, Kagome closed her eyes and corrected them before Silva could. "No...by the rules, Faust has won," She stated as she shot Yoh a tender expression. "Faust didn't lose his Oversoul..." She watched as Yoh fell to the ground. "But Yoh has."
"What?!" Silva Shield shouted while looking to his master for answers. "You mean that Yoh worked so hard to make it this far just to lose?!" The Patch shaman hummed in response. He was not surprised to watch the priestess leave the group to go to Yoh's side.
She arrived just as Amidamaru emerged from Harusame. "Yoh-dono, are you alright?!" The samurai asked, his voice laden with concern. He and Kagome were both a bit relieved when Yoh managed to pick himself off the ground even a little. The shaman was now on all fours with his head hung low, his long bangs shielding his face from them.
"I..." Yoh replied slowly. "I've always believed that when the times comes, there'll always be a solution to my problems..." Kagome and Amidamaru listened as the boy spoke from his heart, "That's because I won't know what the solution is until the time comes. If I try to guess an unpredictable future, I'll just become unsure." Amidamaru's eyes widened as he began to hear his partner's voice began to waver and bubble up, "B-But this time...there was no solution." 'Manta...I let him down...'
The droplet of Yoh's tears began falling on his clenched fist.
He could not unsee Manta being cut open.
He could not unhear Manta's screams of his name and his cries for help.
And then, his mind drew up the image of Kagome being in that state, vulnerable and begging him for help...help that he could not give her.
"I almost lost my dream, my life, and my friends...!" If he had the strength to, Yoh would have been pounding his fist into the ground. He was beyond the point of disappointment and agitation. This feeling of weakness and helplessness was foreign to him. These feelings...he only got to know them when he found that he unable to protect what was most important to him. "I just want to live a carefree life! It would just be easier if I didn't care about winning or losing, but I do care!"
Yoh did want a carefree life.
But he now knew that he could not live that way entirely, not yet.
After coming to Tokyo, he discovered more and more things that he wants to protect.
He found more and more things that he cared about.
And at the epicenter of it all was...his friend.
Kagome's heart skipped a beat at Yoh's tearful confession. "But then I lost, and I feel so bad!" He told them. "I've never felt this way before!" Even now, his shoulders were trembling as his weak body was wracked with sobs of defeat and frustration. Wordlessly, the girl in front of Yoh got down on her instep. "K-Kagome...?" Her name came out in a sputter.
Yoh looked up at her face and almost immediately looked away again. She was giving him the softest expression that he had ever seen. Her eyebrows downturned, blue eyes shimmering, and lips trying to smile at him. She was the last person who he wanted to see him in this state. He knew that his pain would only burden her. She placed Tenseiga down beside Harusame.
"Yoh..." She whispered while pulling him into her arms. Yoh's eyes widened when he felt the warmth radiating from her chest. "It's okay. It's natural to feel this way," She told him. With one arm, she held him close and the other, she ran her fingers through his damp hair. "If you didn't feel any pain or disappointment, I'd question if you were truly our friend."
Yoh could hear Kagome's steady heartbeat as she spoke. The thumps from her chest and the bells of her voice joined in a secret, soothing song, a song just for him. "I know that you're hurting, but it's going to be okay." He could sense the smiling growing on her face. "You fought so hard for us. You pushed yourself further and further, even when you were staring down the face of defeat. You kept going..." He did not want them to, but his eyes watered once again. "I'm proud of you."
Unable to trust his voice with words, he sniffed and nodded in response.
Amidamaru smiled and added in, "Yoh-dono, you've tasted your most bitter defeat. But this loss is not the ending, but a beginning—the beginning of your journey to becoming stronger. So that you can always protect what is precious to you."
That's right...
This was only the beginning.
And if his friends could forgive him for his weakness...then he could also forgive himself.
The heaviness in Yoh's chest lifted and he finally smiled once again. He could finally breathe again.
The tender moment was suddenly interrupted by a thunderous roar and Faust's furious bellow, "For wrecking my dearest Eliza, I will destroy you!" Everyone gasped as the necromancer focused his Furyoku into merging the thousands of skeletons into one. He stood on top of its head as he continued screaming, "YOU'LL DIE AN UGLY DEATH BY MY 12,730 KG CALCIUM GIANT!" The giant skeleton was a colossal terror as its roar caused a shockwave that blew loose objects away.
Instinctively, Kagome held Yoh tighter and formed a barrier around them.
Her eyes then landed on Tenseiga that sat next to them.
But before she could take action, a loud explosion resounded as the monster suddenly was blown into calcium powder. Faust was blown away along with fragments of fractured bones and skulls. Kagome and Yoh gasped as three figures landed on the ground in front of them, each of them holding familiar, glowing weapons.
"Glad that we made it in time!" HoroHoro grinned as he gave Yoh and Kagome a victory sign.
Sango growled and twisted his ear, "You call this in time?! I told you I wanted to see his match!"
"Tch," Ren scoffed as he crossed his arms and took on a haughty tone, "Be grateful that we came here and rescued you—Ack!" The Tao scion bristled when his brain finally processed the state that he was looking at: Kagome holding Yoh close. And that damn Asakura looked awfully comfortable and happy nuzzled so close to her chest.
"You guys!" Kagome smiled appreciatively at them. "Thank good—Eh?" She blinked when Ren stomped closer to them. He stood above them, a single finger tapping his bicep as his arms were still folded.
"Asakura Yoh, what do think you're doing?" He asked in a low voice.
Yoh blinked before realizing the position that he was in. His cheeks burned bright red, "N-Nothing!" The brunette protested as he suddenly found the strength to back away from the girl. 'Oh, I'm okay now!' He thought when he realized that he was no longer in pain and that his wounds had been healed.
Kagome rolled her eyes while shrugging, "What's the big deal?" She and Yoh then got to their feet as she huffed a bit, glaring at Ren for harassing Yoh. "It was just a hug, Renny."
"Pfffft..." HoroHoro's cheeks filled with air as he held back laughter. "R-Renny..."
"S-Shut up, baka!" Ren shouted back. He paused when a stray breeze caused Kagome to shiver. It was then that he noticed her hair, damp clothes, and muddy face. He scowled while removing his cloak and wrapping it around her small shoulders. "Bring an umbrella next time, you idiot," He chastised as he fastened it to secure its place around her body.
Kagome huffed and spat back, "I don't wanna hear that from you! You wore a hoodless cloak, trying to look cool!" Yoh scowled a bit when he noticed the slight pink to her cheeks. He hoped that it was just because she was embarrassed or angry. "But, still..." Her glare turned into a soft smile that sent Ren's heart into a messy race. "Thank you."
"Anyway," Sango cut in as Anna and Manta approached them. "Apparently, Yoh-kun's and Ren's third match will be against each other."
Yoh and Kagome's eyes widened at the news.
"So you'd better get stronger soon, Yoh-kun," Sango added in as she met his eyes.
Ren smirked as he held out his arm to display the announcement on his oracle bell, "She's right. As it is now, your OverSoul's nothing in comparison to my Bason."
Kagome looked between her two friends and frowned. Like herself, both Yoh and Ren needed to win their third match to advance beyond the preliminaries...
So that meant that one would have to lose for the other to advance...
On one hand, Yoh was her best friend who helped to heal her heart and inspired her to walk this path... On the other, Ren fueled her inner fire...challenging her to go beyond her limits.
The boy who taught her that it was alright to take her time and not worry about the future... Or the boy who pushed her to be her best self...
Who should she pray for?
Authoress' Notes: I've finally gotten around to Yoh versus Faust! I know that my rendition didn't do this fight any justice but I tried! I also did not want to write everything that I saw in the manga. Writing out all of the dialogue and actions would give me brain rot! But anyway, with this fight down, there will be only two more fights that I'm writing for the preliminaries: Kagome versus Miroku and Yoh versus Ren.
Now that I've reached this point, I'm most likely going to hold off on the follow-up chapter and put some time into writing supplemental chapters for earlier in the story to make it more cohesive. Thus, the structure of the story will change a bit and the chapter numbers will increase. To make it easier, I'm just going to get rid of the chapter numbers in the titles once I start the revamp. I want to give anyone who binges this story a more pleasant reading experience so forgive the delay on advancing the story. But I think that the new earlier chapters that I add will bring some things together. Right now, the number of chapters that I think that I will add in will be about two or three. But, we'll see!