DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King, I only own my own OCs.

Prologue: Her and I

"You're running out of time here," Nix said as she approached the busy street corner.

While waiting for the light to change, she looked through her bag to make sure she hadn't forgotten the money that her older brother Tai had lent her. Nix had had to remind her to bring it. "I know," she replied absently, emotionlessly. She'd never spoken to her spirit partner in anything but a monotone.

"You'll be younger this time around than you were last time," Nix commented.

"I suppose so," she agreed, and the phoenix spirit said nothing.

The light finally changed, and as it did she noticed Tai standing across the street. He smiled and waved, but she did nothing in return. It had been a while since she'd seen him; he was getting more and more busy lately since he'd become an actor, even if he only played bit parts in those kung-fu movies that had become popular lately. The last time she'd seen him had been a few weeks ago, when he'd taken her along to see the latest Lee Pailong movie at a private screening in Pailong's own house. It had been a huge event, and she'd been stared at by plenty of people because of her lack of emotion.

Despite her muteness and "special needs," Tai always tried to take her places and spend time with her, which puzzled her more than anything, but she didn't particularly care, just like she didn't care about anything or anyone. It was just unusual to her that he was even concerned about her; all of her previous siblings hadn't been.

She started walking across the street, and Tai beamed. As he did so, Nix's ghostly talons suddenly dug into her shoulder, but the girl didn't pay any heed.

Tai's smile vanished.

"MAYLIN!"

She stopped at this. There was a screech of tires, and Tai was suddenly there, grabbing Maylin, trying to shove her out of the way.

But the car hit them both.

()()()()()

For thousands of years, she hadn't considered herself much of anything. She was a drifter with a purpose and a place to call home, but she didn't think of herself as an individual. She was a tool, and she'd always been a tool and Nix had always been there to protect her until it was her time to be used. Tools were seen and not heard and she reflected that ideology with her entire being.

But as Maylin died and the soul known as Catori finally migrated toward the Patch after five hundred years, something changed.

I changed.

()()()()()

The nine months spent floating around inside my new mother were different than they had been the dozens upon dozens of times I had done it before. I used to feel as if I were asleep, and though I did slip in and out of consciousness, everything felt different.

It puzzled me for a long time. Nix came not too long after I became aware, and he told me about how his arrival had exited the Patch people. As per tradition, they held a celebration honoring my mother—whose name was Shima, apparently—and Nix told me all about it.

I listened attentively as he explained about what the Patch was like this time around. The tribe itself was smaller than it had ever been, and it wasn't as prosperous, but it was as lively and devoted as ever. The High Priestess was an old woman named Goldva, who was in charge of not only all of the Patch, but also training the new chosen generation of Patch priests, who all looked pretty promising—to me, at least.

Time passed, and I became more and more excited to be born, so that I could meet Shima and Dakota, my parents, and also Silva and Kalim and Chrom and all the other Patch priests. I was looking forward to living.

I don't know if Nix had purposely been keeping a few things from me while my body grew, but one day, he told me that my father had passed away from pneumonia.

The imagine of a car and screaming Tai filled my tiny head and I wanted to scream but I couldn't, I wanted to cry but I couldn't, so I lamented to Nix and it was then that I realized what was different.

It was me. I was sad because someone died before I even had the chance to meet him.

I had emotions, and it scared me.

()()()()()

I was born at noon on March 13, 1985. To say that my birth was an event would be an understatement. All the fuss annoyed me and I retracted my senses so that I didn't have to accidentally brush against anyone's annoying thoughts.

Time went by pretty slowly. When I was old enough to move around the village by myself, I spent most of my time with the priests. My favorite had to be Silva, since he was so nice and always took the time to slip me something tasty. He was a lot older than me, though, and I found myself wanting to do childish things in my young body, so if there was any free time, I usually spent it with Nichrom and Rutherford. Nichrom could be annoying, but Rutherford was always very sweet and shy. She preferred to spend time by herself, though, and sometimes we went days without talking to each other.

I don't think I went an hour without talking to Nix, though.

But Nix and I never talked about my emotions until I became a teenager.

()()()()()

That night, I lay on the flat roof of our house, staring up at the night sky. I was thinking of all the shamans in the world, which ones would try to become the Shaman King, which one would. Which dream would become a reality? Or had Hao reincarnated again? Surely, if he had, he would be one of the strongest contenders…if not the strongest.

When he had been a Patch priest, I hadn't known who he was until his intentions had become clear and he had tried to become Shaman King by force. At the time, I had no bias on anything, and if he had actually managed to use me, I wouldn't have done anything about it. But now, I remembered how he had slaughtered the Seminoas and taken Spirit of Fire, all in the name of his shaman-only kingdom. If Asakura Yohken hadn't stopped him, then no non-shaman would be left, as he considered them all parasites, creatures that ruined the world and brought nothing but despair.

I thought of Tai, and I couldn't agree with how Hao thought. I would incinerate myself—my existence— before I agreed.

Nix—the ever-present phoenix, my guardian, the one I relied on most—heard my thoughts, as always. "You don't have to agree. You only have to aid him."

"…I can't, Nix. I don't want to, not ever." But, every second brought me closer to that time, to the inevitable.

"But it's your duty."

"You don't have to remind me."

He was silent for a moment. "You aren't who you once were."

"…I can't even understand who that person was," I admitted. My eyes stung. "I don't understand, and it makes me scared."

"Well, I'm always here for you."

I said nothing in response, but I didn't have to.

We sat on that roof every night we could, watching the stars, waiting for the one that would signal the end of the beginning, and the beginning of the end.

~Muted~

a/n: Hello, everyone! It's Rose, here, and I have to admit that I have another fanfic to work on. For those of you who don't want to read about me reminiscing of old days, feel free to skip the rest of this author note, and just note that right after I upload this prologue I will be uploading the first chapter, and I hope to update this bi-weekly, though I have other responsibilities: school, family, and my other ongoing fic at the moment, for FMA. Thanks.

"Muffled" was a fic I started writing the summer before I went into high school (around the beginning of August 2010), and I didn't finish writing the entire thing for over a year, and in all, it took me eleven months to post it in its entirety. It got me through freshman year (especially my math classes), and was a huge, huge part of my life. Many people even told me in reviews that they loved it and read it often. "Muffled" was my baby, and Tori was my baby, and Nix was my baby. I loved it, but it wasn't perfect. It was based entirely off the anime (which I love), but much of the dialogue came from the episodes themselves. There were also inconsistencies, things that didn't make sense, lessons that I've since learned aren't always right and/or are wrong altogether, and Tori tended to be more of the bad type of Mary Sue sometimes (I will actually agree with you if you call her a Mary Sue; however, I will not agree with you if you use it in a negative context; I think it's impossible to have an interesting story if the OC doesn't have any Sue tendencies, and I think the bad Sues come from a whole slew of factors). I loved writing "Muffled" so much that I actually cried several times during the story, especially in the later chapters.

Sometimes during the writing I thought about doing a sequel, but that never happened. I also thought about doing a manga adaptation, and that never happened...until now. But you see, this story should have elements of both the manga and anime. I will do everything I can to make "Muted" as fresh and interesting as possible, while still touching upon the style of "Muffled." It is my hope that in this rewrite, the writing will be better, the characterization will be spot-on, there will be no inconsistencies, and that you will enjoy this story as much as I do, whether you've read "Muffled" before or not. Thank you very much, dear reader, for coming this far and at least giving this story a shot. Without you, there would be no reason to do this.

Thank you all very, very much, and I hope you enjoy "Muted."

-Rose