DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shaman King, I only own my own OCs and this fic.

Two: Chrom

"Oi, we got food!" I said, barely managing to open the door since I was carrying a bunch of grocery bags.

Silva was immediately there, helping with the door and grabbing some bags. I thanked him, and together the two of us put the bags on the center table and began to unload them. Kalim didn't help; he was still glued to the TV.

"Anything interesting happen while you were out?" Silva asked.

"I saw a Chinese shaman and an Ainu shaman, and some others. But mostly I was looking at everything in the city."

"You stayed out for a while," Silva noted, nodding toward the window, which showed how dark it was outside. It was already nearly nine o'clock.

I busied myself with making some instant miso. "Well, uh, I got a little lost on the way back."

"More like you got a lot lost," Nix corrected.

I glared at him, but Nix did nothing and Silva just laughed at us. "Well, I'm glad you had fun. Tomorrow we start really looking for those shamans, so after we eat, we should all get some rest. You too, Kalim."

"But Madoka hasn't become a magical girl yet!"

Silva tossed a packet of instant noodles at Kalim with a little more force than was necessary. "Shut up and eat, idiot."

"Don't talk to me like that," the older man snapped, but nevertheless, he got up to prepare his food.

()()()()()

Chrom pointed into the crowd. "Tonight, I'm gonna challenge that little punk."

I peered into the throng of people and saw who he was singling out: Mr. Short-Shorts. Or Mr. Sharkhead. Tongari-chan? …I hadn't come up with a good nickname yet. "Yesterday I was walking around and literally ran into him. Bastard was pretty rude."

Maybe "bastard" was a good title for him, actually.

"All the more reason to knock some sense into him," said Chrom. "Unless you want to do the honors?"

I laughed a little. "You know I'm not allowed to hurt any contestants unless I have good reason. But boy, would I love to."

"He isn't a contestant yet," Chrom pointed out. "Do it—I wanna see it."

I shrugged, barely holding back a chuckle. "Eh, I'll let him be. I'll admit though that the kid seems to have the potential to grow really powerful, but we'll see. He's far from the strongest I've ever met, though. Speaking of which…has anyone seen Hao yet?"

He shook his head. "Not from what I've heard. We don't even know if he's around this time."

"I'm sure he is." I stood from where we sat on a bench. "I'm gonna go take another look around. Guess I'll see you later, Chrom."

"Bye, Cat," he called, and I shot him a glare. He laughed.

I left him and began to walk through the city, expanding my senses to try to find any huge amounts of furyoku. Perhaps Hao was staying well out of the way of the priests, but maybe I would be able to find him and figure out the mystery of this Asakura Yoh guy.

"This is a stupid idea, you know," Nix said, appearing beside me in his spirit ball form for a moment.

"Well…yeah, you're right," I admitted. "But I'm really…I don't know. I want to know what's going on. And you're not going to stop me."

"…At the first sign of trouble I'm getting you the hell out of there."

"No duh. And I'll even let you."

()()()()()

It took me a few hours, but I was able to distinguish a large (and recognizable) aura and follow it to the edge of the city, into a rather run-down area. If there was anyone around, the aura drowned out his or her presence. The usual background noises of the city were dulled out here, and I had to wonder if there were even any homeless people around. It was eerie here, even downright creepy.

"We should get out of here," Nix whispered, and I nodded and turned around, only to come face-to-face with Yoh.

He smiled. "Is that you, Catori-chan?"

I faltered. "…Hao?"

He chuckled. "Good to see you again, too. I see we're about the same age again, what a nice coincidence. I have to say that you're cuter than the last time I saw you."

I stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say. Hao looked exactly like Yoh—same height, same build—but he was a little taller than Yoh, his hair was far longer, and his eyes weren't so lazy-looking. He wore star earrings, a poncho, baggy pants, and weirdly-shaped red shoes.

He grinned. "Like what you see?"

I couldn't help but make a disgusted face. I crossed my arms. "Hell no."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Oi, aren't you different, Catori-chan! You're all snappy now; I like it. What changed, though? Emotions aren't your thing."

"And why the hell would I tell you anything?"

"Ah, give me more credit, Catori-chan. Your mind might be too guarded for me to read, but I know you didn't go looking for me for nothing. How about this: you answer my question, then I'll answer yours. Deal?"

Nix appeared on my shoulder, muttering his discontent.

Hao brightened. "Long time no see! Nix-san, if I remember right. Hey, Spirit of Fire, come say hi."

I hadn't seen Spirit of Fire for five hundred years, but it looked the same as always—huge, red, and imposing. Its form was smaller than usual, but it still stood several feet above us.

Hao noticed Nix shift. "Oh, don't be nervous. I'm not going to do anything to Catori-chan. What would that get me?" He turned back to me. "Now, what do you say?"

I thought it over. "Just one. And if I don't want to answer, I'm walking away."

Hao chuckled. "Fair enough. Hmm… How do you have emotions now when the last time I saw you, you could hardly care enough to even eat?"

"I don't know."

Hao raised an eyebrow.

"I really don't know, Hao."

He raised his hands. "All right, all right, calm down. I believe you. Your turn."

I was silent for a moment. "Who is Asakura Yoh?"

"Oh, so you've met my otouto?" Hao seemed delighted. "He's my twin—other half, really. No one's told him about me, though, so don't spoil it—I want to surprise him."

"Little brother?"

"Yup. But I'm afraid I can't answer any more questions unless you do. We can do another exchange, if you want."

"Actually, I'd rather just get going."

"Really? But I'm enjoying your company." Nevertheless, Hao shifted, and Spirit of Fire disappeared from sight. "I won't keep you, though. But feel free to come visit me whenever you'd like. It has been a long time, after all."

I narrowed my eyes and walked past him without a word. He turned after me. "Aw, no need to be so cold!"

"Bye, Hao," I said, not very nicely. He chuckled.

()()()()()

At least I knew that Hao couldn't be lying about Yoh being his twin; the two were practically identical, save for a few differences. I didn't know how I could prove that Yoh didn't know about Hao, though, unless I asked him outright or watched him or…something. But if Yoh didn't really know about Hao…

"I see you're not being impartial."

"You just noticed, Nix?" I replied sarcastically. I paused. "Hao lied to our entire village for years so that he could kill everyone who wasn't a shaman. What do you expect me to think?"

"I'd think that you'd remain loyal to your duty and debt, not wonder about this Yoh somehow defeating Hao like Yohken did."

"…There's nothing wrong with hoping."

"You don't want to just hope. You want to help."

I stopped walking, and a couple people muttered as they passed around me. "…What, are you going to stop me?"

"I can try, but in the end, your decisions are yours. Except for that one. No matter what you do, you'll always have to answer to your debt. You don't need me to tell you that."

I paused. "I just don't want Hao to win. I don't want to be the one to help him…."

I thought of Tai and clenched my fist.

"That boy is long dead, Ca—"

"You think I don't know that?! You think I don't feel guilty about that?!" I started walking again, but hurriedly, as if I could walk away from Nix, but that was impossible and would always be impossible. "I don't want people like him to be killed."

I sighed. "…Just…just let me see what this Yoh guy is like."

It was a white lie, and Nix knew it. "Okay."

()()()()()

It was a busy night for the priests. Rutherford messaged me saying that she'd already handed out at least three Oracle Bells by midnight, and I congratulated her. Nobody else messaged me; there were all too busy.

I oversouled Nix into wings and flew up onto a low building (but not before making sure that there was no one around), and I settled myself against the ledge and watched my Oracle Bell. Pretty soon, a rather regular stream of names started to pour in, all of them belonging to new participants. Just some were: Chocolove McDonnell; Saigan Sati; Anatel Pokki; Pino Graham; Usui HoroHoro ("Oh look, that guy," Nix said blandly); Asakura Yoh; Tao Ren; and Asakura Hao.

"So many people this year," I mused. "Must be because travel's so easy nowadays."

"There'll be even more people entered in tomorrow," Nix said. "This Fight should be a pretty long one."

I silently agreed and continued to watch the names pour in. I kept looking back up the list at Yoh's and Hao's names, though.

What kind of relationship did they have? Or, what would they have? I wished that I knew, but not even the Great Spirits could foresee the future. And anyone who said he could was full of crap.

If Yoh killed Hao, I would be happy. One death was better than billions, surely.

I was starting to get a little tired when a message popped up from Kalim, with a GPS location attached. The message read:

Chrom. Get your mask.

()()()()()

The GPS location had led me to a dirty alley; judging by all the blood, the killing had taken place here. All of the officials had gathered, and to respect the death, they'd all put on ceremonial masks to hide their faces. I had, too, and I was glad that it hid my tears.

I had just spoken to Chrom that morning. I had joked with him, laughed with him, glared at him for calling me "Cat." I'd known him since I was born here. He'd loved to sing and dance and laugh. And here he was, on the first night of admittance.

Dead.

Silva, the only one not wearing a mask, held Chrom's body in his arms. He looked up as I approached. "Catori! Can't you revive him?"

I knelt down and touched Chrom's cold skin. His soul was long gone. I shook my head.

Let his soul rest in peace, Great Spirits, but…why…

Sudden rage filled me. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right that Chrom had died here, in this filthy alley, just when the Shaman Fight had begun. Chrom had always been so full of life, and to see him unmoving and cold was wrong.

I struggled to subdue those emotions. Right now was definitely not the time and place for an outburst. Chrom's passing deserved to be honored, not tarnished by "unfairness."

Silva, however, didn't understand that he should be keeping his mouth shut. "Who killed Chrom?!"

"Silence, Silva!" Magna snapped from behind his mask. "You call yourself an officiant?"

Silva grimaced, and though I wasn't impressed with him right now either, I couldn't blame him for being upset.

Radim had brought along one of his gadgets and stood it on its three short legs, pointing it toward a dark wall. "We'll take a look through the Oracle Projector."

I stood up straight and watched as the machine flickered to life and shot light onto the wall. It took a moment for the still frame to focus.

I stiffened.

"Tonight, I'm gonna challenge that little punk."

It was that golden-eyed kid, the one with the spike in his hair.

The bastard.

"He is the one who killed Chrom," said Kalim. He checked his Oracle Bell. "His name is Tao Ren. He had one of the highest furyoku values of those who passed the test tonight."

"He passed?" Silva said, outraged.

"Of course he did, Silva," I said tersely, barely holding back my rage at the whole situation. It sounded like I was mad at Silva, but I was far more angry at Tao Ren. "He didn't break any rules."

If I would just listen to myself, I would see that blaming Tao Ren did nothing to help. Absolutely nothing.

But I just couldn't not blame him….

"Catori speaks the truth," Magna agreed. "It is the Great Spirits' will to pass him—dissent is forbidden, Silva. This is a legitimate outcome. Even with Catori's aid, the Shaman King needs enormous furyoku power to be one with the Great Spirits. This boy may come to possess more furyoku than we do. He could have much potential. We conduct the tests by actual combat to gauge the candidates' furyoku. A death among us foreshadows the coming of a king, and should be celebrated."

Celebrated.

I was about to protest, but Nix shushed me, and I realized that I had almost made a huge, stupid mistake. If I disagreed with Patch tradition that was basically as old as I was, they would deem me insane. There was no reason for me to disagree, other than my own emotions.

Magna and the other priests turned away from Silva, and I reluctantly followed their example. "This should not be so hard to accept for a true officiant," Magna said. "If you allow your emotions to rule you, Silva, you cannot be an impartial officiant."

()()()()

I pulled off my mask and rubbed at my wet eyes. The other priests continued on to get back to their duties, but Rutherford stopped beside me.

"You okay?" she asked, taking off her own mask. She'd been crying, too.

I coughed a little. "I was so excited about coming here that I had almost forgotten how many people can die during this."

She smiled sadly. "I was thinking like that, too."

"…Just this morning, I was with Chrom, and he pointed Tao Ren out and said he was going to challenge him." I looked up at the sky; it was impossible to see the stars with all the light pollution of the city. "…It almost feels like the Great Spirits were trying to warn me, but of course even they can't see the future."

Rutherford ran a hand through her hair. "I haven't spoken to him since we got here. I feel bad about it." She paused. "How many people close to you have died?"

I thought for a moment. As guilty as I felt about Tai's death, I had never been anything for him. And my father in this life…I had never met him, so I couldn't have ever been close to him.

"So far, just Chrom."

Rutherford frowned. "You've never been close to anyone?"

"…I was different back then," I said carefully. In the past five hundred years, stories of my lack of emotion had faded, overshadowed by the tales of my invaluable aid to the Shaman King.

Rutherford was silent for a moment. She looked down at her mask and fiddled it around in her hands before looking back up at me. "You know, Goldva's probably going to send Nichrom here in Chrom's place."

I thought of Nichrom's annoying, witty personality and the way he always complained about being the younger brother, cheated from becoming a full priest (of course, he wasn't always being serious). But I knew that he had never wanted to become a full priest like this.

I sighed. "I don't know how he's going to react to this."

"I have a feeling he won't be impartial to Tao Ren," Rutherford admitted.

"…To tell you the truth, I don't feel all that impartial, either," I said, trusting that Rutherford would tell no one about our conversation. "But how I feel doesn't matter. It doesn't matter for any of us."

The girl looked down for a second. "I know we've been taught that all our lives, but it's a little sad to think that our opinions don't matter. Especially now."

"Tell me about it."

()()()()()

If I had been there when Chrom was killed, part of me thought that I would've tried to kill Tao Ren with my bare hands, if that had been what it would've taken.

When I was alone again, I took out my Oracle Bell and looked at the bastard's name. His data revealed that he was from China, and that he had been born on January 1, 1986; he was younger than my body was. I didn't really pay attention to his furyoku number, though. I wasn't one for numbers, and I felt that shamans should focus more on how they used furyoku rather than just comparing values.

After all, Chrom's value had been rather high.

For a long time, I just stared at the boy's name. I was angry at the fact that I was so caught up on this kid's name, his data. The only other things I knew about him were that he was rude and a murderer. In the course of one night, this stranger had gotten me to completely forget about Hao and Yoh and had gotten me to focus only on him.

I tapped a few buttons on my Oracle Bell, and a map screen came up. A blinking red dot on the map emanated from the area where Tao Ren's Oracle Bell was.

"And what are you planning to do?" Nix asked, appearing on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes and thought of Chrom, wondered what he would be thinking right now. "…I want to know that Chrom's death wasn't for nothing."

"So what? You want that boy to defeat Hao now, and not his twin?"

"…That would be stupid." I sighed. "Too many people die for nothing. I mean…if Chrom had died because this Tao Ren is meant to become Shaman King, then I'd be…contented, I guess. But I want to know why Tao Ren killed him."

"You can't just walk up to him and ask, Catori. And you know as well as I do that there was no real reason for what happened."

I X-ed out of the GPS and stuffed my Oracle Bell back into my bag. "Guess I'm too old to pretend, huh?" I asked harshly.

()()()()()

After three days, nearly all shamans had been tested for qualification, and after a week, the preliminary matches began. I watched them regularly, making mental notes about which shamans seemed promising. For instance, a man named Faust VIII, who had a relatively low furyoku value, was able to use his oversoul effectively and efficiently to win his first math. And Lyserg Diethel looked like he'd spent his whole life learning to control his oversoul.

During that time, Nichrom arrived. I saw him once, at a match, but he left as soon as it was over and I didn't follow after him. I wouldn't have known what to say.

On the first really sunny day after Chrom's death, I wandered through the streets, looking for someplace decent to eat. I noticed my Oracle Bell beeping from inside my bag, so I took it out and checked my messages.

Big mistake.

"Oi—Tori!"

I froze as—HoroHoro, right?—came up to me. The Ainu grinned when he stopped in front of me, but when he noticed my Oracle Bell, he frowned in confusion. "Are you in the Shaman Fight, too?"

I panicked and nodded.

I like to think this was the beginning of my complete and utter idiocy as a person.

a/n: Ah, I almost thought that I wasn't going to make the biweekly deadline for this XD;; But I managed it! Yay! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. In "Muffled," you didn't see Tori act so much like a Patch this early on, so I thought this was a nice change. And Hao's already been introduced, two chapters in~ Heh. I love the relationship he and Tori share; they're both "above death" in a way, and though she can't stand him, he always acts so..."Hao" around her, for lack of a better term. XD

Anyway, thank you all for the reviews and the follows/favorites so far! They really make my day. Please don't hesitate to leave a review on your way out, they're very, very appreciated~ I'll try to be back in another two weeks for the next update.