Chapter 2 - Mention of the Last Shaman King

Shaman King X _ Chapter 002: Mention of the Last Shaman King

Anna: [POW! Newspaper to the head!] Where have you been all night?

Yoh: Ugh… [rubs head]

Anna: You were with another girl weren’t you?

Yoh: N-No! I told you I don’t even know that girl! She was lost! Ahhhh!!!

Anna: [chases Yoh with newspaper]

Yoh: I fell asleep, Anna!

Anna takes off her shoe and throws it at Yoh. PONK! Hits him on the head. Yoh falls like a tree. Anna puts her shoe back on and drags Yoh inside.

Anna: You’re doing the electric chair for two hours. No, three! And you can forget about breakfast!

Yoh: Oahh… [streaming tears]

Yoh is doing the electric chair in the backyard. (I don’t care what they say; he still looks constipated to me.) Horo, Ren, Manta, and Ryu were also forced to do the electric chair.

Horo: How much long till this torture ends?

Yoh: It’s better to just stop thinking about it.

Ryu: This is too much.

Manta: I was made for the books not physical labor!

Ren: I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I haven’t had a decent workout since the shaman tournament first began.

Anna: Ten more minutes.

Horo: Oh, thank God!

Ren: Humph. That’s it? I didn’t even break a sweat.

Anna: Very well. Then instead of our daily 100-combo, it will now be 500! That means 500 sets of EVERYTHING. Sit-ups, push-ups, whatever I think of.

Everyone is speechless with their mouths agape.

Horo: REN! Look was you did!!!

Ren: Oh, stop complaining! It’s not my fault if you’re so weak.

Horo: What did you call me?!

The stopwatch dings and Anna called times up. Everyone falls down from jelly-legs except for Ren.

Manta: Phew. Finally.

Ryu: Tell me about it, little dude. This is how it’s going to be everyday from now on.

Anna: What do you think you’re doing? Training’s not over yet. MOVE IT! 5-miles JOG! I want you done in twenty minutes.

Everyone: TWENTY MINUTES!

Ryu: Yoh, do something!

Yoh: I wish I could.

And so the training goes on like that for the rest of the day. Hour after hour of excruciating pain, pushing each of them to the limit. By the end of the day, even Ren was beat.

Ren: Now that… was a workout.

Everyone catches tries to catch their breath to speak but all they could do was laugh with agreement.

Anna: Dinner’s ready. You’ll all need your strength for the special training that starts tomorrow.

Horo: My favorite words!

Yoh: All right! Let’s go eat, everyone!

Everyone: YEAH! [stampedes to the kitchen]

Well, everyone is stuffed and their bellies are bulging out.

Horo: Hey, how come Faust didn’t have to work out with us?

Anna: Because he does chores without me telling him to.

Faust: Actually, I’ve been working secretly on a new medical technique that will save your life in battle.

Everyone is fascinated by this.

Horo: Really? What is it?

Faust: Well, it’s not done yet but I’d be happy to show you once it’s complete.

Horo: [thinking to self] What do he mean by show?

Faust: Anyway, I think I should get in on this training. I wouldn’t want to be the weaker link and drag you guys down in a battle.

Ryu: That’s right. We have to be strong enough to watch each other’s backs. Right, Shorty?

Manta: Right. Cuz that’s what friends are for.

Everyone: Right. Definitely.

Yoh: Alright! So starting tomorrow, we’ll work extra hard with our training to become the best of the best!

Horo: Woohoo! Leftover food fight!!!

Within seconds everyone was throwing anything at everyone else. A bowl of something flew right into Ren face. A vein popped and Ren flips out, creating an even bigger mess. Meanwhile, Anna was watching with horror and disbelief.

Anna: [eyes GLEAM, fist clenched]

Everyone stops dead as they noticed Anna.

Anna: I just cleaned this room spotless today. [cracks knuckles]

Yoh: Eh heh heh… Anna, c’mon calm down. We’ll clean it up, right guys?

Everyone: [nod vigorously] Mm-hm.

Anna: Looks like you don’t appreciate me enough.

Everyone: [gulp]

Anna: You shall pay.

[Attention: This scene has been left out due to its violent content. Please bear with me.]

Everyone’s face is swollen and all bruised up from the beating of Anna. Anyway, Anna made a training schedule and now the beaten up guys have to line up and look at it through painfully swollen eyes.

On the Board: Stage 1: Bodybuilding. Stage 2: Spirit-building. Stage 3: Teamwork.

Everyone stares at the list with question marks.

Anna: There are two months before the shaman tournament starts again. Who knows what we have to face this time. Therefore I have prepared a three-stage training course to hone everything you’ve got to perfection. Each stage will be two-week courses concentrated on bodybuilding, spirit-building, and teamwork with your ghosts. So, for the next two weeks, we will be working on bodybuilding. [hands each person a piece of paper]

Manta: What’s this?

Anna: A shopping list.

Everyone: What?

Ren: How exactly will shopping help us get stronger?

Anna: [smirks] In addition to the list are the stores at which the items are located. I will be checking receipts. [pulls down a map with a whole bunch of X marks] Notice how all the stores are spread out in the entire city of Tokyo? [retracts map] And the items aren’t exactly light-lifting either.

Everyone: [looks down at their lists and freaks out] Ahhhh!!!

Horo: How do I pay for all this?

Anna: Don’t know; don’t care. Just be sure to be back by dinner or else you don’t eat. And also, you cannot use ghosts or spirits to assist you. To make sure, I have detained them right here with my 1080 beads.

[Outside Funbari Onsen]

Horo: No money; no nothing! I might as well give up now!

Ryu: [defeated] Only Anna could be this cruel.

Manta: So? What about me? I have cram school and my final is in two months! I should be studying but instead I’m shopping! I hope my parents don’t see me.

Yoh: Come on, you guys. It’s not so bad. Just keep on remembering what we’re doing this for.

Faust: Yoh’s right. I’m training because I want to make sure the right person becomes shaman king.

Manta: I want to be strong enough to help Yoh!

Ryo: Same here, little dude!

Horo: I want to be shaman king so I could save the Minutians

Everyone except for Ren joins in the conversation. He walks away mysteriously whispering to himself.

Yoh: Ren?

Ren: We better get going.

Anna: [yelling from inside the house] Are you still out there?! Get moving!

Yoh: We’re going, Anna! Ren, you coming?

Ren: I’ll go my own way. [walks away]

Yoh: Okay…

The rest of the group head out into Tokyo, leaving Ren to go off by himself. Horo glances back at Ren and decides to turn back to see what the problem was.

Horo: Hey, Ren!

Ren: [mumbles] …I am the last shaman king…

Horo: What did you say? Never mind! Pull it together or else Anna will kill you.

Ren seems to suddenly snap out of his trance. He thinks to himself, When did I get here?

Horo: Dude, are you alright? I’ll come with you.

Ren: I’ll go my way, and you go yours. [pushes Horo aside]

Horo: Fine! Be a jerk about it! [heads back to the group] See ya!

Ren keeps walking away without any concern.

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