[Shaman King] Hoshi ga Hoshii desu * chapter 16: introductions

[lucathia]

Title: Hoshi - ga - Hoshii - desu
Chapter: 16/45

Author: lucathia_rykatu
Email: rykatu@yahoo.com
Series: Shaman King
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Feedback: will be highly appreciated
Spoilers: end of anime
Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to its rightful owners (which does not include me!)
Archive: livejournal / fanfiction.net

Summary: "I want the stars" -- An amnesic Hao only remembers that the word "Hoshi" is special to him. Found unconscious in America, Hao takes on the name of Hoshi and eventually returns to Japan. This is his story after the anime.

-----chapter 16: introductions-----

Ichi-sensei glanced up when Oyamada exclaimed in a thunderous voice for such a small body…

"WHAT?"

The new student, who Ichi-sensei now knew was called Asakura (before he had only known the new student's first name), gave a slightly confused look as he began walking towards the door. "I said that you can call me Asakura Hoshi."

Oyamada trailed behind Asakura and tried to shake and nod his head at the same time. "Exactly! That was what I was wondering about. What do you mean by "Asakura Hoshi?"

When the new student walked through the door, his voice became muffled. Ichi-sensei could barely hear his voice, but it sounded like, "That's what I meant. My name is Asakura Hoshi."

Oyamada followed Asakura out the door. Ichi-sensei could hear Oyamada's muffled voice outside as well, but he couldn't discern what he was saying.

After a moment, there was silence.

The two boys probably walked down the hallway and were too far for him to hear anymore. Ichi-sensei basked in the silence. Little kids were annoying and thought they owned the entire world. Especially Asakura Hoshi. That boy was definitely too full of himself and thought that everyone should be awed by his looks and intelligence. Well, Ichi-sensei was proud that at least he wasn't part of that everyone! For him, Asakura Hoshi had been no more than a horrible distraction for his class.

Ichi-sensei shook his head. His class had been attentive and studious before that Asakura came. The moment Asakura Hoshi stepped foot into his classroom with his overly long, tied up hair, Ichi-sensei knew that the new student spelled trouble. Kids these days were paying too much attention to the opposite sex. The girls immediately began swooning over the new student and the boys had become jealous (not that there weren't any boys who admired the new student along with the girls). The new student had to add on to the trouble by acing all of his tests! The girls became even more impressed and the boys even more jealous. And no one paid any attention to his lectures anymore. Not even his most studious student, Oyamada Manta! Even the short boy who cared so much about doing well in school stopped paying attention in his class.

Ichi-sensei fumed but consoled himself with the fact that vacation was about to end and school would be starting soon. Asakura Hoshi probably wouldn't be attending his class anymore, since he had no need for cram school with the knowledge that he possessed. Thank goodness!

He hoped that his class would soon become normal again.

-----0-----

"Tell me, who is this 'Hoshi-niichan'?" asked the boy who looked just like Hoshi-niichan. Tsuki looked up rebelliously and instead of answering the older boy's question, he asked one of his own.

"Tell me who you are first!"

The older boy blinked and couldn't resist those fierce, teary eyes of the younger boy. "Uh…okay."

Tsuki blinked as well, since he didn't expect the older boy to agree with what he demanded. This older boy was definitely not Hoshi-niichan, thought Tsuki. He was way too gullible. Tsuki glanced up at the older boy and carefully studied his features. So that was how Hoshi-niichan would look like with shorter hair (and a lazier expression)! Tsuki couldn't decide whether he liked Hoshi-niichan with short or long hair. He liked teasing Hoshi-niichan about his long hair because Hoshi-niichan really liked his hair. But despite all the teasing, Tsuki secretly admired Hoshi-niichan's hair. It suited him.

The older boy smiled encouragingly. "Let's introduce ourselves then. I'm Yoh."

Tsuki rubbed his eyes and murmured, "I'm Asakura Tsuki."

As in the convenient store, Yoh wondered if he heard right. After all, his surname wasn't a common one. "Asakura Tsuki?"

Tsuki nodded.

Yoh smiled. "What a coincidence! I'm an Asakura as well! Who knows…maybe we're cousins or something!"

Yoh continued smiling. "Well, will you tell me about your Hoshi-niichan now?"

-----0-----

The sun had already set when Manta followed Hoshi out of the building. Only the moonlight illuminated the two boys.

"But…that's not your real name, is it?" asked Manta.

Hoshi didn't answer Manta's question immediately. He continued walking, while Manta continued following him. They kept walking until they came upon the bridge where Hoshi had been staring at the water below a few days ago.

Hoshi gripped the railing with his hands and peered down at the dark water. Hoshisuke appeared next to his own wavering reflection.

"Tell me, Manta-kun, what do you see in the water below?"

Confused, Manta clung to the railing and glanced at the water.

"I don't see much…just my reflection next to yours."

Hoshi kept his head down, his eyes focused on the water. "Anything else?"

Manta glanced back at the water, wondering why Hoshi was asking him this. Was he simply changing the topic to avoid answering Manta's question? Manta glanced at the water more closely, this time noticing the wavering reflection of a cat next to Hoshi.

"I see the reflection of a cat next to you."

Hoshi's eyes widened as his head snapped up. "You can see him? Honto ni?"

Manta nodded slowly. "Of course I can, why wouldn't I be able to see him?"

Hoshi turned towards his spirit, Hoshisuke. "Hoshisuke, he can see you! I'm not the only one who can see you." Hoshi felt both elated and slightly annoyed at the same time. He was happy that he wasn't alone in his ability to see spirits, but he was also overly possessive of that abnormal skill. His ability to see Hoshisuke had made him feel unique. It had been something that set him apart from the norm. But the boy at the graveyard, Tao Ren, had been able to see and merge with spirits. And now…standing before him was another boy who could see spirits as well. It was like a smack in his face which said "You aren't unique."

-

The crowd around Yoh and Tsuki slowly diminished. As the darkness enveloped the streets, less people roamed about. Tsuki shivered as a cold breeze blew past them.

Tsuki glanced up at Yoh with confused eyes. "You look a lot like Hoshi-niichan. Why is that?"

Yoh shrugged. "I don't know. However, I do have a twin, but his name is..."

"Maybe you're Hoshi-niichan's evil twin then!" blurted Tsuki as the thought struck him.

Yoh sweat dropped. Why was he the evil twin? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Despite not being alone anymore, Tsuki glanced around nervously. When he saw Yoh, he had thought that he had found Hoshi-niichan. Then he wouldn't have been lost anymore, since Hoshi-niichan would certainly take him home safely. But the older boy in front of him wasn't his Hoshi-niichan, only someone who looked almost exactly like him. So now, Tsuki was still lost. Tsuki sniffled and pulled Yoh's shirt.

"I'm lost."

Yoh grabbed Tsuki's hands. "Where are your parents? Or your Hoshi-niichan?"

Tsuki shook his head and looked down. "I snuck out of the house, so 'kaachan doesn't know where I am. I tried to follow Hoshi-niichan, but I never found him."

"I see…do you know your address? Or your phone number?"

Tsuki shook his head again and shivered.

Yoh tugged on Tsuki's hand. "Well, let's head to my house for now. It's cold out here. Anna should know what to do."

-----0-----

Manta. Was. Confused. Why was the boy in front of him so surprised that he could see the cat?

Hoshi turned towards Manta again. "You're the second person I met who can see my spirit."

Oh…spirit huh? That made more sense…wait, that didn't make any sense at all either! Manta knew that Hao knew that Manta could see spirits. So what was with Hoshi's reaction right now? Manta was getting more and more confused with each of Hoshi's actions.

"But don't you already know that I can see spirits?"

Hoshi slowly shook his head. "How would I know if I've just met you a few days ago in class?"

Manta's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me. That was so not our first encounter!"

Hoshi glanced at Manta's surprised expression, all the while shaking his head. "I've never met you before that."

Manta finally decided to ask the question that had been bugging him for the longest time. "Just tell me, are you, or are you not, Asakura Hao? Are you Yoh's twin, or are you some bizarre triplet of those two?" Manta had been almost 100 sure that the boy in front of him was Asakura Hao, but the boy's actions had confused him and made him unsure.

Hoshi raised his eyebrow. "That's what I wanted to ask you."

"What do you mean?"

Hoshi turned back towards the railing and lifted his head to gaze at the night sky. His eyes caught the twinkling stars as a sad smile spread over his face. He reached out his right hand, as if wanting to grasp the stars within his hand. The moonlight splayed over him, giving him an ethereal glow.

"I wanted to ask you my identity…"

Hoshi glanced at Manta.

"…because I don't remember."

-----to be continued-----

next chapter: on the way