Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of its characters, Hiroyuki Takei does. But I do own this plotline, and this is the only time I state this. There, you got it.

Author's Note: So, here it comes, the first official SK fanfic from me (which is not in my native language, Hungarian). It turned out quite shorter than I intended it to be (and unfortunately I can't work on multiple projects at the same time, because I get distracted), but the plotline itself wasn't really bright to begin with. Ehh... that doesn't change the fact that I quite liked writing it, and therefore decided to translate it for the wider public. Well, that's all there is to it now... on with the story.

Summary: Whatever you do, has its consequences. Sometimes consequences you cannot cope with. And even if you did something out of pure motives, it can happen that you have to pay for it like you did something bad. Asakura Yoh would have never thought he did something bad when he freed the world of Hao. But what if he did? What if everyone has a second chance? And what if Hao's second chance is dependent on Yoh? What if the only thing they need is to clear up what remained unclear? And how will Yoh cope with all this - especially himself?

Nagareboshi - The Last Wish

Part One - Ochiru

It was a nearly fully starless night. At least the stars that were always visible now weren't. There wasn't a single star on the sky that would have been able to stay at place. Falling stars, all the more. Everyone who looked at the night sky was able to wish something tonight – and even those who didn't bother looking up.

Maybe their wishes can be fulfilled too.

Maybe there still exist fulfillable wishes in this world. It just requires someone to fulfill them – either because they want to, or because they have to. This way or another, every wish is to be fulfilled.

Every wish that can be made on a night like this.

The man stood behind the old woman, and waited for her to address him. But the minutes just went by, and she didn't even seem to notice his presence. Then, at the exact moment he chose to break the silence, she spoke up.

"What are you waiting for? You know your duty."

"Isn't this dangerous?" he asked, but the woman only sighed.

"We don't have a choice. Everything is the will of them."

"But why would they will this-...?"

"It is needless to argue. This is already decided. Go. You yourself could make a wish, right? And they fulfilled it for you."

"I wasn't the only one who wished for that," he hissed. "Why do I have to be the one who fulfills his?"

"Because this is his last wish, and they want it to be fulfilled. And anyways, it isn't you who was to fulfill. You are only the messenger. Don't be afraid..." The old woman let out a hair-raising chuckle. "You don't have to endure him for a long time."

As the echo of the laugh faded away, it gave an impression like she hadn't been the only one laughing.

Asakura Yoh recovered from his daydream to the looks of someone waving their hand in front of his face. He blinked, then looked up, only to see that the owner of the hand was his beloved fiancée, Anna.

"... What is it?" he growled, then as he recognised the girl's expression, he straightened his face immediately. "I mean, what do you want?"

"Someone knocked. Didn't you hear?" came the lofty answer.

Yoh looked around. They were quite finished with dinner; there were dirty dishes on the table everywhere. Manta was still eating, but Ren was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling boredly. When he sensed being watched, he looked at Yoh and nodded.

"There really was a knock."

"... So what?"

"Go and look who it is, dummy!" Anna knocked at his head. Now even Yoh psyched it out.

"Oh! Okay." He got up and went for the door.

To tell the truth, he wasn't so eager to get up from his former position. He felt great just where he was. It was one of their best evenings. He was comfortably sleepy because of the dinner, there were people to talk to, there was Manta, and even Ren dropped by with some package sent by Jun-chan... typical, she knew she had to send it with Ren or else he wouldn't even think about visiting them. Or if he did think, he wouldn't do it anyways, he thought. So it was just too good to be true. And after all, if Anna asked something, he didn't dare decline.

Because of Ren's arrival, a part of him was expecting another friend to show up, maybe Lyserg or Chocolove. The more surprised he became when he pulled the door sideways, because the guest was none other than Silva.

"Umm... well..." he muttered, than came to his senses and smiled. "Hello, Silva. Come inside."

"I can't," the priest answered seriously.

"Why? What happened?" Yoh didn't understand what the man was doing there. The Shaman Fight was cancelled after he overcame Hao, and he didn't have any information about them wanting to restart it; and even if they did, he had already proved himself worthy of entering, isn't that right?

"Would you come out for a minute, Yoh-kun?"

"Of course."

Yoh stepped down the porch and stood on the lawn. He was barefoot, the wet grass stuck to his feet and it cooled him well after the inside hotness. He looked in Silva's face. The moonlight enlightened them, deepening the grooves on the older one's face.

"Where is your sword, Yoh-kun? Is this how you want to fight?"

Now Yoh didn't understand at all.

"Why would I have to fight? Did we restart the whole Shaman Fight?"

Silva's expression was unreadable.

"Why did you come here?" the boy asked once again, but there was no answer.

"Do you think killing is rightful?" Silva asked suddenly.

"No," answered Yoh obviously. "I never said anything like that, did I?"

"But you did it. You killed. Is that right?" It seemed like the priest was avoiding his eyes; he looked at the house, then gazed at somewhere behind the boy's back. Yoh glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one to look at there.

"Yes, I killed Hao, if that's what you're thinking about. But I thought-..." he started.

"You had to do that. Or maybe... maybe not..." Silva seemed to struggle with himself, or maybe something invisible. "You did it because you had to... but still, you killed, Yoh. And killing shall not be rightful."

Yoh let out an exasperated sigh, and rubbed his scruff.

"Something like that," he admitted. "But still, Silva, can't you just tell what you want? I don't really feel like solving riddles right now."

"You've got to redeem it," the priest whispered, and his voice suddenly resembled another one; a voice Yoh wished never to hear again. Silva suddenly swung forward, the spirits became animated on his limbs, and Yoh didn't even have time to shout for Amidamaru. He got a hard punch at the back of his head, and everything went black.

When he regained his consciousness, there were people standing around him. Anna was kneeling at his head, squeezing a cold, wet cloth to his forehead.

"What did you do?!" she pealed, and his head started to throb.

"I... don't know, I don't remember..." He sat up slowly, but it made him feel dizzy. He only slightly remembered things: Silva turned up, said lots of stupid things, than attacked him... but how was he supposed to tell all that to Anna?

"You came out to see who was knocking, then you didn't return, and when we came after you, you were lying here in the grass," Manta explained, and shot his friend a nervous look. "What happened?"

"It's... complicated," Yoh said, and bowed his head between his knees in order to stop the world spinning. But no, it didn't want to stop. "I'm fine. Just... let me have a bit more fresh air."

Someone behind him made a 'tsk' noise. Ren was standing at the doorway, staring at the giddy shaman.

"Get yourself together quickly, because you look like shit," he gave his friendly advice, then turned back into the house.

"I'm really OK!" Yoh tried to convince the others. "Go inside, I'll follow you in a couple of minutes. I just need to wind my head."

Manta shook his head unbelievingly, but went after Ren anyway. Anna also followed them, but she hissed to Yoh before doing so:

"You freaked me out! I'll make you pay for this."

When Yoh was finally alone again, he breathed heavily, and tried to switch the events into place. He had a strange feeling, like something was missing, but he couldn't make it out what it was.

Then it struck him.

"Amidamaru," he whispered, then, as no answer came, he repeated it louder. "Amidamaru!"

Nothing, only deaf silence. The spirit wasn't anywhere. Fear grabbed Yoh's insides. What could have possibly happened to him that he isn't responding...?

Then, after some time, a response did came, but it was all the worse. The spirit that appeared beside him was everything but a samurai, and when he spoke, it gave Yoh the creeps.

"Oh, I don't think he will come back anytime soon. From where I sent him, almost none return... But, if you think about it, you don't even need him, do you? Since you got me instead."

Yoh held his head between his hands. This can't be, this is only a bad dream, he kept repeating. But the spirit seemed to be able to even read his thoughts.

"Would I come across as a bad dream? I don't think so. But even if I do, I don't mind." His sharp laugh tilled the deaf silence of the night. "I had more than enough bad dreams because of you, it's high time you got some because of me. Or am I not right, otouto?"

Author's Note: All right, this is the end of the first chapter. I hope everyone was able to guess who the unwelcome visitor is. This fic consists 10 chapters, and since this is a translation of the original, there won't be any alteration. However, I may consider a sequel (but first I have to see if anyone likes this to begin with). I hope everyone liked this so far. Updates will be once a week, and reviews are very much appreciated!

Japanese words: nagareboshi = falling star ; ochiru = to fall down ; otouto = little brother