DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King, I only own four OCs in here, the first two we meet are Tori and Nix.

You know what really irks me? Spending 20mins writing an A/N and then accidentally deleting without saving.

Hey everyone, this is my second Shaman King fic (I hope it's better than the first!). This will be about sixty-something chapters, and yes, it follows the anime to a point. Like, REALLY follows it.

So... We'll get things done and go on to the main character (first, a note about her spirit, Nix: he's a Phoenix (hehe what an ORIGINAL name) and I was so happy with this coincidence: "nix- say no to something: to refuse, forbid, or veto something (slang)." It soooo matches his personality). Tori is probably what you'd call... a... a... a Mary Sue. (omghowcouldihavemadeamarysuei'mgoingtohyperventalate). She's mute and has special, secret powers, and a secret past and a secret job. Secret secret secret.

I hate her being a Mary Sue (maybe if I dig further into denial it'll go away...), but it worked for the plot I planned out, okay? Grr. Oh well. I love Tori anyways.

The main plot follows the anime, though there are a few tweaks of course (adding an OC in does that...*smacks self* duh!); the biggest tweak is at the end.

YOHTHERETHISISIMPORTANTO: This story goes slowly. You won't know everything about Tori for a few chapters, and you won't outright hear what her biggest secret is until the climax, though clues are dropped. Like, majorly. XD

This is normal text and "speaking."

This is Tori thinking to herself.

'This is telepathy.'

'This is sign language and mouthing, pay attention to the single quotes.'

Have fun reading! Oh, and if you see ANY problem, tell me. :D (I know I'm forgetting stuff to say (I DID spend 20mins writing this A/N before it accidentally deleted . but oh well I'll - OH! I know how this is going to end! Isn't that great?)

Update schedule: perhaps once every few days, probably once or twice a week, depending upon my schedule and when I can snag computer time. As of posting this chapter (9/14/10) I'm near finished with Chapter 27. But don't let that stop you from reviewing - I urge you, TELL ME ANY MISTAKES YOU SEE. Merci boucoup (please tell me I spelled that right...)!

Extra Note: Tori does seem like a stalker... but ignore it for now.

()()()()()()()()()()

Muffled

One: Manta

"You cannot do this," Nix whispered into my ear. "You cannot focus on just one person, or just one group. You have to watch everyone."

I shook my head. 'I can't watch every shaman that wants to participate in the Tournament,'I relayed back telepathically. Usually, Nix spoke to me with his mind, but he probably felt like stretching his beak tonight.

I kept watching the boy, Hao's twin, as he sat on the cliff of the Funbari Hill Cemetery with the spirits of the graveyard. He didn't have a main spirit yet; if he didn't get one soon, he'd never have a chance in the Tournament at all.

'Besides, Nix, this one is interesting.'

"Interesting?" he muttered crossly back at me, ruffling his crimson feathers. "He does noth-"

He broke off when we both heard footsteps from the stone stairway, and I crouched lower to the shrine roof as not to be seen by accident.

A boy, so short he looked like a toddler, was dashing up the stairs, a large book tucked under his arm. He was talking aloud about how the cemetery was a good shortcut home.

Hao's twin heard him as well. "The stars are cool, huh?"

"Stars?" The short boy looked up to the heavens, oblivious to the slight form my head must have made against the sky. "Wow! No kidding!" Suddenly, he turned to Yoh. "Who are you!"

"You came to see the stars too, right?" Yoh asked, standing up and turning around. "C'mon, let's watch them with everyone."

The boy shrunk back. "It's kind of late…And when they're only two people, you don't say 'everyone,'" he pointed out with a nervous chuckle.

"No… it's 'everyone,'" Yoh corrected.

"What?"

"The spirits!" Yoh jerked his thumb in the air, and the spirits of the cemetery suddenly appeared. Judging by the look on the short boy's face, I could tell that he saw them, and had never seen them before.

The short boy screamed, and ran away.

I watched him, interested. The boy was definitely not a shaman or an itako; how had he suddenly seen the spirits? I've known people who could see spirits that weren't shamans, but they had seen them their whole life… I looked back toward Hao's twin; he seemed disappointed, a slight frown on his face.

I'd seen shamans get disappointed many times over about others discovering their powers. It wasn't new to me, even if I couldn't truly relate. I turned and jumped from the roof of the shrine down onto the ground where Yoh couldn't see me and hurried away; I wanted to see more of this short, peculiar boy.

()()()()()()()()()()()

The next afternoon, I found the both of them at the river; well, Yoh was on the bridge, while the short kid was watching from behind a telephone pole. I, for one, had watched Yoh do this once and knew that the kid was in for a long wait if he wanted to see Yoh do something 'interesting,' so I walked straight past the both of them, over the bridge, and into the streets on the other side. All the while, I was merged with Nix in case someone tried to talk with me (once the Tournament started, I would be doing this less and less).

After I got something to eat, I walked back toward the bridge. The sky was completely orange in the sunset, and the air was peaceful. The short kid was still hiding behind the telephone pole; from what I could see by the back of his head, he seemed pretty angry in the way he held his shoulders. He was grumbling to himself, too; the sign of both a madman and a genius, as I've heard.

Suddenly, Yoh stretched, and the boy tensed, poised as if to spring.

"It feels great to be one with nature," Yoh said aloud to himself, settling back down against the railing to watch the river.

"What the hell was that?" the short kid screeched, jumping out from behind the telephone pole.

"Huh?" Yoh looked up, but the kid was already behind the pole, panting from his sudden outburst. Yoh caught sight of me and I waved in a sort of neighborly way as I walked past the short kid (who didn't seem to notice me) and across the bridge.

"Did you hear something?" Yoh asked me.

I shook my head. "No." It felt so strange to have Nix manipulate my otherwise mute vocal cords, but I was used to it. It used to take forever for me to tell Nix telepathically what I wanted to say, but now I actually sound like someone who's not shy. It wasn't that my vocal cords were useless; if that were the case, Nix wouldn't be able to manipulate them at all. The thing was, I couldn't control them.

"Oh. Okay, thanks," Yoh said, beginning to walk behind me into the streets; purposely, I kept walking straight and very slowly. He turned the down a corner, and soon disappeared.

I turned back towards the river to see the short kid standing there. "What the hell!" he screamed. "I've lost him!"

I had to stifle a laugh.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

I watched from the shrine roof yet again. Yoh wasn't at the cemetery, but below me, the short kid had come prepared with a flashlight and a camera - and for the first time, I realized what the kid must be doing: trying to get proof that he did see spirits, and that Yoh saw them, too.

"…However," the kid said, turning on a flashlight to illuminate his face as he stared at something that wasn't there at all - again, the sign of a genius/madman. "I, Manta-sama, don't give up that easily."

Ah. So Manta was his name. Now I didn't have to call him 'short kid' anymore.

"As long as I stick around here, he's bound to show up eventually," short- er, Manta continued. "And with this camera, I'll be able to take a picture of him when he's with the ghosts!" As if trying to prove a point, he took an experimental picture. "Then I'll have hard evidence." He chuckled almost evilly.

It was a good thing that I wasn't united with Nix, or else I would have laughed and given my position away.

"What did you say?"

Both Manta and I turned toward the sound of the voice; it belonged to an extremely tall man with the most hair I think I have ever seen, or can ever remember seeing. He was dressed in a white suit-like-outfit, and he reminded me of Elvis. He held a long, wooden sword in his hand. He and his group must have come up while I was paying attention to Manta.

"Is that true?" he continued.

The guys lackeys were appearing to calm him down, but it didn't quite appear to be working from what I could tell from the guy's stiff body.

He muttered some things to his lackeys, but because I wasn't merged with Nix meant that my hearing wasn't as keen as it would be with him. But I picked up the words "kid coming here," "best place" and "rumor"; I realized that he must be talking about Yoh.

"I don't like it!" Elvis-impersonator suddenly yelled, knocking over Amidamaru's gravestone. He placed a foot on it and seemed to give an order to his men, who all suddenly appeared frightened. They must know the story of Amidamaru.

I, for one, was shocked that anyone would disrespect a grave site like this. By instinct, I knew that Amidamaru's legend was faulty (from what I'd seen of the spirit in my short time here at the cemetery, he'd seemed very peaceful), but I knew that the samurai would be deeply enraged by this action.

In response to his group's attempts to warn him of the 'devil,' the man (who I heard one of them call 'Ryu') turned and split Amidamaru's gravestone in half.

I was about to stand up - how dare he disrespect a spirit like that? - when I heard the echoing sound of a can falling down the cliff.

It caught the attention of Ryu, who turned to see Manta standing there beside the shrine, sweating and shaking. Manta tried to convince them that he was just passing through, but Ryu and his gang suddenly became menacing all at once. Manta screamed as they suddenly came forward and attacked.

I had had enough of sitting around. I didn't usually fight, but I couldn't let little Manta get kicked around by these bullies. Though their numbers were many, I didn't bother to merge with Nix, and instead jumped to the ground in front of Manta, who was already starting to bruise as he trembled against the wall of the shrine - he was bleeding in a couple places, too, and one of his arms looked broken.

Immediately, the men froze. For a second I wondered, oddly humorously, if they had ever seen a girl before, but I wasn't merged with Nix so I couldn't voice my thoughts unless I wanted to reveal that I was a telepath.

Suddenly, Ryu was kneeling at my feet. "You are such a beautiful flower," he cooed, sickening me. "Your red hair is-"

I cut him off by kicking him square below the belt. While he yowled in pain and hunched over, I quickly turned away and scooped Manta up in my arms - he was even lighter than he looked. Through the pain, he looked confused, but grateful for the rescue. Before Ryu's gang could make up their mind to help their leader or chase after me, I was running in a full out sprint towards the nearest hospital.

()()()()()()()()()()()

"This is exactly why you shouldn't stick around people this long!" Nix scolded, flying angrily around my head. The phoenix had been my spirit guardian for a long time, but even though I called him my friend, I was always annoyed when he seemed to think that he was the decision-maker and I was the troublemaker who was supposed to follow his every command. "You get attached to them, and then they start asking questions!"

'You know what, Nix? I don't care,'I thought to him as I sat on the roof of the entrance to the hospital. I had already dropped Manta off and managed to avoid being asked questions, but I didn't want to leave until I saw that the boy was all right. 'I want to be with people; I hate just having to watch them all the time.'

"You should be honored!" Nix argued. "It's your job to watch the shamans until the time comes to help the Shaman King."

'I am honored to have been chosen,' I agreed, 'but I can't speak to them without you or without revealing myself. I know I'm supposed to watch other shamans as well, but the Shaman Fights haven't started yet. This is a lonely job. The last people I was close to were the Patch, but that hardly counts. I've never been truly close to anyone at any time.'

Nix grumbled something about me under his breath and perched on the edge of the roof, ruffling his feathers. We had had arguments like this many times before, and he knew he wouldn't win. Technically, I wouldn't really win either, but I'd get the upper hand, at least.

However, I considered his words. No doubt, Manta would have a curiosity with me, and answering questions would be difficult - and not just because I was mute. It would be for the best if I stayed away from him for now - besides, he wasn't even a shaman-

Wait, my brain said to me. Manta wasn't a shaman, but he could see spirits. Maybe I could be his friend without answering tough questions.

Yoh seemed calm enough and accepting enough that I could try to be his friend if I wanted to, but I wasn't sure. This was Hao's twin, and although I knew from Yohmei that Yoh was nothing like his brother, and also with the fact that I technically wasn't supposed to be biased, I had to admit that I was rather fearful, even if I didn't truly hate Hao. Though, from what I had seen, Yoh was lazy and calm, hardly anything to be afraid of.

The possibility of a friend was tempting, but I couldn't take it. Besides, I'd just have to leave eventually. I had a… demanding job.

I stood. 'C'mon, Nix, let's go.'

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

I couldn't really keep away from them, though. The next night, I found myself watching from behind the shrine (I was starting to feel insecure that I might be seen on the roof) as Yoh and Manta waited at the cemetery for something - I suspected that something might be Ryu and his gang.

Yoh sat on the ground, listening to his music with his back against a wooden stake. He had tied Manta to a tree so that the little guy wouldn't run away; I smirked at this. They conversed with each other for a little while. I listened to every word while I absent-mindedly fingered with the feather tied around my neck, because this time I was prepared and was already merged with Nix.

I suddenly tensed, hearing the sounds of Ryu's gang approaching. I watched closely as they took notice of Yoh and Manta.

Yoh stood up and dusted off his pants, turning to Ryu. "Hey, I'm Asakura Yoh," he greeted "And this is my friend, Oyamada Manta," he added, gesturing to the trussed-up teen, who looked petrified.

"My friend seemed to owe you some debt," Yoh continued. "So I came to return the favor."

"Favor?" Ryu asked. "Are you saying you're going to avenge him?" He chuckled. "You've sure got some guts. You must really want to see the other world soon."

"Even those of 'the other world' are saying that you people are annoying."

"There is a limit even when joking around," Ryu argued, getting pissed.

"Apologize!" Manta pleaded to Yoh, scared out of his mind. Yoh said nothing.

Two of Ryu's thugs came forward. "We'll take care of `em, Ryu," they said, crouching into fighting stances.

"Apologize!" Manta pleaded again.

"I told you, it's all right," Yoh soothed without looking at him.

"You can't do anything by yourself!"

"I'm not alone!" Yoh declared, and Amidamaru's spirit appeared behind him. He threw his hand in the air. "Amidamaru! Hyoi Gattai!"

Ryu's thugs flew at Yoh, who easily whacked them aside with his wooden stake, sending them flying through the air. I found myself mesmerized; though Yoh was an amateur shaman, he meant business - and so did Amidamaru.

Suddenly, I was frozen for a second with fear. While he had been battling, Yoh's headphones had fallen off. With his angry glare, for a moment he looked just like Hao.

I shook myself. I had to make myself stop thinking like that. Yoh was not Hao. Though they looked freakishly the same, they were as different as Yin and Yang.

Ryu screamed, lunging at Yoh. He brought his wooden sword up to swing down, but Yoh ducked under the attack and brought his wooden stake up, slicing off most of Ryu's pompadour. Shocked, Ryu fell backwards, defeated.

With panic, his lackeys picked him up and ran off. While Yoh untied Manta, I jumped up onto the roof to get a better view at what the duo was doing. Yoh pulled out a bucket of glue that he had brought, and I smiled as he and Manta glued Amidamaru's tombstone back together. Just another reason to show that Yoh was good.

The two joked for a moment, and then looked at the stars. I could already see the obvious friendship growing, and I'll admit, I became jealous. In a moment of thoughtless recklessness, I stood at exactly the same moment that Manta turned his head around. I saw his eyes widen.

"Yoh!" he urged, pointing his good arm at me. "That's the girl I was telling you about!"

Yoh turned around, his gaze turning questioning as he obviously recognized me from the bridge yesterday.

Without waiting for him to say anything, I jumped from the roof and ran down the cemetery steps into the night.