Forgotten Memories

Possession

Tamao handed Old Kino a box of tissue paper from one of the small cabinets in the room. She had managed to find it despite the dim light emanating from the oil lamp in the middle of the table. The old woman took one sheet and gently blew her nose with it. This went on for quite a while until a pile of wet tissue paper formed in front of Old Kino.

Yoh fidgeted in his seat the whole time. He couldn't decide on whether to rub his grandmother on the back to ease her of her long-kept pain or not. He wasn't used to showing feelings of love and care in their family. The Asakuras were more concerned with their clan's quest to take the leadership of the shamanic community and to stop Hao, one of their descendants from destroying all non-spiritual humans. The burden was already put on Yoh's shoulders the moment he was born into the world. When he was very little, he sometimes regretted being the heir because everybody was pushing him to work hard. That's why his resolve was to become Shaman King so that he wouldn't be subject to any pressure from the clan anymore. He would be able to live a very easy life. When Anna came into the picture, his resolve became stronger because he wanted his wife-to-be to live an easy life after all the hardships she'd been through.

When Old Kino finally calmed down, she began talking once more, "Eight years after Ayako died, I found her daughter Anna at the temple. I assumed the couple who adopted her found out she had inexplicable abilities and returned her there out of fear. It was fate that led her back to her original home. I must admit Anna was more difficult to handle than her mother. She had inner issues of her own which she didn't want to share. Nonetheless, she was a very talented trainee. When the council had instructed us to look for Yoh's bride-to-be, I immediately recommended her. At first, the elders did not approve of her knowing her background but I managed to convince them by boasting her spiritual abilities and channeling skills."

"That's why when she lost them the council of elders was quick to renounce her," Ren said between gritted teeth. He couldn't get over the injustice done to his friend's fiancée yet.

"On the contrary, my boy, I believe she did not lose her powers," Old Kino stated firmly. Everyone in the room looked at each other with confused faces.

"What do you mean grandma?" Yoh asked. He observed that his beloved grandmother loved to spill out bewildering revelations minute by minute.

"This maybe the right time to tell you this…," Old Kino said in a serious tone. "Suzume reported to me the other day that the memorial, Anya and Ayako's tombstone in the form of a stone slab was broken."

Manta gasped, "The soul of Anna's mom and Hao's wife, it --!"

"It broke free." Old Kino finished the sentence for him. "The strange thing about it is that I surrounded that stone with an invisible barrier so that nothing can physically destroy it. Only a powerful spiritual force can break through the barrier and crack the stone apart."

"Hmmm… Anna told us that Argon had almost completely sapped out her furyoku in that part of Osorezan that night… The transfer of furyoku could have created a great spiritual force," Jean suggested.

"So the soul of Hao's wife/Anna's mom released itself from its imprisonment in a stone slab. What could have possibly happened next?" Chocolove was getting excited.

"The most probable thing that could have happened is that the soul settled on the most available human body she can find," Old Kino answered him at once.

"So the merged soul took over the body of the unconscious Anna. After all, it was attracted to her because it was her mother --- or rather a part of it was Anna's mother," Lyserg continued the story.