Little Boy

Chapter 20 ~ Homecoming Surprise

Yoh looked up at the calender with a sigh. Four months had passed since Manta and Tamura had left for the mountains, and there had been no word whatsoever regarding what was going on.

“Yoh?” Mikihisa’s voice called.

Yoh looked up quickly, surprised to hear his father’s voice. “Dad? When did you get here?”

“Faust called... I spoke to Kino and Yohmei, and the engagement is definitely off,” he explained. “I guess we’ll just have to find another suitor.”

Yoh held him his hand to show his father the engagement ring. “I’m already engaged, Dad. If all works out, we’re getting married as soon as possible.”

Miki blinked. “Already? Who is the lucky girl?”

Yoh shook his head some. “It’s not quite that simple, Dad.” He looked up. “It’s Manta.”

Mikihisa yelped in surprise, then took a nt tnt to process what was being said. “Um... Yoh? Manta is a boy. You should know that by now.”

“I know, Dad... But I love him,” Yoh replied as he looked away, then tears filled his eyes. “But that terrible Mansumi sent him away the day we were engaged... Dad, I know you guys want me to carry on the Asakura bloodline so badly... But to be with anybody else would be a sin...”

Mikihisa sighed. “I’m not angry, Yoh. Surprised, but not angry.”

Yoh looked up, then smiled slightly at his father. “Honestly?” When Miki nodded, he got up and hugged Miki tightly. “Thank you, Dad.”

“Lord Yoh?” the voice of Yoh’s friend and priestess, Shizuka called.

“In here,” Yoh repklied with a slight smile and a sniffle, then looked towards the door as the very boyish-looking girl walked in.

Shizuka was a year younger than himself, and according to scriptures she had served Yoh in a past life about three thousand years ago. Despite the refined description of her past life, however, she could be quite eccentric.

“Lord Yoh, I need to speak to you.”

“What is it?” Yoh asked.

“I think I may have... uh... had an accident...”

Miki snorted. “Did the boy wet her pants?”

“Can it, Miki!” she snapped.

Mikihisa and Shizuka had a strange relationship. Even though Miki had witnessed her birth, the two seemed to argue badly, Miki referring to her as a boy, while she referred to him as a drug dealer. Usually the two would break into tears and Shizuka would whine about her hair, while Miki whined about his mask. Today was different, though.

“What do you mean an accident?” Yoh asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Four months ago I cast a spell from that book, but nothing happened...” She bit her lower lip nervously. “Or at least I thought nothing happened.”

Yoh cocked an eyebrow. “And?”

She swallowed hard. “I had a vision of Manta... But there were two life forces instead of one.”

“Two?”

Tamura looked down to Manta, who was curled up on the seat of the limo, the blonde head resting on his lap and a blanket covering him up to his shoulders. “Manta...” he said quietly. He gently placed his hand on Manta’s shoulder when the boy began to groan unhappily, indicating a nightmare.

Mosuke sighed quietly while looking out the window. “He was doing so well...”

Tamura nodded in agreement. “But Mansumi san won’t approve...”

Mosuke nodded. In the last few months, Manta had been recovery fairly well. The two had even convinced Manta to eat and drink properly without becoming scared. During the four months away, they had allowed Manta to live a fairly normal life, encouraging that Manta never spend more than an hour and a half on homework, and allowing him to watch cartoons, play video games, read comics, and participate in other normal activities kids and teenagers generally enjoyed.

Of everything, however, Manta’s favorite seemed to be when Tamura would read him a bedtime story. Particularly King Midas and the Golden Touch when Tamura read a story book, and preferring ‘Of Mice and Men’ when the caretaker would chose a novel to read a chapter from.

He rareeft eft the cabin, however. Though he gave no reason why, Tamura and Mosuke suspected that it was because of his fear of Mansumi, so never said anything.

Another factor that seemed to help was that they didn’t give Manta boundaries. They both encouraged that Manta cry if he was sad or hurt and always listened if Manta wanted to talk some. There had been a one day about two months after arrival when Manta had finally began to talk about what had been done to him, then finally broke down. He spent the next week crying quite a bit and bedridden with a high fever, but it eventually died down.

Since then, his condition had been controversial. He had developed quite an appetite and was eating three full meals a day as well as three snacks a day, and he had even put on quite a bit of weight. But at the same time he began getting sick quite often. About a week ago, now, Tamura had taken note of how Manta was gaining weight and immediately became concerned. He soon decided it would be best to return to Tokyo so that an appropriate doctor could examine him. Preferably, Faust. Realistically, the Oyamada family doctor.

Tamura sighed as he stroked the silky blonde hair that had grown about an inch since leaving Tokyo. “Manta-san, it will be alright,” he said quietly.

Mosuke nodded in agreement, a private plan in his mind carefully thought out and ready, should Mansumi attack the one he referred to as ‘master’, but would sooner call him his own child.

“You can’t even remember what spell it was?!” Yohed. ed.

“It was four months ago,” she said nervously. “And in my defense, Chen told me to practice a spell that day.”

“Shizuka, I know you don’t mean any harm, but there’s no telling what you could have done!” Yoh said in exasperation.

“I’m sorry, Lord Yoh,” she said quietly while letting her head droop.

“Now what?” Yoh sighed when he heard a knock at the door. He walked over and answered, then found Mannoko standing there. “Mannoko-san?”

“Daddy demands that you be at our place by five this evening. He said you are to bring that witch doctor of yours and the stupid boy with the grey hair.”

“Hey!” Shizuka yelled. “It’s silver, and I’m a girl!”

“Whatever,” she replied while rolling her eyes, then turned on her heel and walked towards the limo.

Yoh blinked. “Uh...” He looked to Mikihisa and Shizuka with confused eyes.

“I guess you will have to go,” Mikihisa said quietly.

“What the fuck did you do to my son?!?!?!” Mansumi roared.

Yoh, Shizuka and Faust stepped back from the intimidating man, then Yoh said, “What do you mean, Sir?”

Just as Mansumi was about to explode, a small voice murmured, “Yoh-chan?”

Yoh looked to the foot of the stairs where Manta stood, clothed in soft orange pyjamas and a navy blue robe. His eyes ed wed with tears as he smiled, then he ran past the intimidating midget, then dropped to his knees and hugged Manta tightly. “Manta-chan, I thought I was going to have to wait a whole two more months before I saw you agin!” He blinked, then looked down curiously at Manta. “You feel... different...”

Manta blinked, then blushed a little as he hugged Yoh. “I’m fine, Yoh-chan...”

Mansumi glared at Shizuka. “I know you have something to do with his condition,” he snarled.

The priestess merely rolled her eyes. “I thought you didn’t believe in religion and magic and stuff like that.”

“Little delinquent,” he spat, then looked at Faust. “I want a full, nacromancing check-up done on my son, starting with his stomach.”

Faust blinked curiously. “Um... But Sir, it would weaken Manta a great deal.”

“I don’t care! Do the damned check-up or else!!!”

Manta whimpered while burying his face into Yoh’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” Yoh said gently. “Daijobu, Manta-chan.”

Soon Manta lay on his bed with a nervous expression, then looked down as Faust carefully opened the robe, doing his best not to frighten the boy

Yoh stared with a slight smile at Manta, then giggled. “Hehe... Manta, your belly is growing,” he teased gently while poking his beloved’s stomach.

“Yoh-chan,” Manta said with a blush, though it was clear that he didn’t mind the teasing.

Faust smiled a little, seeing Manta had finally put on some healthy weight after almost a year, then looked at Manta concernedly. “Manta, if you want me to stop, you tell me. Understand?” he asked quietly.

“Hai,” Manta replied quietly, then looked to Yoh, who held his hand lovingly.

Faust focused his energy, ignoring Mansumi who was glaring with contempt. After a minute, his hands began to glow a greenish colour, then slowly Faust placed one hand on Manta’s stomach. He smiled when Manta giggled softly, then gently let his hand slide into Manta. He frowned slightly when he heard a small whimper, then carefully began to check him.

When he found nothing wrong with his upper stomach, he moved up and tested Manta’s heart and lungs, being as delicate as possible with the fragile body. He took note that Manta’s heart rate was still dangerously abnormal, though not so dangerous that avoiding stress couldn’t help.

Then he slowly moved his hand to Manta’s head, but instead of carelessly checking Manta, he first made sure that Manta was comfortable in a dreamlike state. Once he found nothing wrong, save the permanent but small mental injuries, he smiled and gently drew his hand. “He seems fine.”

“You only checked part of his stomach,” Mansumi snapped.

“Oh, fine,” Faust replied while rolling his eyes, then carefully placed his hand on Manta stomach while focusing. Just as he began to slide his hand into Manta’s lower stomach, the boy awoke, then cried out. The cry startled Faust and he quickly withdrew his hand, but with a stunned expression.

“Manta, what’s wrong?!” Yoh cried as he scooped Manta into his arms and cradled the now sobbing boy. “Manta? Manta, what’s wrong?!”

“Shizuka, find out what that spell was,” Faust said shakily.

“Hai,” she replied while pulling out the book of ancient magic, then began searching the pages.

“Faust, what did you do?” yoh asked as he looked up.

“I didn’t do anything. That’s something else,” Faust replied, still quite shocked.

“What is it?!” Mansumi yelled.

Faust looked angrily at the man. “Patient confidentiality,” he snapped.

“Uh... oh...” Shizuka said nervously.

Yoh and Faust looked over, knowing that tone. “What did you do?” Yoh demanded slowly and angrily.

“Uh... What Faust said,” she replied while eyeing Mansumi angrily.

Masumi glared at her, then turned and stormed out of the room.

“Lord Yoh... Uh... When I cast that spell that supposedly did nothing... I was unconscious for two weeks,” she said nervously. “And... uh... I was tired when I cast it... I thought it was something else...”

“And?” Yoh asked with a cocked eyebrow.

The girl swallowed nervously. “Um... Faust, I think it would be best if you told me what you found first, in case I’m wrong.”

Faust was very silent for a few minutes, then closed his eyes. “There are indeed to life forces. Shizuka’s vision was not wrong...” He looked to Manta, who had drifted into a half-conscious state. “Manta is pregnant.”