Chapter: 1

Kept Apart

Force Me Back

Darkness covered the night sky, and a thick blanket of incense filled the small room that seemed to trap him. Asakura Yoh warily watched as his grandparents meditated and chanted in low even voices. After a while of the same thing, he looked bored and out of the window on the side. The moon was shinning beautifully while the clouds seemed to caress it along with the stars. It made him smile, and want to forget all that he was told. All he ever wanted to do was live a happy and normal carefree life, but fat chance that that was ever going to happen. "Concentrate Yoh!" his grandfather's voice boomed.

Once more the young boy looked into the room, feeling the tension around and the fact that the room was suddenly driving his crazy. He could hear a ringing in his ears, it felt like it was splitting his head in two along with the fact that his head suddenly hurt. The pain in his head was unbearable, the teething canines in his mouth pushed forward, making his eyes water and he gasped for breaths at a time. His throat burned and he hugged his arms around his body. "GAH!"

"Yoh, you must know what you are, and keep in mind to what you are, you must stay true to you" He was panting, he was dying, he could hardly see as he felt his eyes, something moving inside his eyes. "You are to kill your older twin brother, no matter what"

"Agh…ah" He could barely hear, barely make a sentence, tears rushed down his eyes. His mind was screaming help, help, while his heart clueless as it kept asking the same thing over and over again. Why, why me, why should I, why must I, why, why why!

"WHY!"

Yoh woke up panting from his dream. He sighed as he looked around his empty room, save for his bed and bag of clothing at he had with him. The only things he had with him. Sighing, he looked all around, recalling that he had left that life behind. That he was free, he had run away and no matter how much they wished to follow him, he would move on. He would leave before any of them can reach him.

"YOH!!" His spirit servant suddenly burst into his room and Yoh indifferently watched his panic face for a moment, before he gave off a hearty chuckle. "Wait, what happened, why did you scream" Yoh sighed and kicked off his covers. He would love to sleep, and sleep for the rest of his life, but he could not stop there just because he was tired, or he wished to dry out and stay asleep until he died. He had to move fast, before he was found once more.

"Another nightmare, Anna must be in town," he said, walking to his bag and pulling some clothes "I'm taking a bath, and then we'll catch the next train out of here" they had been here a month, in a small quiet village that had welcomed them.

"Manta will miss you much" Yoh paused and then smiled.

"I know, but I cannot place him in danger because of me." With that, he walked out of the room and towards the bathroom down the hall. Admidamaru, Yoh's servant spirit looked around the room and gave a sigh of defeat. Exactly for how long were they going to keep running away, would it not be simple to face his older twin brother and kill him? As far as Admidamaru had known, when Yoh and his Twin were born, they were pulled apart from each other and forever kept that way. Yoh had been given to him and his nameless twin had been given to a different spirit. One of their lives was always to come to an end, but at the hands of the other.

It was all an Asakura tradition, the strangest one ever that proclaimed that the strongest twin got to live. There could not be two heirs. The funny thing was Yoh did not want to fight and he had no desire to be the heir, that alone should have ended it. But his parents and grandparents were stubborn old fools. For whomever it was that won the fight, was to marry Anna, and she was his worst nightmare, and she was the reason why he did not look at females as women, but as monsters. Yoh had a complex childhood, and as being his spirit slave, he felt his duty to please and forever protect his master. He glanced up when he heard a small set of feet running from the outside and down towards the door, and small hands banging on the door.

"YOH! Wake up, it's time for school!" there was childish laughter on the voice. It was Manta. Admidamaru had no idea what to do and then heard a small shush from outside and glanced out to see his master by the window. He was changed into a muscle shirt, over it was a white button up shirt, that was baggy on him and baggy blue jeans that hugged the his flat hips at the same time. A belt over the loops, and the other slanted on his waist. He also had a bear claw necklace around his throat, his look was calm as he glanced back to the door "Yoh, come on"

"Let's go Admidamaru" he said in a whisper of the wind, no human would have ever been able to hear his voice. The spirit watched his master jump off the window and land as perfectly as a cat in the ground below him. Admidamaru grabbed his master's bags, made sure the room looked empty and that it had never been used and followed after Yoh.

This was their way of saying goodbye.

Admidamaru was saddened that once more his master was leaving friends behind. Once more his master was to travel alone. He sighed, but then perked up when he heard something heading their way, he was not sure what it was.

"Yoh!" Manta was getting frustrated. The brunet kid glanced back at the apartment. Was he really going to just leave his best friend?

"Master Yoh, watch out!" just as Admidamaru said that, a small blond kid came out of nowhere and hugged himself around Yoh's middle. The kid glared up at him, with an evil grin of his face and glaring brown eyes. Anna's puppet.

"Hana" He said, his voice careless. He then let a smile spread his features. "She really is here" Kyoyama Anna, was really here to take him back.

"Yup" the puppet boy said "And you better get your ass to school, she'll be waiting there" Yoh watched the small puppet boy jump away from him and give him a soldier reporting stance. This puppet was one that Anna had made herself, saying that their child would look like that. Even if Yoh said he didn't want to marry her, she kept saying that she already saw the future and that the boy was going to be the outcome of their marriage. Because, he was going to kill his twin brother, and take throne as heir to Izumo. Funny, the puppet almost looked like her, if she were a boy. Well, with his eyes.

"I can't be caught," He said, and that was when he heard small panting sounds and someone running. It was Manta. He had not been expecting this kind of trap to fall on him, Anna had done her homework, and she knew his habits already. There was going to be no out of here, without her puppet going insane after him and Manta learning his secret that he never told anyone.

"There you are Yoh! Why didn't you tell me you got up early today" Yoh hid his eyes under his bangs, feeling slightly angry, but soon a smile crossed his features.

"Look, my cousin dropped by" he said, Manta glanced at the small child there.

"Oh hello"

"Hello, the name is Hana, what are you some sort of servant fairy troll for master Yoh?" This caused Manta to flare with anger. Yoh quickly reached down and caught Hana by the arm, the small boy looked to him and smiled widely. If he was not careful the boy would reveal a lot more than was necessary to Manta.

"Now, now Hana, be good. I will go to school now, alright" the boy looked clueless for a second and then he nodded his head fast. Understanding what that meant and ran back into the trees. Yoh sighed and looked at Admidamaru.

"I'm royally screwed."

"That kid was so rude!" Manta hissed. "I can't believe what he said. I do not look like a troll!" Yoh chuckled, feeling things lighten with Manta being there to huff and puff.

"Yeah, he's just like her"

"Who"

"Come, let's go or we'll be late to class"

"Oh yes"

Manta rushed on to class, and defeated Yoh followed after his best friend and tried to rush his way to school as well. It just was that today, he really felt like ditching school. 'She has learned my game' he thought 'I could easily run away now, but she sent her puppet Hana, that thing will go bonkers if I do not follow his lady's orders.' Yoh worried his bottom lip against his teeth 'What am I to do? I don't want to die yet'

The school was what you would call your normal white fenced off building with a million kids running around in it, like ants swarming over a hill of sand. Manta lead the way to their classroom while smiling, and Yoh kept a passive look on his face. As they neared their classroom, the first thing any of them noticed was the pretty blond girl standing there tall in high heeled boots, and a short skirt that the school required. Hers seemed even shorter that school code, her body hugged by the white shirt that was tightly buttoned around her chest. When she tilted her head to look at them, you could see that her piercing eyes spoke of her anger. "Yoh" she said.

"Hey" he said, keeping a passive look and hiding his fear. He also kept his distance, part of him was not scared of her, he was more scared on what she could do. The bell rang then, and kids ran for class, at the same time a cold chill passed through them that froze them in place.

When the halls were empty, Anna was gone as well.

"Who was she Yoh?" Manta asked, looking around for the blond beauty that had been there a while ago. Yoh knew something was going to happen, she was all an act to distract him, but he was not, he knew something was about to happen. He just didn't know what, was Anna going to dare attack him herself? Would she come from the side? Yoh had to be apprehensive of the whole situation no matter what.

"Manta, watch out!" he said, grabbing the small male into his arms and moving out of the way when a glob of dark magic pierced the ground. Manta stared in shock as the golden and red beam blew a whole into the floor. The floor around the blast cracked as well, and he couldn't believe it. What had just happened?

"Why Yoh, you have gotten good at dodging my attacks, so you have not been slacking off have you," Said a voice to familiar to Yoh. He looked up and watched as his friend/ Rival Tao Ren stood there, his hair a blazing dark purple color that still stuck up in the air like a stinger. His eyes still an incredible gold color and his clothes, those of the Chinese royalty, full of gold and purples.

"Ren" Yoh said angrily. Ren only laughed and then got serious.

"Come on, prince Yoh, it is time to take you back to the throne, we're you will reign superior over your idiot twin" Ren attacked once more, only for Yoh to move and come to the sky and face him. The Tao was shocked that Yoh could now fly without his wings. That meant that his power was developing more, even if the Asakura was not completely using it.

"What do you know about my brother? I never even met him and you are all forcing me to destroy him. I cannot and will not!" Yoh moved from left to right and then landed on a rooftop, there he was kicked from behind and the small boy in his arms was captured in a vine of blue beads. He swiftly turned around to see the blond nightmare. "Anna"

"You've improved in speed Yoh, but you are too careless to let someone hit you from behind" she hissed "You'll never beat your brother with senses that slow" He gritted his teeth and watched her as she had her arms crossed, a look on her face that said I'm better than you. "Now, come back with us Yoh, you've wasted too much time here, I am going to train you extra hard, and if your refuse" her hand came up, and she showed it to him, she slowly fisted it, making the beads churn at her command.

"AAAAAHHH!" Manta yelled as he felt his body being squeezed to death. Panic ran over Yoh's face and he nodded his head.

"Stop, I'll go, just stop hurting him" Yoh watched as she threw a card to him. Yoh couldn't believe it.

"Good" Anna said, she loosened her hold on the small mortal boy "I'll take him for your own motivation" she said and then turned to Ren. "Bind him and let's go" Ren nodded his head and walked over to Yoh. He placed binding bracelets over his hands and feet, so he could use none of his magic and none of his vampire skills. As the bracelets were placed, Manata opened his eyes and watched as the brown rich color from Yoh's eyes drained to a dull white one with the sign of only his pupil and watched him hiss in pain as his fangs came out one last time. Then he returned to normal, looking tired. Ren leaned over Yoh then and pulled him to stand straight.

"I'm sorry Yoh, but it must be done" Ren whispered to him, "Your brother is planning to soon attack and we have to be ready. All of us are worried that you will not be the victor in your fight with him…"

At that moment, Yoh understood, but at the same time, he felt like crying. Why was it he who had to kill the brother he never met? Why was he supposed to be conditioned to hate someone who never did anything wrong to him?

Was his brother also being trained to kill him? And if so…would his brother kill him? "Why" he asked once more, but this time in a low whisper, he asked his unanswered question. It remained unanswered, much to his dissatisfaction. No one even seem to acknowledge it.

Anna expanded her hands then, and allowed her beads to swim over them and then she teleported them back to Izumo. The land Yoh had run away from, and the land he hoped never to return to ever again, if it meant being trained to kill a stranger. But in a blink of an eye he was back there, trapped under the cutting sounds of battle, back to a place that only ever brought sadness to his sould…

"Welcome home, my prince"

Hey there, I know, This Love must be continued. It will, but I also have this strange Idea. I'll let this chapter sit here for a while, as soon as I have figured whether yes or no to continue it, I'll post again. Until then, see you around everyone.

Please review.