A/N: Okay, I'm taking a break from Rag Doll for a while to work on something a little more...serious? Honestly, if I don't let the 'funny' part of my being take a little rest once in a while, I'll probably go insane. (whacks random reader who's about to say something about Kitty-chan already being insane) Anyway, I've been talking about writing this since New Year's, and I'm glad that I've finally started it four months down the line. Maybe I'll actually finish it? It seems like it'll be relatively easy to complete, seeing as I've got all the chapters' self-created plot bunnies stored away on my hard drive.

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, Shaman King didn't belong to me, so I don't see why it should now.

Seven Deadly Sins

Part I: Sloth

By the time Yoh-tachi had reached Patch Village, summer had hit the American West full-blast. The temperature soared to over 100 degrees by midday, and without the slightest chance of rain or even the occasional cloud, Yoh did not feel like moving. He was determined to lay on the floor of his apartment and sweat himself into oblivion.

Of course, Anna would have none of it. With a little "persuasion," she'd had her fiancé up and running, and, though they were only temporarily hers, she'd acquired a new pair of headphones for herself in the process, much to Yoh's dismay. If Yoh was going to run through the scorching heat of the day, then he at least wanted BobLove to accompany him.

As Yoh jogged along the deserted streets of Patch Village, he could swear that he saw heat waves wiggling up from just about every surface near him. He wanted desperately to just rip off all his clothes and jump into a pond somewhere. Somewhere where no one would bother him or make him train or work.

'That would be nice,' Yoh thought, closing his eyes momentarily and envisioning himself paddling around in a cool pond. 'That would be really nice.'

As quite a few people already know, running with one's eyes shut is a fairly stupid thing to do, and Yoh suddenly became aware of that fact as well. He ran full-force into something that he guessed wasn't there a few seconds ago, and proceeded to knock it and himself over. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into the face of none other than Asakura Hao.

"Hello otôto," Hao said, smiling at his other half. Maybe he didn't notice that it was a million degrees outside, but Yoh sure did, and if he could help it, Yoh didn't want to make bodily contact with anyone when it was that hot out. Lacking the desire or energy to scramble up, Yoh just rolled off his twin and sat next to him on the warm pavement.

"Hao?" Yoh asked, slightly dazed from the fall. "What're you doing here?" Yoh decided that it was simply too hot to be angry at Hao at that moment. Plus, Hao hadn't recently done anything deserving the label "unforgivable," so Yoh figured he could be a little nicer with his older brother.

"This is where the Shaman Fights are being held," Hao said matter-of-factly. "And since I plan on being the next Shaman King, it makes sense that I'm here. But I thought you knew that already, otôto."

"I do," Yoh said. Was it just the heat, or was Hao actually being nice? "But what're you doing here all by yourself?"

"Walking," Hao said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What're you doing here?" he asked, slightly mimicking Yoh's surprised tone.

"Anna's making me train, even though it's a zillion degrees outside," Yoh answered with a slightly bellyaching feeling. He didn't even think that Hao might not know who Anna was.

"Why?" Hao asked. "She still doesn't believe that you can beat me and become Shaman King, does she?" Hao giggled a bit to himself, but Yoh rolled his eyes, suddenly wishing he hadn't sounded so whiny. He wasn't in any mood to be taunted when it was this hot out, but apparently Hao didn't know this. He was probably used to this insane sort of heat, living with the Spirit of Fire for so long.

"I am gonna be the Shaman King," Yoh said with almost no vigor whatsoever. Hao laughed quietly again, though Yoh wasn't exactly sure why.

"Then you'd better get going, otôto, because you'll never beat me at this rate," Hao said, smirking. Instead of retaliating, Yoh just slumped down onto his back. He was practically drowning in his own sweat, and he knew that running wouldn't help that.

"But it's too hot," he moaned, casting a pitiful glance at Hao, who blinked.

"Really?" Hao asked innocently, looking up at the sun momentarily. "I didn't notice." If Yoh had had the energy to, he would have given his older brother a lame look.

"I'll die if I have to train any more," Yoh whined, dramatically throwing an arm over his face.

"You'll die if you don't train," Hao reminded his other half, scooting closer to him on the hot pavement. "If I'm gonna be the Shaman King, I'll have to kill you sooner or later so I can absorb your soul." Yoh sighed, rolling onto his side and facing away from Hao.

"Can we forget about the Shaman Fights for just a minute?" he asked, wishing his older brother had something more interesting to say.

"No," Hao said, inching closer to Yoh. Before Hao could say anything about that being something else that could kill Yoh, said younger brother interrupted him.

"It's too hot to think about such important stuff," Yoh pouted, sitting up. Hao stared mournfully at his twin, not knowing how to respond to such a silly comment. In Hao's mind, it was barely beginning to get warm out; he couldn't see why Yoh was sweltering.

"If it's too hot, then you probably shouldn't be sitting in the sun," Hao said. Yoh glanced at him, then off at the horizon. "There's a tree over there," Hao offered, though he wasn't all too sure why. He pointed in some random direction, and sure enough, there was a large shade tree growing about fifteen feet from the pavement.

"I see," Yoh breathed, a lazy smile appearing on his face. He scampered over and planted himself in the tree's shade, reveling in the cool grass. Hao followed him leisurely, staring down at him in what seemed like a mature way.

"I thought you were training," Hao said, raising an eyebrow. It usually wasn't like him to be so responsible, but he really didn't have anything better to do than to bug Yoh about pointless things like that.

"I was," Yoh said serenely, closing his eyes and stretching out a bit. "And I will be again...in just a minute," he finished after thinking momentarily. He was really enjoying the shade of the large tree, and wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of leaving his nice, comfy spot in the cool grass. Hao plopped down in the grass somewhere next to Yoh, and lay down. Then the two brothers sat in a comfortable silence for a good while; not talking, not thinking, just being.

Just when Hao was sure his little brother had fallen asleep, he heard Yoh's voice drift over to him.

"Why do you want to be Shaman King so bad?" Yoh asked. Hao stared up at the sunlight shining down through the tree. He had never been faced with such a question, and in reality, he wasn't exactly sure why he wanted the position so badly.

"So I can be the most powerful being in the universe," Hao said after thinking it over. It was his standard answer, but he was beginning to wonder if there was any other reason.

"News flash," Yoh laughed, looking over at his twin. "You already are the most powerful being in the universe." Hao shut his eyes, smiling. It was a wonderful thing for your biggest rival/other half to admit that you were a whole lot stronger than they were, and Hao was delighting in it.

"So I am," he said simply as he scooted himself over to Yoh. Even though they weren't actually doing anything at the moment, Hao was still enjoying the time he was spending with his little brother.

"Ah, so you are," Yoh replied. The two brothers sat in silence for quite a while longer, completely at peace with each other for the first time in so long. So at peace with each other that Yoh didn't notice as his twin coiled his arms around his waist and pulled him into a loose embrace.

Too lazy and comfortable to take the initiative with anything more, Yoh laid still and waited for Hao to make another move, just gazing sleepily up at his older brother. Being as impatient as he is, Hao waited only a few minutes for Yoh to move before he gently pressed his lips to his otôto's. And Yoh, being as easygoing as he is, just went with the flow, and allowed Hao to have his way with him.

Soon enough, Yoh had rolled onto his back in the grass, and Hao had propped himself up over Yoh, his hands supporting his weight on either side of his lazy brother's shoulders, and their lips meeting at the halfway-point between them. If it were possible, Yoh could have enjoyed the kiss even more if he had not been sweltering; although he was thankful Hao wasn't sprawled all over him, as he had expected of his older brother.

But before an extra tongue had been added to Yoh's mouth, Hao pulled away. The Asakura twins had failed to notice how low the sun already was in the sky, and how close the younger of the two's fiancée was.

"Yoh!" a shrill voice came from what sounded like a reasonable distance away. "You still have training to do! Get back here right now!" Yoh shot up from his place next to his brother, a panicked look on his face. He'd spent too long goofing off, and he knew he was going to pay for it when he got back home.

"Anna's calling you," Hao said, slowly sitting up. He had actually been enjoying himself, and now he was a little disappointed that Yoh had to leave. "You should go to her," he said dejectedly.

"I should..." Yoh said, nodding, but otherwise not moving. He stared at his older brother, who was still sitting in the cool grass. As a parting gesture, he planted a quick kiss in the vicinity of Hao's mouth. He meant to hit the target dead on, but his startled twin had jumped slightly in surprise, and the kiss landed somewhere on Hao's chin. The older Asakura smiled to himself as his otôto ran off to greet his fiancée, knowing that his little stunt had probably gotten Yoh into some sort of trouble.

A/N: Reviews make me happy and inspired, so...the more you review, the faster I'll update!