. Hot Springs, Anyone? .

Yoh sighed as he arched his neck and looked up at the starry night sky. He was finally given the privilege to rest in the hot spring alone, after a whole day of Anna's torturous training. Initially, his friends had wanted to tag along, but Anna had forbid them from entering the spring, as long as her fiance was in there. A small smile formed on Yoh's face; so Anna knew how much he's been looking forward to this, to being alone. He did have a lot of things to think about, so he appreciated Anna for that. Anna had her soft side sometimes.

Yoh closed his eyes and the smile on his face faded. He began to think of the Shaman Fight, and everything that was related to it. A thousand thoughts were unravelling in his head now. He thought about his friends; ever since their visit to Hell, they've gotten a lot more stronger. Now this posed a problem for him. It would be such a shame if his friends managed to defeat him in battle. But of course, they all had their own dreams, they all wanted to become Shaman King. Yoh thought about the promise he made to Anna years ago.

I have to keep my promise...

I have to get stronger...

Now...

What's going to happen next?

"I'm really troubled by your thoughts, otouto."

Yoh twitched and opened his eyes. Even though he had expected a certain someone to be standing before him, said person's appearance still came as a shock for him. Just standing before him inside the hot spring was his brother. His long, ebony hair glistened in the moonlight. He was nearly naked; a white towel only wrapped around his lower region. The boy gave Yoh a smug smirk, sending shivers down Yoh's spine.

"Wa-wait a minute..," Yoh narrowed his eyes at his brother. "How did you get i-"

"You don't have to know," Hao said, still smirking. Yoh was reluctant to do anything when Hao took a seat beside him in the bath. The two remained silent as they tried to enjoy the peace of the night, and the warmth of the bath. Yoh tried his best not to think of anything stupid.

"I came to tell you something," Hao announced, breaking the silence.

Yoh arched a brow, "...What is it?"

"Well," Hao began. "I'm sure you're aware of the beach incident, am I right?"

Yoh's eyes widened; he heard about some explosion happening at the beach of the island, and if he recalled right, Hao's followers were involved in the incident as well. Yoh couldn't bring himself to say anything, so Hao chuckled to himself.

"One of my men, Peyote, has been apprehended by some pesky humans," he continued. "And as you know, those bothersome humans have found this remote island. It's about time before they disrupt the Shaman Fight."

"Oh... kay..," Yoh muttered, somewhat confused. "So, is that all?"

"Don't be foolish. I came to ask a favour of you."

"Oh...?"

The smirk on Hao's face faded and was replaced by a frown, his taunting expression now developed into a sober one. "I need your help.. to fend off those humans," he said. "With our powers, those humans won't be able to stand a chance, not even with those bulky gadgets of theirs." He then closed his eyes, and slowly, his thin lips curved and formed a small smirk on his face once again. "I'm sure you're aware... that those humans are relatives who happen to serve that human friend of yours, Oyamada Manta, I presume?"

Yoh's eyes were now bigger than before, his expression followed by a gasp. No way! He did hear about humans coming to discover the island, but he never knew that they were related to his friend, somehow. Did Manta know about this at all?

Still smirking, Hao requested, "So, what do you say? Will you join me?" He opened an eye and focused his gaze on his younger, "If you want the Shaman Fight to continue..."

Yoh frowned; he had to think about this. If he made the wrong decision, he was screwed, and probably for life! But he had to remember that this was his brother he was dealing with; Asakura Hao, a man who cannot be fooled. Questions began to flood his mind quickly, bringing forth a migraine almost immediately.

But what about my friends? Yoh thought. And the promise I made? And Manta? If I choose to help, will Manta ever be able to forgive me for my actions? What if I try to explain to him? Will he be able to understand? I know Manta's always being left out in almost every plan we make, but.. should Manta know about this? About our plan to annihilate his relatives? Even so, Manta never liked to talk about his family either...

And if the Shaman Fight discontinues, Yoh's chain of thoughts continued unravelling. What's going to happen, then? What will the Patch do? Is this really the will of the Great Spirit?

What about everyone's dreams?

What about my dream?

And most importantly... what about my promise?

Hao caught every single word in Yoh's mind, and he only responded with a light chuckle. He was somewhat amused with the questions that were overflowing Yoh's mind ever so quickly. Personality-wise, both Asakuras were the same. Carefree, easy-going, and the likes. But unlike Yoh, Hao had a goal. And he did possess immense power, yes, so he never came across a time when he had to think to make a decision. And yet, his little brother, who was supposedly less matured than him, was having such a hard time trying to respond to this simple request. To the all-powerful shaman, it was precarious.

"Fine," Yoh sighed, looking at Hao straight in the eye. It was his turn to possess a sober expression. "I'll help you. But.."

Hao arched his brows at the last word, obviously amused.

"...You need to keep in mind that this is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt those people," Yoh continued. "How will you make up for it?"

Hao's smirk widened, "Ever heard of, payment in advance?"

"...Uh?" Yoh furrowed his brows and tilted his head in confusion, but before he could say anything more, his lips was already locked... to that of his brother's. His eyes widened once again; what the hell was going on! He tried to shove his brother off of him by pushing him away, beating his shoulders, even pulling on to his hair as hard as he could. But Hao wouldn't budge, no matter what he did, so he gave up eventually.

After a minute or two, Hao broke the kiss. Hao now carried a carefree smile on his face, amused by his little brother's reaction, which was clearly shown on his face. Yoh was almost frozen; he still shuddered every few seconds. He couldn't believe what his brother had done to him. Was this really going to make up for all the pain and suffering those people are going to experience in the near future? Yoh gulped; what was this feeling he had in this stomach? This feeling... that was asking for more. More of Hao. He wanted his lips to come in contact with Hao's once again, but he didn't know if it was because he knew a simple kiss wasn't going to make up for anything, or if this was just plain lust.

Yoh was completely oblivious to the sly smirk that had already formed on his brother's face. "You liked it," Hao said teasingly.

Crap! He read my thoughts! Unfortunately, for Yoh, he couldn't muster up enough courage to respond to his brother; he was feeling shocked and aroused.

Hao knew exactly what to do. He leaned forward again, smacking his lips hard against Yoh's. He could feel the younger's body tense for a bit, but soon enough, he managed to relax himself. Hao took this opportunity and began to bite and tug on Yoh's lower lip, begging for entrance. Yoh reluctantly gave way, and Hao swiftly jabbed his tongue into him, exploring every part of him with glee. Yoh couldn't help but admit that he was enjoying this, bit by bit, which brought forth a naughty smirk from his elder.

Since their lips locked, all vexing thoughts about his friends, his promise, and the Shaman Fight disappeared instantly. Oh, Yoh needed this. He decided to take some time off, and here was his brother, volunteering to aid him in a situation like this. Yoh could feel all his muscles relaxing and he closed his eyes. Just as he was about to enter a blissful paradise...

Yoh opened his eyes. He attempted to gasp, but his brother was pressing down so hard on him, it was nearly impossible to move. Yoh's heart rate began to increase rapidly; he was running out of air quicker than he thought he would. He was stuck in the hot bath, with his brother on top of him, and he couldn't do anything - anything - about the hand that was slowly travelling, and getting nearer and nearer, to his groin...

Well, this is really random. I sincerely apologize about the ending. :P I didn't plan to turn this fic into a lemon, because 1) I wasn't in the mood and 2) I was planning this one-shot in school. xD Buuuuut.. hmm, give me some time and maybe, JUST MAAAAAAYBE, I might write a sequel for this. Which equates to - yes, you got it - a lemon! I can't guarantee anything though. I have a pretty tight schedule and I still have soooo many fics to write and plan for!

For those who were wondering, this was supposed to take place in the manga (chapter 260-something, if I recall right xD), 'cept that in this one-shot, only Yoh and Hao are in the bath, instead of the whole gang of Team Funbari Hot Springs and Team The Ren (and Manta! let's not forget the adorable little guy!).

Initially, I had wanted to write this in first-person, from Yoh's POV to be more specific, but my plans for this one-shot were in third-person so I got lazy and didn't want to convert everything into first-person... :P Oh, well! I'm sorry about the weird title! xD I hope you enjoyed this one, and I apologise for any mistakes I've made. Till next time!

- A

P.S. I made a Toby Turner (Tobuscus) reference in this fic. Sorry, I couldn't help it :P Hats off to those who found it!