DISCLAIMER: Hao would not freakin' be killed/severely wounded if I owned the series. We'd be seeing more of Silva, and there would be more swearing, and… have I made my point? Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!

In Dobie Village, it's 10a.m. Some people bustle around, shopping for odds and ends to take home for their families; others prepared for Shaman Fights, using Oversoul techniques to hit down targets and the like. The sun gleams high in a sky that's as blue as cornflowers in spring.

And, in a row of tepees at the bottom of the village, more Shamans are waking up. An orange-haired girl yawns and stretches as she comes out of the flap to her tent, opening her violet eyes. She grins at the air and the freshness and the life of the village, ready to take on the day. She is followed by another girl, a blonde-haired one, with a morose expression. Unlike the girl before her, she does not smile; she stares around her with her green eyes, taking in anything and everything, tuning out the non-stop chatter of her friend. A rag doll, browned with age, one button eye dangling uselessly hangs limply in one pale hand. Her expression is that of a child who has lost her mother in a world that has forgotten about her.

Soon, the tepees are hives of activity. All the Shamans are up and about, making themselves useful in whichever way they see fit.

All but one.

One boy lies sleeping on his front, long brown hair fanned on his pillow, the sheets tangled about him. He is frowning in his sleep, and every now and then he mutters something incomprehensible and turns fitfully. When this happens, the child next to him, watching over him intently, will frown, his young, dark eyes filled with love, and stroke the sweaty hair of the Shaman's face.

Hao Asakura has but one thing in common with his twin, and that is his complete inability to wake up in the morning. It may be 10a.m., but that, as far as Hao is concerned, is just too early.

Opacho stares at his mater adoringly, and wonders when he'll wake up. He will stay watching over him until he does – he will stay with his Hao-sama as long as the Earth turns.

And, at last, Hao stirs properly, he says something else, sleep-blurred, and flings his arms out, groans, and opens his eyes.

Unwilling to face the day like his companions have done, he groans again and buries his dark head in the pillow.

In a somewhat indistinct voice, he asks of his most loyal follower;

"Wha' time' zit?"

Opacho answers immediately, reading the time off his Oracle Bell.

"It's 10:15 a.m., Hao-sama."

Hao sighs, miserably. He pulls a face, for the sole purpose of making the small child giggle. Kami knows there is never enough laughter when you are a follower of Hao.

"Guess that means I have to get up, then, Opacho."

He sits up, yawning and stretching, as Macchi had done, but with the easy grace of a Panther. He kicks the tangled sheets off his small, muscular, frame, and slips his legs out off the bed. He holds his hand out for the hairbrush that Opacho quickly hands him, and begins to slide it softly through his long, silky, hair. Every time he found a knot, he'd sigh, put down the brush, and pick it put delicately with practiced fingers. There was no matter of time – he would not, on any account, go out with messy hair. In fact, brushing his hair took him about 30 minutes every day and he tended to brush it often.

He finally finishes, and puts down the brush once more. He flops backwards on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, and puts his hands to his temples, as though trying to sooth a headache. Opacho looks at him, and he thinks he sees his eyes glimmer, sparkle with something that looked…well…like…

"Hao-sama…"

Hao turns, his dark eyes questioning.

"Is something wrong? Can Opacho help?"

"It's nothing, Opacho." Hao bends his head, his hair covering his face. "It's just nothing. Nothing at all."

Opacho doesn't know that he will be driven away by the one he loves the most; he doesn't know that Hao will die.

Hao knows; he has seen it all, written in the stars.

And he still thinks he can change it.

"Now-" Hao slips a shirt on, buttoning it up. "Thinks it's time you and I got some breakfast, isn't it? Let's go, Opacho."

Opacho smiles, stands, and follows Hao, as he always has done, out of the tent.

"Opacho," Hao says, softly, as they walk along to the Doibie restaurant. His appearance, as usual, turns heads, attracting whispers and points. Some people run. Hao ignores this, and continues: "You know, Opacho, that I value you above all of them? I am always grateful for your presence. And...one day…If I should ever leave…for whatever reason…"

He turns his head, and Opacho hears a strange noise.Was it a coughm or… When he speaks again, his voice sounds thick,. "If I should leave…thank you. For being my friend. And…I am always with you Opacho, even if we are millions and millions of miles away."

he finishes his little speech, and walks on. Opacho stares at him questioningly. How could one so small comprehend a thing as great as what Hao was trying to tell him?

"But…Hao…why would you ever leave us?" He stares at his master sadly.

Hao sighed again, and he knows this is just too much for the child to understand. Still, he had hoped… "I don't know, Opacho." he says. "Maybe…If I was forced to go into hiding. If my enemies grew…too powerful for me to handle."

Opacho juist smiles. He isn't afraid now. "But, Hao-sama, you won't ever have to do that! 'Cause you're so powerful, you'd crush anyone who opposed you in minutes!" the child laughs, and makes a slamming motion in the air in front of him. "And, anyways, you'd have me with you. You'll never be alone, Hao!"

Hao, to his shock, feels a rush of horror – how would he be able to cope without him? How would he cope, if, God forbid, it should happen, seeing the death of his master and one and only father figure in his life?

"You're right, Opacho," he says, and forces a smile at him. He crouches down a little, and slips an arm around the tiny boy, briefly holding hiom lose to his body. Opacho nudges his hips with his head. "Now, what would you like to eat?"

The next day, Opacho cries, streams of salt water tenderly decorating his dark cheeks. Words echo in his mind. Hao is dead. And, before he died, he drove Opacho away. He never loved Opacho after all.

And what Opacho had the day before his death were tears of a condemned man.

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I made Hao out of character, but hey, we all know he loves Opacho,(as a friend) right? This was originally gonna be a comedy about Hao's bad sleeping habits, but it turned into something… different.I'm English, actually, and I watch the dub where Hao's called Zeke. More people call him Hao, so I thought I'd call him that too. I don't speak Japanese; can you tell?

Anyway, a review for a poor lunatic?