x-X-x -Truce -x-X-x

The golden rays of the morning sun found their way and shone into the plain, small room. It shone on the only occupant, who was lying in the middle of the room. He groaned as he was almost blinded by the bright rays. It was the first time in many months he had felt such a feeling, and he didn't know why. He forced himself up and looked at the alarm clock, which read eight o'clock. The hell..., he thought to himself, shocked. He was supposed to be up three hours ago!

Immediately the teen got to his feet, grabbed his necessities and dashed out of his room. He ran as fast as he could to the washroom. His plan was to take a quick wash, change, have a light breakfast then go off for his training. Boy, was his fiance going to be mad at him for this. She was probably going to cut him into pieces for his carelessness.

The teen was already ready in five minutes. All he needed to do now was to grab a pathetic slice of bread from the kitchen and leave quietly, for the fear of getting discovered. He walked briskly down the hallway and made a turn for the kitchen, only to have the biggest shock of his life.

"A-Anna...!" he yelped. He stared horrifically at his fiance, who was eating her breakfast ever so calmly. She was having the usual; a bowl of good rice topped with omelette and teriyaki chicken. She neither said nor did anything to welcome the boy.

Yoh looked at Anna, then at the dinner table. Then, he noticed there was an extra meal set already prepared on it. Why? Was someone coming to visit? Was there a reason as to why his alarm didn't go off three hours ago? He continued to stand there for sixty long seconds.

"Isn't there something you should do?" Anna finally spoke up, pausing in her meal and staring coldly into Yoh's eyes. Yoh got to his senses and shuddered. "O-oh, right," he muttered, before turning to the main door.

"That's not what I meant."

"Huh?" Yoh turned back to his fiance, confused. Anna pointed at the empty seat beside her. Yoh, finally getting the hint, proceeded and took his seat. He nervously grabbed his own pair of chopsticks and began to tuck into his breakfast.

The two remained silent for a long while. Neither of them liked the silence one bit.

"...You don't find it weird?" Anna asked. Yoh paused in his meal and turned to her, "What do you mean?"

"Your alarm didn't go off, did it?"

Yoh laughed nervously.

"There's a reason for that," Anna explained calmly. "There's an important meeting you have to attend today."

"Really?" Yoh asked, though his mouth was full. "With who?"

"You'll see," Anna refused to say any more. She'd rather the teen to find out for himself. Instead, she shoved her empty rice bowl into Yoh's face and nudged him for seconds.

Later that afternoon, Anna was nowhere to be seen in the inn. She simply left a note behind saying, "Out to get groceries. Don't go anywhere." Yoh sighed. It was obvious; whoever he was going to meet wanted to discuss about something personal. Not even Anna was spared. "I guess this means I can't call Manta over," Yoh thought aloud, bored and disappointed. He leaned back onto the wall and let his chain of thoughts engulf his mind. Who was he meeting? Is it a guy or a girl? Does he know them? Is this person a Shaman? He would find the answers to these questions later.

"Been waiting for me, eh, Asakura Yoh?"

Yoh widened his eyes. He knew that voice anywhere, and he knew where it came from. Immediately, he got to his feet and ran out of the house. There, he witnessed the huge, god-class spirit appearing out of nowhere, with its Shaman (who was a hundred times smaller, I'd say) standing on its right palm. The spirit lowered its hand so its Shaman would be closer to Yoh.

"Hao!" Yoh yelled in shock. What was he doing here!

The Shaman snickered as he jumped onto the ground and walked towards Yoh. Brown hair, brown eyes, slight build and the unforgettable, over-confident smirk. It was unmistakable; this visitor was Yoh's older twin brother.

Hao's smirk grew wider, "How is my precious other half doing?"

"Keh...!" Words couldn't express how irritated Yoh was by his own brother. "If there's something you want, just take it, then leave. You have no right to be here."

"Oh? Anna didn't mention anything about our meeting?"

Meeting? That's right! Someone wanted to meet Yoh that afternoon! Could it be that this someone is... Hao?

Yoh took a deep breath and managed to calm himself down. "C-come in," he muttered, before turning and making his way into the inn. Hao chuckled and followed close behind.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Yoh asked after he had distributed two cups of piping hot green tea. The twins were now seated across from each other on the coffee table in the living room. Yoh stared seriously at Hao, while Hao still had his mocking smirk on.

"Hey, little brother," Hao called out playfully, but failed to receive a non-serious response from Yoh. "...Happy Birthday."

Yoh's eyes widened, "H-huh...!"

"Are you really that dumb until you forgot what day it is today?" Hao chuckled as he watched Yoh scrambling about for a calender. "Y-you're saying... it's our birthday today!" he asked.

Hao nodded, "I got a little present for my little brother too." With the help of his knees, Hao crawled towards Yoh, who was too surprised to move, talk or even do anything. Without hesitation, Hao wrapped both his arms around Yoh's body and pulled him in so their chests would touch. Yoh didn't hate this, but he wouldn't say he liked it either. It was funny; his once arch-enemy was now hugging him as if they were lovers. Yoh's heart was beating rapidly, but he dared not say - or even think - about anything. Not at a time like this. Both of them stayed like this and after a minute, Hao still wouldn't let go. Yoh knew he had to do something. He reluctantly brought up his own arms and hugged his brother back. Although he couldn't see it, he had this strong feeling that, somehow, behind his back, a smile formed on Hao's face.

"Thank you," Hao whispered, before breaking the hug.

Yoh stared at his brother in shock. What the hell just happened? Hao had on a smile; a different one this time. It was a smile that would ensure peace, and happiness. It was funny at first, but after a while, Yoh realized that this new smile looked perfect on Hao.

"I'm home," Anna's voice rang from the main door. Before the two could do anything, Anna had already stepped into the living room. She turned to Hao and raised a brow, "You're still here?"

The two remained speechless.

"Unless you can make yourselves useful, I want the both of you to get out of this house," Anna said coldly. She then focused her gaze on Yoh, "I've got to prepare for the party."

"Ah!" Hao got to his feet, "Sorry, but I believe I should go now. See ya'." He began to advance to the exit when Yoh, too, stood up and yelled, "Wait...! I want you to stay for the party!"

Hao stopped dead in his tracks, surprised. Anna was surprised too. She definitely didn't see that coming. Yoh was baffled himself; he couldn't believe he just said such a thing! However, it was all too late now, and what's done cannot be undone. He reached out and grabbed Hao's wrist, before dragging him towards Anna, "We'll help with the party!"

"Happy birthday to Hao and Yoh; Happy birthday to you~!"

The gang cheered as the twins blew the candles on the cake. Ryu roared as he opened a new bottle of sake. Everyone either helped themselves with a cup of sake or threw a piece of cake at the twins. Everyone except for Manta and Anna. Both of them were sitting outside the inn and staring at the stars above.

"Th-this is the first time I've seen Hao smiling," Manta muttered, afraid that he would make a wrong comment. "Are Hao and Yoh really okay together?"

"I don't know what happened while I was out," Anna said. "But from what I see, Hao and Yoh have made a truce, and that's all we need to know. Because with Yoh, everything will work out eventually." Manta remained silent and thought about what Anna had just said as Anna got to her feet.

"Manta, would you like to come in for dinner?"

"Huh?" Manta looked up, only to be greeted by Anna's delicate smile. It was rare to see her possess something so beautiful. Knowing that everything was going to be okay, Manta grinned and reached out for Anna's hand. Anna grabbed his hand and pulled him up to his feet. She managed to wipe the smile off her face before stepping into the inn.

"All of you here are going to have to clean up this mess after the party!"