Ren walked down the narrow path in the woods, the others had set up camp and were busy talking about what they were going to do when they got to Patch Village, and Ren needed at least a moment of silence
"you know you should join my team" Ren knew the voice all to well
He turned around to find Hao sitting on rock standing behind him were three girls the tallest had long blue hair and blue eyes the girl to her right had long blond hair and green eyes, the last girl had orange hair and purple eyes
"what would make you think I would consider joining you?" Ren asked
"the offer is always open" Hao said
He then stood up and left, the three girls followed, Ren waited for them to leave before he let himself think on the situation he was just in, he gently kicked the pebble at his feet, before he walked back to camp
"why do we need him" the orange haired girl asked
"Macchi, you know not to question Master Hao's decisions" the blue haired girl said
"yea Kana I know" Macchi said "just wondering"
Macchi stopped walking and looked behind her
"you looking for something" Kana asked
"Mari thinks she is waiting for someone" the blond girl said
"I'm not waiting for anyone" Macchi protested
"if you say so" Kana said
Macchi sighed as the three girls continued to walk
"where you been Ren" Horo asked
"where you're not" Ren said and sat down next to Yoh
"you ok" Yoh asked concerned
"I'm fine" Ren said
After a few hours of talking Yoh noticed Ren had sat in silence the entire, and Yoh was starting to get worried, he looked to Ren who now sat off a little way closer to the forest, Yoh decided to keep him company
"what's up" Yoh said
"Yoh can I tell you something" Ren asked
"sure" Yoh said
"Hao talked to me in the forest earlier today" Ren said "he wanted me on his team"
"wow" Yoh said
"is that what you've been thinking about" Yoh asked
"yea" Ren said
"well if you can't figure out what to do I'm here" Yoh said
He then walked back toward the others, Ren returned to thinking about what he was thinking about before Yoh showed up
Macchi sat at their camp very restless
"are you ok" Kana asked
"I need to go for a walk" Macchi said
She got up and walked off
"what has gotten into that girl" Kana wondered out loud
"perhaps she's simply looking for something" Hao said
"I hope that's all it is" Kana said still worried
Macchi wondered where she was at this point, she didn't know exactly why she felt different, when she heard a scream she ran toward it and saw a young girl with short light brown hair and purple eyes clinging to a rock in the middle of a river 'how did she end up there' Macchi thought 'well I better help her' Macchi walked to the edge of the river
"don't worry I'll help you" she said to the girl
The little girl looked up at her in fear
"hurry" was all she said
Macchi stuck her hand in the water to feel how strong the river was, it was mild 'this shouldn't be very hard' Macchi thought she walked into the water and took a few steps she instantly dropped, the river was deep, so deep she couldn't feel the bottom, but she didn't worry about that at the moment Macchi swam to the girl she grabbed hold of the rock
"come here" she said
The little girl crawled over to her, Macchi grabbed hold of the girl and started swimming back, when they got close to the shore, Macchi could just barely reach the bottom, she took the girl off her back and set her on the shore, Macchi then started climbing up, she felt something grab hold of her foot Macchi held tight to the soft ground, the little girl got scared for a moment
"hold tight" the girl said "I go get help"
The girl ran off, in her absence Macchi kicked at whatever was pulling on her
The little girl ran through the forest but couldn't find anyone, till she ran into someone, without looking up
"help me" she said
"what's wrong" Ren asked
"this way" the girl said and ran back
Ren followed the girl after a few minutes they heard a scream
"hurry" the girl said
When they got there Macchi was still trying to kick whatever it was, but it didn't seem to do anything, Ren recognized her she was with Hao when he paid a little visit earlier, Macchi started to lose her grip, without thinking about it, Ren ran to her he slid across the ground, grabbing hold of her as she lost her grip
"hold on as tight as you can" he said
"what are you doing" she asked
Ren pulled his Kwan do, Macchi let out a little scream and held Ren's arm as tightly as she could, he stabbed the Kwan do into the water, Macchi could feel whatever it was let go of her, Ren quickly pulled her out of the water before it decided to come back, Macchi was taking deep breaths as she felt her ankle
"you ok" the little girl asked
"I think so" Macchi said
"how can you think you're ok" Ren asked
"well because I'm alive" Macchi said "but my ankle hurts"
Macchi looked around, of course she didn't know where she was
"well I guess I better go" Macchi said
When Macchi tried to stand she only fell back to the ground
"are you hurt" the girl asked
"I'm fine" Macchi said
"no you're not" Ren said
He walked over to her and helped her stand
"I'm gonna take you back" he said
She didn't protest, mostly because she wanted to get somewhere warmer then out here as they walked back the little girl also followed them, it took a little while to get there, but neither of them spoke the entire time, when they got back almost everyone was sleeping, the only ones awake were Yoh and Rio they sat by the fire, Yoh was waiting for Ren to come back before he went to sleep and Rio was waiting for Yoh to go to sleep before he did, when Ren walked to them with Macchi and a little girl the two boys were surprised
"what's this" Rio asked
"they just need a place to stay for the night" Ren said
"is she hurt" Yoh asked
"yea she is" the girl said
Ren and Macchi looked at her, she covered her mouth with her hands smiling the whole time, Ren set Macchi down near the fire and sat next to Yoh on the other side of the fire, the little girl stayed next to Macchi
"so what up" Yoh said
"what do you mean" Ren asked
"well you sat alone all night and then all the sudden you bring back two others and one is hurt" Yoh said "I'm confused how do you know her"
Ren stood up and walked a little ways away, he motioned for Yoh to follow him, Yoh got up and walked to him
"what" Yoh asked
"she's part of Hao's team" Ren said
Yoh almost choked on air
"what" he said "what made you help her then"
"you know how when you hate someone, but feel that if you don't help them, if something happened to them you'll feel guilty" Ren said
Yoh nodded his head, knowing what Ren was talking about
"well that's how I felt about this" Ren said
They looked back at Macchi and the girl who were talking and laughing, Ren smiled a small smile, and Yoh noticed it but said nothing
"I'm getting worried about her" Kana said
"she be ok, she strong" Mari said
"I'm going to look for her" Kana said
"Mari wants to help" she said
The two girls walked off the way Macchi had gone hours before, they walked for a while, when they heard Macchi's voice they ran in the direction and saw her with Yoh and his friends, at first they didn't know what to think they just sat and watched
"let me see your ankle" Ren said now sitting next to Macchi
"why" she asked
Ren didn't answer, he moved her ankle slightly, noticing that didn't hurt her
"you didn't break it at least" Ren said "so it should be better by tomorrow"
Ren stood up and walked back toward Yoh who was ready to go to sleep, Rio had already fallen asleep
"you should get some rest" Ren said
Macchi looked at him and nodded her head, when everyone else fell asleep Macchi got comfortable and was about to go to sleep
"hey Macchi" Kana said walking toward her
"hi Kana" Macchi said
"you need to come back" Kana said
Macchi looked over at the kids who actually had helped her, she sighed
"I hurt my ankle" she said still looking at Yoh and the others
"well Mari help you walk" Mari said
Macchi crawled over to the others and whispered a thank you, not knowing if they had heard it or not she, Kana and Mari headed back to their camp at first Macchi didn't want to leave, but Kana and Mari were her friends so she followed them back
The next morning Ren and Yoh noticed that Macchi and the little girl were gone, Ren woke up the others while Yoh got the food ready, Ren looked off into the forest as if he were looking and waiting for something
"you waiting for something" Yoh asked
"no" Ren said walking back to the others
Yoh seemed worried about Ren he wasn't acting like himself, Yoh decided not to do anything but watch and look for some clue as to why, for now he would just stay close
"are we ready to go" Horo asked
"sure" Yoh said
Macchi stared into the forest
"you looking for something" Mari asked
"no" Macchi said
Mari sat down next to Macchi, for some reason unknown to Mari at the moment Macchi wasn't acting the same, she was usually really happy, but since they got back she was 'different'
"is there something you need" Mari asked
"not really" Macchi lied
Mari frowned her best friend was sad and she didn't know why, then Mari got an idea she would ask the people Macchi was with the other night
"I'll be back soon" Mari said
"where are you going" Macchi asked
"just for a walk" Mari said and walked off
Mari was walking for awhile when she ran into Yoh
"hello" Yoh said
"hi" Mari said "can I talk to you about a girl that was with you the other night"
"umm sure" Yoh said
"was she happy or sad" Mari asked
"well she seemed happy" Yoh said
"well for some reason she isn't happy now" Mari said
"you know what" Yoh said "one of my friends isn't happy now either where as he was last night"
"what should we do" Mari asked
"we gotta help them" Yoh said
Yoh and Mari thought for a while
"I think it would be best for them to be together" Yoh said "they looked happier together I mean"
"you know you're right but how can they be" Mari asked
"I don't know" Yoh said
Macchi sat on a cliff edge thinking about everything all at once, which isn't an easy thing to do, she wondered if that little girl she had met the other day was alright, she knew she should have taken her with her, but she didn't know if that would be a good thing to do
"what are you thinking so hard about" Hao asked
"nothing really" Macchi said
"if it were nothing it wouldn't be bothering you this much" he said
Now Hao could easily read her mind to find the answer but he preferred to let people tell him what they felt comfortable telling about
"if you don't feel comfortable talking about" he said he walked away leaving her with her thoughts
Ren sat by himself he stared into the fire wondering if he would ever be able to see them again, Horo came running over to him
"so what's up" he yelled
Ren turned to face his annoying companion, he wasn't happy with this and just wanted to disappear when just that happened for some reason everyone seemed to just disappear, everything was dark for a moment then he noticed that he was in a bright garden, he didn't know how he got here but he knew he didn't want to leave, he felt someone's hands grab his shoulders and shake him he opened his eyes and saw Horo looking down at him, he shoved Horo's face away from him he sat up and rubbed his head
"dude what happened" Horo asked
"how should I know" Ren snapped
Ren stood up
"where is Yoh" he asked
"he went for a walk in the forest" Horo said
Ren stared off into the woods then back at the fire 'what did that' he thought when he heard a scream but no one else seemed to hear it he looked around he was looking for where it had come from when he heard it again he took off into the woods
"Ren where are you going" Horo asked
He didn't answer but kept running
Macchi screamed as the four shaman guys attacked at her repeatedly she was only dodgeing them, when one of the grabbed her, she struggled under his strong grip, she screamed as loud as she could hoping someone would hear her, the man placed a hand over her mouth, she bit down on his hand, she didn't let go until she tasted his blood the man screamed out in pain, the man pulled her off and threw her to the ground
"just get rid of her" he said gripping his hand
She placed her hands over her head, she felt no pain instead she heard others screaming she didn't want to look until she felt a strong hand pull her to her feet she was to afraid to pull back on whoever was pulling her she just wanted to get out of there
"hurry this way" she recognized the voice as Yoh's
"im coming" now it was Ren's and it was closer so she figured he was the one who grabbed her she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Yoh in front of her a ways away then she looked back and saw the men chasing them, a small gasp escaped her mouth
"you need to run" Ren said
Macchi tried hard but she was so afraid she could hardly stand, Ren noticed she was having a hard time walking, the two stopped for a moment
"hurry" Yoh called
Ren looked at Macchi who was breathing slowly, he lifted her into his arms and started running she didn't resist but was surprised all the same, after a while of running they made it out of the forest, when they got out Yoh and his friends were waiting, Ren set Macchi down
"what did they want" he asked
"what does it matter" she said not looking up at him
"it matters" he said
She wouldn't tell and that told him all he needed to know
"stay here with them" he said
She didn't know what to do
"where are you going" she asked
"just stay here" he said and ran back the way they came
Yoh ran up to Macchi
"where is he going" he asked
"he wouldn't tell me" she said
"hmm ok" he said and led Macchi back to the campsite
"look it's him" the first said
He had short blond hair he wore a black t shirt and blue jeans, he walk toward Ren who didn't retreat
"what do you want" the second asked
Long dark hair white t shirt and dark pants
"what did you do to her" Ren asked
"what is she your girlfriend" the first said
Ren flinched at the sound of the word, the four started laughing
"you wanna know what we were going to do to her?" the third said
He had short brown hair white shirt and blue jeans, Ren could feel the anger in him raise, he didn't know why this was making him so angry, he clenched his fists
"oh no I think we're making him angry" the second said
Ren didn't listen to what they were talking about, he only thought about what could have happened had he not shown up when he did
"so what are you doing out here" the fourth finally spoke
He had long silver hair and wore dark shirt and grey jeans, Ren didn't answer he pulled out his Kwan do and attacked the four men they jumped away from the attack
"you think you can beat all four of us" the second said
"I don't think I can I know I can" Ren said
Macchi sat by the fire wondering what Ren was doing, why he left, and why he wouldn't tell her where he was going
"so what's your name" Horo asked
"im Macchi" she said not taking her eyes off the fire
"my names Horo" he said
In that moment they heard blood curdling screams coming from the woods then silence, nothing not even the sounds of animals, Macchi stood up along with the others, they all stared into the forest, they watched for any sign of life from the screams they knew something bad had happened, when they saw someone walking out of the forest, Macchi walked over to Yoh
"tell him I said thank you" she said
Yoh nodded his head and she ran the opposite way of the forest, which by the way is where everyone else was headed, Macchi wanted to stay but she knew she had to get back to the others,
Ren walked out of the forest and saw all the others running toward him, by the looks in their faces he knew they must have heard the screams, he noticed she wasn't with them, and his expression grew sad Horo got to him
"what was that" he asked
Ren didn't answer but walked toward Yoh
"she wanted me to tell you thank you for her" Yoh said "im sure you'll see her again"
"huh" Ren said giving Yoh the what-are-you-trying-to-say look Yoh only laughed
That night Mari met with Yoh again
"he defiantly likes her" Yoh said
"and she likes him" Mari said "but being on other sides how can they be happy"
"this is our secret" Yoh said
Mari nodded her head
"I think they should talk this over together" Mari said
"your right" he said
"so how do we get them together" she asked
"take her to the old small town a few miles from here" Yoh said
"can do" she said
Ren sat up all night thinking, and wishing she hadn't left
"hey Ren" Yoh said "can I show you something"
Ren got up and followed Yoh off some ways, they walked till they saw a small town, and that's when they saw Macchi and Mari walking toward them, when they got to each other
"what's going on here" Ren asked
"that's what I want to know" Macchi said
For a moment they waited for one of the other two to talk but when they didn't Macchi and Ren looked around but they weren't there anymore
"what the" Macchi said
"what are they trying to pull" Ren said
Macchi looked up at him then down to the dark ground, Macchi started walking around through the now abandon town, Ren followed her, she ran her hand across a small building, she felt like going in and did so
"you think we should go in there" Ren asked
"don't know" Macchi said and continued in
Ren followed her in, they walked throughout the house when they heard what they thought was a soft small cry, they followed the sound and found that same young girl they had met at the river
"what are you doing here" Macchi asked
"I came looking for my mother" she said "but she's not here no one is"
"did you live here" Ren asked
"I lived here just a day ago" she said "could you help me"
"how" Macchi asked
"could you please take care of me" the girl asked
Macchi turned to Ren who didn't know what to do they looked at each other for what seemed like forever
"that will be hard for us" Macchi said
"how come" the girl asked
"well we can't always be together" Macchi said
"why" the girl asked
"well we aren't exactly on the same side" Ren said
"oh that's okay" she said "you guys can take turns"
Ren and Macchi looked at each other again, now they really didn't know what to do besides agree to what the girl asked
"what should we do" Macchi asked
"well we can't just leave her here alone" Ren said
"so you think it would be smart to do this" she asked
"smart no but right yes" he said
They turned back to the girl
"we'll help you" Macchi said
"thank you so much" the girl said "by the way my name is Julie"
"well Julie who would you like to stay with first" Macchi asked
"you please" she said
"ok" Macchi said
Macchi, Ren and Julie left the building and headed out of the town
Yoh and Mari had been watching the whole time
"we sent in two and three come out" Mari said
"that's the same little girl they had with them before" Yoh said
"I wonder what happened down there" she said
Macchi and Ren went their separate ways with Julie following Macchi, Ren walked back to the camp, Yoh was there when he back
"why did you leave before" Ren asked
"because you two needed your time" Yoh said
Ren had a confused look on his face, while thinking Yoh was crazy 'what is Yoh talking about' he thought
The next morning Horo screamed and woke everyone up
"what is it Horo" Rio asked
"what is that" Horo screamed
Everyone looked to where he pointed
"Horo that's the ground" Yoh said
"no there was something there" Horo protested
Everyone got up and got ready to go
"Yoh what's up with him" Horo asked pointing to Ren
"what do you mean" Yoh asked
"he hasn't been acting like himself lately" Horo said
"im sure it's nothing" Yoh lied
Yoh didn't like lying but if it helped his friend he would do it, Horo didn't seem convinced, but didn't say another word on it
Macchi climbed out of bed, and walked around a bit to try and stop herself from falling asleep again, Julie did everything Macchi did and she did it exactly
"when can we see 'dad'" Julie asked
"what" Macchi said
"you know dad" Julie said
"who is this dad" Mari asked
"its nothing" Macchi said
"when" Julie whined
"the first chance we have" Macchi said
A big smile came across Julie's face, however it was a few days before they saw each other again, and Julie was getting upset about it, so Macchi did something kind of dangerous, she snuck out of the campsite and went to find Yoh and his friends, Julie followed Macchi where ever she went, they stood in the dark trees
"will dad be here" Julie asked
"I hope so" Macchi said
That's when Ren walked up to them
"yea daddy's here" Julie cried as she ran to Ren and threw her arms around his legs
"can we talk" Ren said
Julie sat on a log as Ren and Macchi talked
"why did she refer to me as daddy" Ren asked
"I don't know she's been doing it for a while now" Macchi said
Ren rubbed his forehead
"now what" he asked "will she stay with you or come with me"
"do you think we should ask her" Macchi asked
Ren nodded and the two walked over to Julie
"do you want to stay with me or go with him" Macchi asked
"I wanna go with daddy" Julie said
She jumped off the log and stood next to him
"well I guess I'll see you guys when I see you" Macchi said
"wait" Ren said
Macchi turned to him, he took a deep breath
"why can't you stay" he asked
Macchi didn't know what to say
"Mari will be worried about me" she said and took off running back
Ren stared as she ran away, he looked down at the little girl next to him she had the biggest smile on her face not much went on throughout the next few days
Macchi stood at the forest edge she waited for Ren and Julie within the next few minutes Ren and Julie showed up
"how you been" Macchi asked
"I've been good" Julie said
Ren didn't say much while Macchi and Julie talked about everything that had happened while they were apart
"so this is why you have been running off" came a voice Macchi knew as Kana's
Macchi took a deep breath when she saw Kana walk toward them, Ren grew tense as Kana approached them
"look Macchi you need to stop this now" Kana said
"why" Macchi asked
"because you can't be hanging out with the enemy" Kana said
Macchi looked down at the ground, Ren could tell she didn't know what to do or say, Ren took a step toward Macchi
"don't you move" Kana warned him
"or what" Ren asked
"you don't want to know" she said
"if I asked I must want to know" he said
Kana glared at him he kept his uninterested look on his face easily
"look Kana if this bothers you we can talk about it" Macchi said
"what makes come see him" Kana asked
To be honest Macchi didn't even know how to answer that, besides the fact that they were both taking care of Julie she knew there was another reason that pushed to come and see him but she couldn't figure out what it was
"well I guess its time you came back before I get you in trouble" Kana said
Macchi knew exactly what Kana was talking about
"Kana you don't have to do that" Macchi said "I'll come"
Macchi started walking away when they all heard the sound of something coming fast, before any of them could think a large animal jumped out at them, Macchi and Ren just barely made it out of the way
"what is that" Kana asked
"how should I know" Macchi said
The creature growled with hunger, they all watched as it licked its chops and stared straight at them, they knew at that moment that it intended to use them to fill itself Macchi reached out and grabbed hold of Julie who was shaking with fear
"what now" Macchi asked
"take Julie and go" Ren said
"what about you" Julie asked
"I can take care of this" he said
Macchi did as she was told, she took Julie and they ran, they caught the creatures eyes and it looked in their direction, the didnt stopped running
Macchi and Julie stopped for just a second so they could catch their breath, when they heard a scream then a howl and then both at the same time, after that was pure silence, Macchi covered her mouth she didn't know if she should go back and see what had happened or keep running
"is he ok" Julie asked
Macchi couldn't bear to think about or answer the question, she decided to go back if the creature was still there, well then that would be the end but if it wasn't well she just had to know, they got there moments later, Ren kneeled in the creatures blood and probably his own considering the wounds he had, the creature had clawed the upper part of his right arm and dug its teeth into his left shoulder his lower left arm had been clawed from the wrist to the elbow and these wounds looked deep as it was
"are you ok" Macchi asked when she was next to him
"I'll live" he said holding his left shoulder
"what happened to Kana" Macchi asked
"I think she left" he said "you should probably go to"
"why" she asked so fast she hadn't thought about it first
"so you don't get in trouble" he said
"but what about you" she protested
"listen our camp isn't far from here" he said "I'll be fine"
Macchi sighed but did as he told her and started to leave with Julie following close behind
Ren stumbled back to camp of course getting asked a whole bunch of questions when he got back, questions he didn't answer, he tended to his wounds, everyday that went by Yoh got more concerned and now this, Yoh sat next to his best friend
"Ren what happened to you?" he asked
Ren turned to Yoh, he didn't answer the question instead he asked his own
"how can I fix this?" he asked
"tell the truth" Yoh said, he was doing it again
"what" Ren asked
"I know you like her" Yoh said with a smile on his face
"I do not" Ren protested
Yoh laughed as he got up and walked away, ren sat and thought about what Yoh had just told him, maybe he wasn't so wrong after all
Macchi and Julie walked for quite some time before they had gotten back, Kana was there before them, she watched as Mari ran to Macchi and Julie
"are you two ok" Mari asked "I heard one of Yoh's friends attacked you"
"im fine" Macchi "but we weren't attacked by one of Yoh's friends"
"how do you get into so much trouble" Kana asked walking toward them
"I guess im just lucky that way" Macchi said not even looking at Kana
Macchi and Julie walked away from Kana, Mari followed them
"whats going on" Mari asked
"you want to know the truth" Macchi asked
Mari nodded, and Macchi told her the whole story, Mari sat still not knowing what to say
It was night by now they only a few days to find Patch Village, Ren sat awake unable to fall asleep, he wondered if Yoh was right or not and if Macchi and Julie were okay
"you thinking about them" Yoh said
Ren looked up at him
"if you're that worried about them" Yoh said "then go check on them"
Ren didn't know what to do, when they heard a scream, out of nowhere Julie came running toward them, Ren and Yoh ran to her
"whats wrong" Ren asked
"she needs help" Julie said crying
"its okay" Ren said
"where is she" Yoh asked
"follow me" Julie said running into the woods
It was dark and hard to see none the less they kept going, they could hear screaming, they started running faster
"get away from me" Macchi said
She stood at the edge of a large cliff, with a river below that water to much to strong for her to fight, so jumping wouldn't be the best idea
"you should have stayed away from him" Kana said
Kana and Mari had always been Macchi's best friends but why was Kana acting this way, what had gotten into her
"can it be" Macchi said
"what" Kana asked
"are you mad because you haven't found love yet" Macchi asked
"what makes you think that" Kana asked
"you seem so lonely" Macchi said
Kana finally lost it, she ordered her guardian ghost to attack, Macchi knew the only way to get out of this one, so she took her chance and jumped
From the ground Ren and Yoh saw Macchi jump, Ren ran to the river's edge he looked at the water, it was moving fast, but he didn't care
"Ren don't" Yoh said knowing what Ren was thinking
Ren didn't listen and jumped into the water, Ren felt the hard pressure of the water pushing against his body, he struggled to stay above the water, when he saw her, he reached out and grabbed her arm, he could tell she was struggling as well, when she saw him she pulled herself to him and threw her arms around his neck holding to him as tightly as she could, Ren tried swimming toward the shore but it was harder than he thought it would be
"take my hand" Yoh called from the shore
Ren reached for his hand but they were just barely out of reach, when they both went under, Yoh watched as a giant red hand pulled them out of the water and set them on the shore, they were coughing up water
"are you okay" Yoh asked
"im fine" Ren said
"me too" Macchi said
Macchi still hasn't loosened her grip on Ren, she was shaking, some from the cold water and some from being scared, everyone looked around for who helped them, though it was quite obvious, Hao stood on the Spirit Of Fire's hand watching them
"you helped us" Ren said
"of course" Hao said "she is still my friend and if you make her happy well I wont let her lose that"
"thank you" Yoh said
Everyone looked at Yoh, he was smiling his big dorky smile
"you're not so bad" Yoh said
Hao smiled but started leaving
"wait you should stay with us" Yoh said
Hao turned to Yoh he didn't know what to think
"as much as I like your offer" Hao said "I cant"
"why not" Yoh asked
No matter what people said about Hao and no matter what Yoh has seen him do, he just wanted to be able to teach his brother what it was like to have someone to care about
"you know what the others would say" Hao said
"I don't care" Yoh said "you're my brother"
Hao looked at him, he didn't know what to do, he wanted so much to be with his brother but he also didn't want to cause him any trouble
"I don't want to cause you any trouble" Hao said
"if they have a problem with it than I'll just go with you" Yoh said
Everyone was surprised at what Yoh had just said
"I wonder where Yoh and Ren are" Horo asked
"they probably are around here somewhere" Rio said
"lets go look for them" Chocolove said
So they went out to go find their friends, they walked for some time when they saw Yoh talking to Hao and Ren and Macchi sitting on the shore of the river, they decided to stop and listen to what Yoh and Hao were talking about
"I appreciate that Yoh" Hao said "but I don't think that it would be safe"
"I don't care" Yoh said there were tears in his eyes "you will always be my brother and for that I will always love you"
"how would you explain this to the others" Hao asked
Yoh didn't answer he didn't know how
"I have to go now" Hao said
"wait" Macchi said
"yes" Hao said
"cant we all stay" Mari said running up to them
"what do you mean" Hao asked
"well then you can be with your brother, Macchi can be with Ren and I can still be with my best friend" Mari said
"how can this work" Hao asked
"it just will" Yoh said
Hao couldn't take watching that sad look on Yoh's face anymore he couldn't take the fact that Yoh was sad because of him
"alright we can try this" Hao said
Hao smiled when he saw Yoh's face light up
"you mean it" Yoh said
"of course" Hao said
"you have got to be kidding me" Horo called out
Everyone looked at him
"Yoh you cant let them stay with us" he said
"why not" Ren said
He stood up and walked toward Horo and Rio
"they are evil" Horo said
"that is a matter of opinion" Ren said
"well I don't approve" Horo said
"then we'll go with them" Ren said
"what are you saying" Horo said
"Yoh deserves to be with his brother" Ren said "and since Yoh is my best friend I'll go with him"
"is that the only reason you would go" Horo asked
"no its not" Ren said
"then whats the other reason" he asked
Ren looked back to Macchi who stood on the shore watching them
"oh so its for her" Horo said
Ren closed his eyes for a moment
"I think it would be okay for them to stay" Rio said
"are you serious" Horo said
"sure Ren is happier with her around and Yoh seems to want his brother around" Rio said "and if we were there friends it wouldn't matter to us"
Horo thought on the things Rio had just said, he looked back up and Ren had walked back and now stood next to Macchi
"prove it" Horo said
Ren leaned in and kissed Macchi on the cheek, she blushed slightly, Horo's mouth dropped open, Horo couldn't believe what he just saw
"can we go now" Yoh asked
"I bet I can beat you there" Hao said
"you're on" Yoh said
The two brothers ran off toward the camp
"is he really staying with us" Horo asked
Ren wrapped his arm around Macchi's waist
"yup" he said
Ren didn't mind that Hao was going to be staying with them, partly because he was strong and would be a good teammate but mostly because Yoh was his best friend and if this made him happy then so be it, they started leaving when Macchi turned around but Julie wasn't there
"hey Ren where is Julie" Macchi
Ren turned around, a paper fell from the sky, Macchi and Ren walked over and picked it up,
'thank you for all you've done for me you set my spirit free, all I need to say I will miss you Macchi my sister'
"what" Macchi said looking at it
"you had someone to watch over you" Ren said
"till she found another" Hao said appearing behind them
"what the" they both said
"you guys are so slow" he said pushing them
When they got back no one seemed to mind the fact that Hao was going to stay with them, but what was to become of those who were on Hao's team…..