. His Last Words .

The wind gently flowed through the teen's long, dark tresses. The light radiating the ball of fire on his hand revealed the youthful features on his face. The flames began to flicker vigorously as a gust of strong wind swept past the fire shaman.

He was looking past the shore, his gaze fixed on the huge warship at the sea before him. The shaman furrowed his eyebrows in frustration, and the edge of his lips began to curl and form a slight frown. Humans, they were the only thing on his mind. Oh, how he wished he would be able to see the petrified looks on their faces when he proceeds to destroy them. The screams and cries of help those pests will produce would be music to his ears. Thinking about the pain those worthless humans will suffer tickled the shaman on the inside, but the feeling died instantly when he got reminded of the promise he had made to his other half just earlier that evening.

Nevertheless, it still ravished him that he was going to fight alongside his twin brother in less than twenty-four hours. That impertinent shaman had finally agreed to lend a hand in fending off the humans that were keeping a close eye on this remote island. The fire shaman was, without a doubt, excited. It was funny; he felt like a child looking forward to a field trip.

"Aren't you cold?"

The teen showed no obvious sign of shock or surprise upon hearing the soft, hoarse voice. Instead, he formed a smirk on his face and chuckled, clearly amused.

"What are you laughing at?" the voice continued from behind him.

The teen resisted the urge to grin. "I'm just surprised you're still lurking around here," he said calmly. "Do you still have unfinished business here?"

For a moment, the air was still, and deafening silence was the only thing that lingered in the air. Neither spoke for a while. The shaman knew perfectly well that the other party was thinking of a good reason on why he still remained on Earth, where he didn't belong. The shaman discarded the ball of fire and lowered his hand afterwards. He closed his eyes, the smug smirk still glued onto his face. He tried to enjoy the silence between him and the other party while it lasted.

"No, that's not it," the voice finally spoke. "To be honest, I wanted to have a word with you, Lord Hao."

The fire shaman raised his brow as his smile widened, amused. "What's there to say," he started. "When I already know everything?"

"I'm not surprised," said the voice. "This is the one thing I loved about you, Lord Hao. That ability of yours which enables you to read minds."

"Humph, I do not wish to listen to the words of a traitor."

The voice laughed, "Understandable. Lord Hao, you probably hate me now." A few more moments of dead silence, before the voice began again, "So, what do you plan to do? The others... they are all gone. Are you going to deny the fact that the things I had said earlier were true?"

Hao straightened his face. The urge to just burn everything in sight was slowly building up in the pits of his stomach, but he knew better than to lose his temper. "What I plan to do with them is none of your business," he said. "The only thing you should be concerned about is to pass on to the other world. If you stay here for too long.. I'm afraid things aren't going to be easy for you."

Hao could sense another smile forming on the spirit's face. "Will this be the last time I'll see you in that childish jersey?" the spirit teased, referring to the red jersey Hao was wearing, which had a print of a star just right above his left breast. He knew his master would wear it every night, without fail, before he got ready to call it a day.

Hao brought forth a wide, albeit fake, smile. "Didn't you say you wanted to say some things to me?" he asked, changing the subject. He turned and knowingly walked past the spirit, with his eyes still closed and the smile still abiding on his face. Look closer and one might find the troubled look he was hiding behind his subtle wrinkles, which was a displeasing sight, coming from a bright, teenage boy who always seemed so relax and carefree.

"I'll be listening," he added, slowly making his way back to the resting place so he could catch every one of the spirit's word. "..Peyote Diaz."

The spirit named Peyote smirked. He was given one last chance to voice out his thoughts, to tell someone how he really feels. And the person who was actually willing to listen was none other than Asakura Hao himself. No doubt, the man he had betrayed still gave him a second chance. He had to be grateful for everything his former master had done for him.

He came to one final conclusion.

This is the truth.

No matter what may happen in this world, nothing seems surprising or illogical. Important people die for such unimportant things. If they aim to be the best, they can just as easily fail. On the other side, birth and death can be total happiness. ...Isn't that absurd? It's as if we actually had time to waste on every little detail in life. But in the end... it doesn't really matter.

"Nothing.. really matters to me.. anymore..."


Random fic. o.o But I wrote it only because it's 11 September, and that means - Happy Birthday, Peyote Diaz! Can't say I like you, but you had a somewhat important role in the manga! Well! This was supposed to take place after Peyote killed himself and the Flower Team, which was in Chapter 249 of the manga. The lines at the end of this fic was from the manga, too. Somehow, I have this feeling that Peyote means more than what he says at the end. e.o

And, hehe, I don't even know why Hao is in this fic. Just thought one character would be boring. xD

One more thing; I cried while reading this chapter. And I was in school, too. xD I recall tears building up in my eyes when I read about Peyote betraying Hao, and talking about how he loved and hated him the most, et cetera. I guess I lost it when I read the part when Macchi cried, "We're already dead!". ...Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me, either. xD Just thought I should share this piece of nugget with you guys.

I also wanted to share with you guys about Peyote's role in the anime. I recalled Hao saying to Peyote, 'I'm glad you're still joining us', but I never knew what he meant. Peyote never actually betrayed Hao in the anime, am I right? o.e

I was so surprised when I decided to run a spell-and-grammar check on this fic because I could hardly find any mistakes! But I could be wrong; there must be one mistake hiding.. somewhere... e.e

- A

P.S. Hao wears that jersey of his every time he gets ready to go to sleep, right? If that is so, why was he naked in bed in Shaman King Remix Track 5? o.o Sorry, just a random thought. xD