Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King so please don't sue me. I will not be responsible for any sudden bursts of tears that this fic may cause or the up and down feelings that you may experience from reading this. Warning that this fic is at times OOC and semi based off the manga though I've only read up to #17 and have been spoiled with everything else by the online Mankin community.

Chapter 1 – Amai

He stared down at the woman in his arms. Her blonde tendrils draped across the pillow and silently sat across his body. He couldn't help, but smile at the picture before him. She was beautiful, more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. In all the 1000 years that he has existed, he couldn't remember seeing anything more beautiful. Even the morning sun's rays were no match for the goddess that slept in his arms. His arms tightened a little bit more protectively around her. A soft murmur escaped her lips as he realized that his slight gesture had awakened her. He leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"Gomen. I didn't mean to wake you, amai."

She shifted in his arms and rolled over to wrap her arms sleepily around him.

"Go back to sleep, Hao."

He smiled even more at the mention of his name.

"Hai."

Yes, he thought. It was pure, sweet heaven that such a seductress existed behind the sternness of such an Itako known as Kyouyama Anna. Her body naturally reacted in a way that he had never thought possible. It was during that first night that he had really come to know just who Anna was, a temptress that hid her true self behind a mask that she had worn her entire life since the world had turned its back on her for just being herself, for being a Shaman.

Hao knew all too well how to relate to that and he had never felt drawn to another Shaman before until that moment. It had been the moment she had called his named. When his name had left her lips, the look in her eyes had consumed him with her powerful gaze and serious nature. It carried many hidden promises of what was to come and carried a hint of excitement that he had forgotten could exist in this world that lied buried there within her. He had lost himself the moment he had heard his name on her lips. Time and again he felt that thrill enter his body and he felt young again, young and in love. It was as if his past of 1000 years hadn't really existed, that the world had never turned its back on Asakura Hao and that he really was 15 years old again. But in his current body, he was 15 years old.

At moments like this, humans ceased to exist and it was only them. There was no one to interrupt their pleasure in each others company and they had explored every inch of one another. Hao had put his dream of the Shaman Kingdom off to the side for once to do something for himself, to do something selfish, but it was because he wanted her so much. Since the first time he had met her, with her radiating power and unwavering belief in Yoh. He felt as if she really was starting to understand not just the outside of him, but the inside of him as well.

She knew every inch of his body even the scars that continued to outline his body from the time that he had spent in Yomi's cave so that he could become an even more powerful Shaman. The scars continued to follow him throughout his reoccurring lives and were reborn onto him as birthmarks on his body. When she had questioned him about the marks, he had been unable to answer her because he believed that if he were to talk about the Asakura's, his former lands, his past, that it would drive her away.

It had been their deal since the beginning, on the very first night that she had stayed in his arms.

"Don't ever mention his name again." She had said in a cold, icy tone. He had nodded and agreed to her terms.

"We will never talk about Asakura Yoh again." He had told her and they found each other again soon after. It had been her exact words and he knew that his only answer would be to agree. For her, he had given up all association with his little brother. He had lost a part of himself in the deal in many ways than one. He had lost a part of himself, his other half, his little brother yet he had gained Yoh's former fiancée and learned what love was about.

Hao was familiar with love before. He had loved his companion, Matamune, very much, but at the best. Matamune had always been someone with him all the time that even when he would feel such an emotion as loneliness. The tabby cat had comforted him by merely sitting down on his lap so that he could run his hand across its back until they would both fall asleep. Hao had been content with that, more than content with his companion, his friend. He had even experienced the bitter taste of betrayal because of that love and the loss not just of a friend, but also of his own life.

Anna had already known the story about Matamune and Yoh. She knew the story because she had been there. She had come to train and live with the Asakura's when shortly after Matamune's spirit came to an end. She had become the reason why the nekomata had come to sacrifice its afterlife so that she could remain with Yoh. It had caused a new interest to arise in her. She wanted to know the story behind the cat's spirit for there was a story to be learnt.

She was to one day become a member of the Asakura's. She had done a lot of research and knew a lot about the Asakura that had created their line. The legend of the most powerful Shaman named Asakura Hao. They had all been taught to fear him, but she had never felt fear toward him. If anything she had felt pity for the man that the world had condemned merely for being a Shaman. She had felt the same when she had been abandoned by her family and it had only been when the Asakura's had taken her in that she had found a place for herself, but it hadn't lasted.

Yoh had ended their relationship. He had chosen to be with Lyserg since Tao Ren had dumped him earlier on to run off with Horohoro. Anna had known that it had been going on behind her back and when Yoh had finally told her about it. She hadn't been too shocked, but shocked nonetheless that Yoh had chosen to be with Lyserg of all people. She had felt that Lyserg was immature and useless to Yoh when it would come down to his Shaman Fights, but Yoh had refused to listen to her. For once, Yoh had stood his ground and ended the engagement. He had proven that he was serious by kicking her out of the house so that Lyserg could start moving in.

Anna had been furious over her former fiancée doing that to her, but she had accepted it and moved on. Yoh had been an idiot since the first moment she had seen him and she knew that he would never be able to improve on that trademark of his, but she couldn't hide the fact that she had loved him. It hadn't been the first time that she had been abandoned and she was more experienced than she had been before so she found it easy to move on. It was then that Asakura Hao had appeared before her. She had been hoping to forget about the love that she had lost only for another form of him to appear before her.

It took her time to find the right place, but she found a place suitable to continue on with her dream. She moved on to setup a new hot springs hotel that she planned to run when she sensed that someone was watching her. She paused and turned to look. On the top of a gate that surrounded the outside housing of the area, sat Hao and he was smiling at her.

"Hello Anna." He said as she merely stared back at him with her icy gaze. She wasn't in the mood to put up with him, not after what she had just gone through with Yoh. She didn't know how to respond as she continued to look at him. The mirrored image of Yoh that stood in front of her was almost too much and she just wanted to kick his ass to make herself feel better.

"What do you want?" Hao jumped down from off the gate.

"To talk." He slowly walked toward her and stopped a few feet away. "I've come to talk." He smiled and again she was reminded of that bastard Yoh. Her hand clenched into a fist.

"I don't want to talk." She declared firmly and turned to walk past him. Hao reached out and grabbed her hand.

"What are you.."

Hao pulled her into his arms and silenced her with his lips. He closed his eyes and bent his head down slightly to taste of the Itako that plagued his dreams. He wanted this and refused to let something as simple as a woman controls his emotions. Yet as his lips lingered over hers, she didn't pull away and he felt the stirrings within himself start to become alive. He used the situation to his advantage and deepened the kiss. His tongue darted in her mouth and she gasped only for his tongue to have access to her own. She tasted sweet. He could taste rising emotions inside of her as her hesitant responses cried out to him to make her, his own. There was a sudden sharp pain and he could taste his own blood as he released her from the kiss.

Anna pulled back from the kiss.

"Don't ever do that again!"

She had bitten his tongue. She turned to look away from him, but his heady gaze continued to linger on her.

"At least.." She seemed to hesitate as she looked at him again. His serious expression was centered on her. 'Why doesn't Yoh ever look at me like that?' She wondered and forced such thoughts out of him from her mind. "Not without my permission."

Hao's serious expression turned into a bright smile. She soon realized that she was really an idiot.