Chapter 3


Disclaimer : I Don't own Shaman King!


Thought/ Dreams/ Event from the past

'Telepathic voice'

-Telephone-

Letter

"Dialogue"

Emphasis

Dangerous tone


Yoh's eyes snapped open as soon as he found out Hao's whereabouts, it's a good thing he was a Shaman and his smelling sense as well as his sixth sense was far better than others, aside from Hao, or it would take him forever just to find out Hao's location. He stood up from his spot, below one of the tree in the clearing he and his friends used for training, then stared walking to the place as casually as possible. It would do him no good by rushing to Hao's place, it would raise suspicion if he was seen, something that would he prefer not having to deal with for the time being.

He walked deeper into the forest and raising an eyebrow when he saw Horo Horo, a boy with spiky blue hair, and Chocolove, a dark skinned boy with an afro, walking from the opposing direction, with Ren nowhere in sight. "Hey, Horo Horo, Chocolove." He greeted them so they wouldn't think that he was acting strange, "What are you doing here? And where's Ren? It's strange that you two would be alone without Ren nearby".

The two boys saw him and laughed, "Hey, Yoh." Horo Horo greeted him, "Well, you see, we were being chased by Anna's Shikigami because this stupid comedian said something that made Anna angry".

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Chocolove protested as he looked at Horo Horo, "I'm only speaking my thought!".

"After Anna ordered us to train." Horo Horo said with a bored expression, "You know how she is when someone oppose her, and yet you still back talking her".

"But it's the truth!" Chocolove protested, "Shaman Fight wouldn't start again after what Hao did, they were too damaged to even talk to Goldva!" Horo Horo then hit him on top the head, "Ow, what was that for?!".

Horo Horo glared at him and motioned to Yoh, who already turned and looked at the Great Spirit's direction, "Baka." He whispered before looking at Yoh in concern.

Yoh ignored them and looked at the Great Spirit, he didn't get bothered by what Chocolove said, he merely reminded of what had happened, and so become concerned about Great Spirit's condition. "The damage being done was great . . ." He observed out loud without noticing it.

"Yoh?" Horo Horo asked in confusion and concern.

"With Spirit of Fire ate the Great Spirit, they were only a mere vessel then . . ." Yoh continued with his self muttering, "It helped that now the Spirit of Fire had been returned to the Great Spirit, the Great Spirit are no more a mere vessel and already began the process to build themselves again. Still, they were too weak right now . . . Shaman Fight would only start again after they recovered enough, possibly in two years or three".

"How do you know that, Yoh?" Ren's voice pulled him out of his trance, he turned around and saw Ren standing beside Horo Horo, "Spirit of Fire is back with the Great Spirit? Shaman Fight would start again in two to three years from now?" He raised an eyebrow expectantly, demanding explanation.

Yoh blinked, "What?" He asked in confusion, "Did I say all that?" He didn't even know that he said all that out loud.

"Yes, you did." Chocolove said with a frown, "Are you alright? Don't tell me you get possessed by some Spirit and started talking random things?".

Horo Horo smacked him upside the head again, "How do you know all that, Yoh?" He repeated Ren's question.

Yoh shrugged, "I just do." He said casually, there's no way he said that he was the one who told Hao to return the Spirit of Fire back to the Great Spirit, right? He couldn't explain how he know all that without revealing his secret.

Ren narrowed his eyes, it's clear that he didn't satisfied with the answer he got, "What are you doing here?" He asked instead.

"Just walking" Yoh said with a grin, "Anna did say that I have to clear my head or something." He looked at his friends with a smile, "Well then, I will continue my walk, see you later".

Yoh walked pass them and making a show of walking around while looking at the sky, he was worried that Ren would find out about Hao and the fact that he didn't kill Hao by purpose. He noted to himself to act more carefully from now on, it might be best if he only visit Hao in the middle of the night, where everyone else was asleep. Then again, it's a problem for later, he had to find Hao first.

He looked around to make sure no one was around before changing direction and head out to the cliff, he looked around again before jumping off the cliff and landed at the bottom gracefully without any problem, even though it would have caused a broken leg for normal human at the least. He turned around to face the cliff and began looking for a cave, he began walking to it once he found one. He only walked a step when he noticed the blood stain on the rocky ground, he sighed softly, knowing that he had to erase them or Hao would be found out by someone else.

He placed his hand on the wall and flowed his Furyoku into it, he raised the earth with blood stain on it and pulled them out of the ground, then he flipped them around before lowering them to the ground again and merged them with the earth perfectly to erase any trace of the earth ever being raised. He smiled at his handy work and removed his hand from the wall, he make sure all the stain were gone before began walking again.

"As I thought, it's you, Yoh." Hao's voice greeted him as soon as he entered the cave.

Yoh grinned, "You noticed?" He asked cheerfully and sat down beside his Brother, he then looked at Hao's chest, "How is your wound?" He asked sadly.

"Still painful, but at least it didn't get infected and the blood had stop." Hao answered as he also looking down at the wound.

"I'm sorry." Yoh apologized, "You had to go through that much pain, I'm sorry".

"It's alright." Hao said with a reassuring smile, "You freed me, a pain like this is nothing if it mean I can be free once again." He then looked at Yoh sadly, "But I'm sorry, I had killed too many people . . .".

Yoh shook his head, "It's all in the past now." He said warmly with a smile before reaching out a hand, "Let me clean your wound and heal it".

"Wait." Hao grabbed Yoh's hand before he could remove the makeshift bandage, "Don't, it will give you away".

Yoh sent Hao a confused look, "What do you mean?" He asked with a frown, "Give me away?".

Hao nodded, "Ren saw me." He said with a sigh, "He had somehow fell from the cliff, he saw me when he climbed up to get to the top".

Yoh's eyes widened, "Did he attacked you?" He asked in worry.

"No." Hao shook his head and looked at Yoh uncertainly, "He just stared at me before walking away after Horo Horo called him, did he told you or anyone that he saw me?".

Yoh pressed his lips into a thin line, "He didn't say anything about you." He started slowly, "But he did looking at me in suspicion, even more so when I accidentally slipped about Spirit of Fire being returned to the Great Spirit".

"You did?" Hao asked with a grimace, "It could be a fatal mistake, you know?".

"I know." Yoh pouted, "But it's not like I can tell him, or anyone else for that matter, about you without revealing our secret".

Hao let out a soft breath, "Be more careful, Yoh." He said softly in worry, "You are walking in thin ice already just because you are my Twin, I don't want you to get in more trouble because they found out that you didn't kill me".

Yoh chuckled, "Well, I did told them all that I never want to kill, so if they do found out that I didn't kill you, they couldn't blame me because I already make it clear that I don't want to kill you." He grinned at Hao, "They were the one who force me to fight you alone, they couldn't blame me if I decided to spare you, right?".

"Cheeky, aren't you?" Hao asked withan amused smile, "Anyway, where's your Guardian Spirit? He isn't here, is he?".

Yoh shook his head, "He went to have a chat with Tokageroh and other Spirits." He said calmly, "He also thinks that I'm grieving about your death, so it's more than likely that he would let me alone by myself. Besides, I hid my presence and didn't leave any trail, so I'm safe from getting found out being with you in here".

"That's good." Hao said in relief, but then he frown, "Still, it would be best if you return to them soon, don't give Ren more reason to doubt you".

Yoh nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it would be best." He said as he stood up, "I will come back here tonight to bring water and food, I will also help you healing that wound slowly, two Healers are better than one, right? See you, Asaha." He winked and walked out of the cave without giving Hao a cance to answer. He decided that he would keep a watch on Ren, the Chinese Shaman's intuition was just too sharp for his liking sometimes.

XXXXX

"What's wrong, Ren?" Ren looked up from his milk to see Horo Horo looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "You are awfully quiet tonight".

Ren snorted to hide his surprise, "I'm not a talkative like you, Baka Ainu." He said casually.

"Hey! I'm just asking!" Horo Horo exclaimed as he was feeling insulted by what Ren said, he hit the table with his palms in the process, earning a slap from Anna for causing a ruckus, "Sorry." He said with a slap mark on his face.

Ren snorted again but didn't say anything, instead, he returning to what he did before Horo Horo disturbed him. He was thinking about Hao, he thought that it was strange that Hao didn't make any Oversoul when he saw the fire Shaman, now he know that it's because Spirit of Fire had been returned to the Great Spirit, but it's only served to raise another question. Why would Hao returned the Spirit that he had stole from the Patch 500 years ago?

There's also the fact that there's something off with Hao that he couldn't place, maybe it's because he saw emotion in Hao's normally expressionless face. Hao was normally seen with a confident expression and an annoying smirk on his face, that's why he was taken aback when he saw worry and slight fear in the other boy's eyes. Yes, must be because of it. He thought to himself as he finished up his bottle of milk, he went to the kitchen and dropped the bottle into the trash bin and went to his own room.

One thing that he couldn't understand was why he couldn't bring himself to tell the others about Hao, try as he might, he just couldn't get the word out, as if someone was preventing him from talking. Another thing that he couldn't understand was the fact that, somehow, he was thinking about confronting Hao by himself first before deciding anything. It's a suicidal thought, that much was for sure, because even though Hao didn't have a Guardian Spirit, he was still a Dai Onmyouji (Great Yin Yang Master). He could kill by creating a mere leaf Shikigami if he wanted to, his Shikigami would surely as strong as hell with that large of Furyoku, which possibly had grown even larger after surviving the blow Yoh gave him during the fight.

Ren shook his head to clear him mind from Hao's weak appearance only to notice that it was passed 11 PM, he had somehow drowning in his own thought that he didn't aware that the time had passed. He stood up from his sitting position, he didn't know since when he was sitting, and then head out to the kitchen again.

His body was moving on it's own again it seemed, because by the time he had aware of his surrounding again, he was already on his way to the cave carring a first aid box with him, along with a paper bag with some breads in it. He stopped dead on his track and his eyes widened, What the hell?! He yelled in his head, Am I losing my mind or something?

He shook his head and began walking again, "I can't believe that I'm doing this." He said out loud to himself as he walked down the path to get to the cave, "Either I'm losing my mind or I spent too much time with Yoh . . . Yeah, must be because I spent to much time with Yoh that I even doing this without aware of doing it, it's all Yoh's fault." He stopped walking when he arrived in front of the cave and looked inside, only to find Hao staring at him with surprise and bewilderment.

Ren really couldn't believe what he was doing, "I blame Yoh for this." He said and entered the cave, Hao was tensed but didn't move away from him, maybe because he didn't have his Kwan-Dao with him . . . Eh? He stopped and looked at himself before his eyes widened, he didn't bring his weapon and Bason's Ihai with him . . . "Gah!" He groaned in frustration, "This is really Yoh's fault that I even make this kind of mistake".

"What is Yoh's fault?" Hao asked in surprise and confusion.

Ren glared at him, "It's because Yoh always said that everyone deserve a second chance!" He hissed in annoyance, he looked away, "Yeah, must be because hearing that line too much, must be it." He shook his head and sat down across from Hao, "That, and because you are acting strange".

"You don't come here to attack me?" Hao asked in surprise.

"Do I look like I'm going to attack you?" Ren demanded as he showed the first aid box and the paper bag, "Really, I don't even know why the hell I'm doing this, I blame your Brother for this, because normally he would be the one who are crazy enough to do this".

"Does that mean you didn't tell anyone?" Hao asked cautiously.

Ren frowned, "I didn't, somehow I couldn't." He then looked at Hao straight in the eyes, "It's because you are acting unusual! Must be it." He hissed in his frustration.

Hao's eyebrow raised, "Unusual?" He asked in confusion, "Like how?".

"That!" Ren pointed at Hao's face, making the said Shaman blinked, "You are showing emotions!".

"Of course I am, I'm not an emotionless creature." Hao said in surprise, he frowned and trying to think of how often he showed emotions.

"But all this time you are showing fake emotions." Ren said in defeat, "Always wearing a mask of confidence and try to appear intimidating, even at the time you are showing emotions, they were fake, didn't have any real feeling to it." He then placed the paper bag aside, "The only time I saw a real emotion in you was when we all fought you and you snapped out of your sanity, you were full of rage and hatred".

Hao looked away from Ren's stare before noticing something behind Ren, Yoh was looking at them with a smile and looking relieved. Yoh waved at him before walking away, he returned his focus on Ren when the Chinese Shaman opened the first aid box.

"Remove that thing." Ren said as he looked at Hao's makeshift bandage in distaste, "I will clean your wound and bandage it." He then looked straight into Hao's eyes, "After that, I will asking questions to you. You better answer all my questions honestly and without a lie, understand? Or I will kill you right here and now." He raised a scissor threateningly. Well, scissor would be harmless for normal human, but it could be used to kill in the right hand.

He was surprised that Ren would treat his injury, but since it would help him, why not cooperate for a bit? "Understood." Hao answered calmly as he removed his makeshift bandage.

Ren cleaned the wound with water and then with disinfectant before wrapping them with bandage, "You didn't flinch even for a bit." He stated after he finished packing the tools and put it beside the paper bag, "Don't you feel any pain?".

"I used some of my Furyoku to ease the pain and speep up my healing." Hao answered with a shrug, "You can do it as long as you understand your own body and how it work".

Ren raised an eyebrow, "Well, let's get to the point, are you going to start killing again?" He demanded with a crossed arms.

Hao blinked, "No." He said right away, not even trying to stall it.

Ren eyebrows raised in surprise, "Why so sudden?" He asked.

"I have my own reason." Hao said simply, refusing to give the real reason away.

Ren frowned, "Are you still planning to kill all humans and build Shaman only Kingdom?" He asked again.

"No, I won't killing anyone anymore unless it's the only way." Hao said as he looked at the night sky outside the cave, "That kind of dream is impossible to make, it's pointless anyway".

"Then why started it?" Ren asked in confusion, "If it's pointless, why getting yourself reborn twice for the sole purpose of trying to achieve it, with the cost of so many life?".

"I have my own reason?" Hao said simply again, with a shrug this time, and his tone make it sounded like a question instead of an answer.

Ren growled, "You are impossible." He said in anger as he stood up, "If I ever found out that you kill someone again, I will be the one who kill you." He looked at Hao from behind his shoulder, "You have been given a second chance, so you better use it well." Without saying anything more, he looked ahead and left.


To be continued . . .


Yoh : Why would Ren blame me when he's the one who go to help Hao by himself?

Hao : Because he is in denial.

Rem : I'm not!

Froim : Anyway, Please Review ^ ^