Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the Shaman King characters that will be shown in this story. I do, however, own Era as she is my own character.

Note: This story is based off of the Anime. Also, before I forget, I am aware that most of the characters are between thirteen and sixteen years of age. For this story, I am changing that to between fifteen and eighteen, because the romance aspect just does not work, otherwise. Basically, everyone is two or three years older.


Chapter Eight: Sibling, Hatred and Wonder

The time it took to arrive at the next village was pathetic, to say the least. We spent the night on the hill, slept on the ground and left the following morning, shortly after breakfast. The trip was easier than I'd imagined, considering we rode on the spirit of fire; due to the speed, we arrived at the next village shortly after sunset. It took a lot less time than if I would have walked.

As soon as we arrived at the village, I distanced myself from Hao's group and headed to some of the small shops. I needed to get away from the glares some of his followers constantly sent in my direction. Though I didn't care what they thought of me, I didn't enjoy being the on the receiving end of such negative behavior for so long. I just needed a break.

With a slight groan, I stretched my body and winced as my back seemed to snap. I was still sore from sleeping on the ground, but I hadn't had much else of a choice. Grabbing some snacks and drinks from the shelves in the store, I paid for them – luckily I had my wallet in my pocket when the plane crashed – and exited the building.

"Will you continue travelling with them?"

I frowned as Serena appeared next to me. "I don't know," I admitted.

The thought had been on my mind ever since I'd separated myself from Hao's group. On one hand, it would make my travels much easier, yet on the other… According to Yoh and his friends, Hao was evil, but I found that difficult to see. Hao seemed… kind, if not a bit unorthodox, and after talking to him, I knew that he meant well with his plan.

…He just had poor execution.

With a frown, I looked around the small village. Though nothing special, it had a certain tone to it - a tone of age, solitary, yet friendliness. Considering the town was in the middle of nowhere, solitary was obvious, yet despite that, the inhabitants were extremely friendly to the tourists who visited, or shaman who passed through.

Speaking of solitary; I hadn't seen Hao or his followers ever since I left them. Curiously, I regarded my surroundings, but found no trace of them. Odd. Though I couldn't see them, I knew they were in the village; I could still feel the distinct presence of Hao's power.

"Era!"

Surprise flitted across my face and I turned around to face the one who had called out to me. Instantly, I spotted the person, or rather, the group of people. Ren, Yoh and their friends jogged up to me and I noticed their numbers had increased by one - two, if you count the spirit. Relief flitted across Horohoro's face.

"Hey guys," I said, a slight smile coming to my lips.

"Hey guys?" Horohoro exclaimed."We were worried sick about you!"

"Yes," Ryu agreed. "We thought we lost you."

A soft laugh escaped me. "I'm fine guys, honest."

Yoh nodded and grinned sheepishly. "That's good. Ren here was really worried about you."

"I was not!" Ren scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at Yoh.

"Aww," I mused, smiling. "How cute." I distinctly heard Ren mutter something about regretting ever travelling with them; I snickered. "How'd you guys get here so quickly, anyways?"

"Ryu made a new friend," Horohoro stated, shaking his head. "We hitchhiked all the way here with that dude, what about you?"

I frowned, wondering if I should tell them, before shrugging, "It's a long story."

Ren seemed like he was about to comment, but then spotted something that caught his interest. Frowning, I followed his gaze and noticed a group of people just down the street. They all wore similar ankle-length white cloaks and I could only imagine how close each of them must've been to the others.

"Them again," Ren said, scowling.

"Aren't they," I frowned, trying to recall the name my father had once told me. "The X-Laws?"

Horohoro nodded, "Yeah, they say their goal is to destroy Hao and his followers."

I paled slightly at the news; Hao was more infamous than I first thought. Yet still I couldn't help the feeling that he wasn't as bad as everyone assumed; something just didn't seem right for that… there had to be more to it.

Turning around to properly face the X-Laws, I noticed one person standing by them who didn't wear the white cloak. He was obviously much younger than them, younger than I, even. His brown hair was cut short - I recognized the hairstyle. My eyes widened and I broke out into a run, heading towards them.

"James," I called out. "Get the hell away from them! Now!"

As I stopped in front of them, my younger thirteen-year-old brother turned to face me, wide-eyed. "Era," he said, surprise evident in his tone. "I've been trying to find you!"

Yoh and his group followed me there and now stood next to me. "You know him?" Ren raised an eyebrow.

"He's my brother," I said, sighing, before turning back to my younger sibling. "I've been looking for you, too, James. Now please get away from the X-Laws, they're a bad influence." While saying those last words, I glared at the cloaked people standing by my brother.

James crossed his arms, annoyance flicking across his expression, but he listened. A few steps were taken and he soon stood by my side and no longer by the X-Laws. "They're not that bad," he stated. "They want to defeat that guy, Hao, and his followers."

I shook my head, "They want to kill him, and therefore they are no better than him. I dare call them worse."

One of the X-Laws, a blonde guy, stepped forward at that. "We are nothing like Hao," he spoke, voice calm, yet I could hear the anger within. "We represent all that is good in this world."

"To represent all that is good, thou shall not kill; surely, you are aware of that?" Shaking my head, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "No matter the evil deeds other commit, you shouldn't do the same, even if it is to wipe out that evil."

The blonde's eyes narrowed just slightly at my statement, "Hao must be destroyed –"

"You should listen to Era-san," a girl's voice interrupted.

Glancing to my left, I spotted Opacho walking towards us, for once not at Hao's side. Narrowing my eyes slightly, I eyed my surroundings; there was no way she was there without Hao's supervision. He couldn't be far and I assumed he'd been watching the scene unfold… from a safe distance, that is.

The blonde immediately turned to her. "You're one of Hao's followers," he observed, eyes darkening. "How foolish, coming to us alone." In a flash, he had drawn a gun and aimed it at her, right between the eyes.

My reaction was more instinct than anything else and I wasn't the only one who reacted.

Serena and I seemed to share the same thought pattern, for just as I stuck out my arm, she morphed into my staff. Within seconds, I had stepped into the path of fire and waved the staff with more force than usual, sending a powerful gust of wind at him. Beside me, the spirit of fire appeared, confirming my thought of Hao being nearby. Apparently he had also wanted to step in to protect Opacho… but I was quicker.

The blonde flew a good couple feet backwards, crashing onto the dirt-covered ground. He lost his grip on the gun and it slid a ways away; he quickly reached for it, and then turned to aim it back at me.

I pointed my staff at him, eyes narrowed. "What type of person are you, attacking a child?" I scowled.

"You," he spat, also noticing the spirit of fire's presence. "You're one of Hao's followers!" He still had his gun aimed at me, but hadn't shot yet; he didn't know who would be quicker, him, or me. He couldn't risk it or else he'd be dead before he could even pull the trigger. Excluding the fact that I didn't plan to kill him.

"No," I retorted, shaking my head. "I do not follow Hao, but I will not stand by and watch as you kill an innocent girl."

"You see, Marco," a male voice intervened. "You claim to be the embodiment of good, when in reality, it is not you… Era has a much purer look on things than you."

Hao walked towards us, stopping next to Opacho. "Era believes there is good in everyone, even me," he continued. "But you and your X-Laws will never understand her way of thinking." Hao smiled, glancing from me to the X-Laws. "And it is because of people like her that you will never destroy me, no matter how hard you try."

I stayed silent, multiple thoughts rushing through my mind as I thought about his words. His words were deep, meaningful, and he had a point, even if the X-Laws didn't want to admit it. But one thing bothered me, after what he said…

How the hell did he know about my feelings?


I apologize for the long wait of this chapter, because it took me so long to write this, I made it a longer chapter than usual. Please forgive me for the negligence.

If you spot any grammar/spelling mistakes then please let me know so I can edit them.