I just suddenly realized that I can add the X-Laws into the chapter! The inspiration came while I was writing it. They won't play a big part, but I guess I can call it squeezing them inside the little fic that I have. This is NOT FOR X-LAWS FANS!! PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT FOR X-LAWS fans!
Summary: Character Death. "Everything will work out" was his motto. But this important moral was thrown out the window as the most powerful shaman came back into his life. The elder Asakura, however, remember only three things: his family, his shamanic superiority over other shamans, and his loneliness.
Please do not disregard my spelling and grammar mistakes; I want to correct them since I've seen some with bad grammar mistakes and the sentence end up meaning another thing. I don't want to confuse my readers. If I got any important information wrong, please inform me of that as well; that includes the Japanese.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot line, though I wished I own Shaman King.
Blah blah - narration
"Blah blah" - dialogue/monologue
Blah blah - thoughts
Nantoka Naru
Chapter Nine: Nantoka Naru
The group stared surprised at the long-haired shaman before them. No mocking tone, no malicious eyes, no intimidating air, and not even an evil smirk! (A/N: I know, everyone loves the evil smirk)
"Aa, onii-chan." Yoh answered lazily.
Hao didn't have the time to respond, for at that moment, Lyserg had rushed forward. "Hao! I will never forgive you for what you did, no matter how much you try to be innocent!"
The green-haired shaman quickly released Morphine on his 'enemy', the wires trailing gracefully behind the pendulum in which the tiny spirit sat.
"I'm Sorry." The pendulum stopped right before Hao's face.
"What did you say?" Lyserg asked, confusion apparent on his face.
Hao closed his eyes to the dangerous, not to mention pointy, crystal in front of his face. "Well, I know I killed Yoh's friends and his family, or rather, our family, and I know I was wrong. I was pushed to the edge by confusion on top of my emotions. I figured I could at least apologize."
The dowser's eyes narrowed as he suddenly pushed Morphine forward, surprising Hao as he barely dodged it, the pendulum cutting his face(A/N: Not the face!). "I wasn't talking about that, but that too. I was talking about what you did to my parents. You think a simple 'sorry' can repent for what you've done?"
Yoh was at the side, wanting to cut in but found no chance to. Lyserg was angry, and he kept his attacks up as he was talking. Yoh was relieved both because Hao was dodging them perfectly fine and because his older brother apparently doesn't intend to attack.
"Well, actually," it was a rhetorical question, but the older shaman answered anyways, "I wouldn't know if a 'sorry' is enough, since I don't know what I did to your parents."
The wire stopped again, but this time, it went back to its owner. "What did you say?" Lyserg was not the only one who said it. Ren, as well as Horo, Pilika, and Manta all did. Faust stare in silent shock and Jun just wondered siliently while the spirits tumbled over when their masters stopped in the middle of doing the oversoul.
Yoh went forward and sighed heavily. "I wanted to tell you guys, but you attacked him to fast." He went and stood next to Hao. "Onii-chan lost his memories."
The others stayed in shocked silence as Hao looked at Yoh, confused. "Who are these people, Yoh?"
He then turned to Hao. "These people are my friends. This is Ren and his sister Jun, Horo, Pilika, Faust, Eliza," Yoh points at them as he spoke. "Lyserg was the one that attacked you, that's my best friend Manta, and that's my fiancée Anna."
Hao nodded understandingly, and his anger for Anna vanished. There's no way someone as young as her could be responsible for his loneliness.
Silence took over for a moment, then Anna stepped forward. "And you couldn't tell us this before we came out because…?" she questioned.
Yoh puts a hand behind his head. "Ahaha…I….kind of forgot?" He explained sheepishly.
Before Anna, or anyone, for this matter, can do anything, however, Hao's eyes suddenly widened and he pushed Yoh roughly away.
The other shamans looked in surprise as they pulled out their weapon. Ren growled angrily. "I knew you're-" but before he could finish, a glint caught his eye as a huge sword came seemingly out of nowhere and grazed behind Hao, cutting the poncho, leaving a big gash in his back, and landed, its point burying itself in the ground.
"Onii-chan!" Yoh saw what happened after he turned around and went to Hao.
"That's…an angel's sword?" They quickly recognized it as Faust voiced it.
Then there was a light and the X-Laws made their entrance in their usual flashy way…well, as flashy as two people can manage, with Jeanne in the middle, out of the Iron Maiden, and Marco a few steps behind to her left, the Angel Mikael trailing behind its master.
The angel picked up its sword as Yoh went to help Hao, who's still bleeding badly from the wound, from the ground. "Why'd you do that?" he asked them angrily, and anger is an expression that does not appear often on the laidback shaman's face.
The silver-haired shaman closed her eyes calmly. "We had thought that the devil Hao was finally done justice, but apparently not. It seems that you, Asakura Yoh, had accepted him, and therefore you are now part of his evil and must be punished."
Marco pushed up his glasses. "That sword was aimed directly at your heart from behind, but cutting Hao instead really has been a very good twist of events." He is not wearing his X-Laws coat, but only the uniform and his short-shorts (A/N: yep, the short-shorts crept me out too).
Ren stepped forward angrily, fury rising for the first time on behalf of a wounded Hao, since he had just saved Yoh from certain death, whether he caused it or not. "Hao is good now! How can you judge a person by his past?"
Jeanne's composure did not waver. "He was evil, and his evil deeds are always going to be there, whether it's in the past or present. His sins cannot be erased."
The wounded brunette finally had a chance to look up from his support on his younger brother. "You're not very nice people, are you?" The shock on the maiden and her follower's faces, as Hao's tone indicated that he doesn't know them, were evident, and would've been one to laugh at had the situation not been so serious. "You made it sound like I try to take over the world or something…devil, evil, sin…"
The others looked at him. "Have I?" he turned to Yoh, who slowly nodded. "Oh, then never mind." He slumped back down from exhaustion, but still managed to stand.
"What has happened to the demon?" It was more of a demand for answer rather than a question.
Yoh glared at the taller shaman. "Well, Marco, to answer your question in six simple words, Hao. Lost. His. Memories…" The lazy shaman said plainly.
"That's only four. Can you not count?" The angel-using shaman snorted arrogantly.
Yoh smiled an innocent smile that totally does not match what he said next. "…You idiot." He finished. "There, six." His friends, well, the male part at least, smirked. Anna stared smugly, Jun chuckled, Eliza smiled, and Pilika snickered.
Anger rising, Marco was just about to attack when Jeanne stopped him. "what if he's faking it?"
The short-haired brunette gave one of his lazy smiles. "He's not. He was a lot more sincere in the dream than he was here, probably he's just embarrassed." At this his brother shifted. "I'm right here, Yoh." He glared.
The maiden was not convinced. "That does not prove anything and Hao will be a devil no matter what (A/N: where'd she get that conclusion?). Attack, Marco!" she pointed at Yoh, as Hao apparently is just an easy target now, and taking care of Yoh would solve the problem once and for all.
Yoh, occupied with his bleeding brother under him, does not have hands to protect himself, nor does he have time to put his brother down and do oversoul.
At that moment, however, Ren and the others came out front and made a barrier of spirits in front of him, already in oversoul mode. Yoh looked dramatically touched. "You guys…"
"Well," Horo said, eyes not leaving the enemy, "he did just save you from certain death. That much is already enough to convince me."
Ren turned. "As simple as that idiot's way of thinking is (Horo: Hey!), I can't help but agree with him. Saving your life when you destroyed his dream is not something the real Hao would do. He would've just pretended not to notice or smirked."(Hao: I was really evil before, wasn't I? Others: -nod-)
"Besides, Marco's target is you." Lyserg smiled. "Also, when I was attacking him, he didn't even try to attack me. He just dodged."
"Hmph," Marco snorted, "then I'll just have to cut you all up now, don't I?"
Mikael swung his sword downwards in command of his master, but before it even got to the shield of shamans, it was caught by the Spirit of Fire. All eyes turned on Hao, who had now pushed away from Yoh and staggered up.
"No one," his eyes flared, "NO ONE, tries to hurt my otouto!" He steadied himself. (A/N: Protective brother mode on?)
Yoh ran up to him. "No, Hao! You're hurt, you have to rest." He urged his wounded brother, who's still bleeding profusely, as can be seen from behind due to the cut poncho.
Hao shrugged it off. "I'll be fine. I'll just finish this in a while…" he raised a hand.
"Don't kill him!" Yoh begged. Hao blinked back at his younger brother and smiled. "I won't. Not if you don't want me to."
He then turned back and gets ready to attack. Anna then came up beside him. Her simple words sent shivers down the back of three shamans behind her. "Slap him, hard."
The long-haired shaman looked at her blankly for a moment, then nodded. Spirit of Fire's right hand still clinging to the sword, he gave a mental instruction, and its left hand rose, using a move that one would never seen coming from the fearsome creature, born from the Great Spirits itself.
SMACK! Spirit of Fire's version of the legendary left sent the angel flying, and Marco collapsed on the ground, unconscious. "Marco!" Jeanne went to him, and seeing that he's still alive, slowly dragged him away. "I'll get you for this, Asakura Hao!"
The said shaman did nothing, just smiled and waved. When the two were gone, he finally gave in to exhaustion from blood loss and collapsed. "Hao!" cried voices of few people. They got out of oversoul mode and went to him.
"Bring him to Yoh-kun's room." Faust instructed. Yoh and Ren lifted the collapsed shaman and they did as the doctor instructed.
"Will he be alright?" Yoh hovered over his unconscious brother, who's rested on his futon, anxiously.
Faust looked at Yoh. "he's lost a lot of blood, plus his over exertion in insisting to fight. He'll need a lot of days to rest, but he'll be fine."
The older Asakura is lying on his back, his wound just bandaged. His poncho has been taken off, and is nowhere to be seen. "Is the gash going to leave a mark?" Jun asked, remember the nasty gash she saw from earlier.
Faust examined the bandages, making sure it's tight enough before he answered. "Probably not. The wound was deep, but it wasn't deep enough to leave a scar. His unconsciousness is caused by his refusal to rest and the over blood-loss."
The many people in the small room is beginning to make it hot, and Faust told them to leave before his patient starts sweating and catching a cold. They left, Pilika opening the window a little bit to let the air in.
The group hovered in the hall. "Where's Anna?" Lyserg asked, not seeing the blonde itako anywhere.
"She'll show up when she feels like it." Horo casually put his hands behind his head. "Not that I would miss her and her slaps though…" Horo was cut off by a cold voice
"I heard that." As soon as the Ainu turned around, he was slapped into the room opposite of Yoh's. The blonde itako is holding an article of clothing.
"Oh, there you are, Anna." Jun turned toward the blonde. "Hey, what is that?" she indicated the piece of cloth.
Anna held it up. It was Hao's poncho. "I sewed it. I figured that he don't have any other articles of clothing to wear for the moment, and he might not want to wear your, Yoh." She turned to her fiancé, who has a look of pure shock on his face. "What?"
The brunette stared at the poncho, fixed and good as new. "You….You can SEW, Anna?" he asked in disbelief.
The itako girl glared at him. "You want to join that idiot?" she indicated the ice shaman, lying unconscious in Manta's room, having flew right into the short blonde's collection of encyclopedias that he brought with him when moving in after hearing of Tamao and Ryu's death.
"er…No…" Yoh whimpered.
"Then shut up." Said his fiancée, who then went into the room, and came out after a while, the article of clothing gone from her arm. "You can continue your training while we're waiting. The rest of you do…whatever." She dragged him away.
Pilika piped up and went into Manta's room. "Nii-chan, you're training too, come."
Jun laughed at the way Pilika is holding her brother by the ear. "Why don't you go with them, Ren?"
Her brother shrugged. "Might as well." He followed.
"I'll just watch." Lyserg went in the same direction, Manta and Jun following.
A certain long-haired shaman blinked his eyes as he slowly woke. It was just like in the desert…dark, silent, and painful. The wound on his back nagged at him, and it hurts when he shifted.
When he tried to get up, he felt something soft beside him in the futon, grabbing onto his trailing auburn strands. He looked down, and saw a face identical to his, breathing softly as he slept. Hao's eyes softened as he gently pulled his hair out from the younger one's grasp. He saw his poncho beside him on the other side, in perfect condition, stitched and all. He picked it up silently and put it on, then got to his feet.
I can no longer stay here. I only came here to meet Yoh. I do not belong with him and his happy group of friends. I don't know what I did before. But this comfort, this happiness…I do not deserve them, not after what I've done.
He shrugged off the feeling of regret and, silently sliding open the door and closing it softly behind him, he crept his way downstairs and toward the door. He paused wondering if he should leave a note or something.
No. No one is going to miss me anyways. I don't need to read their mind to know that.
He felt that he can slightly control his Reishi now, and he wants to use it as little as possible. Not throwing another backward glance, he quietly slid open the main door and stepped out, sliding it close as the cold night air caressed his countenance.
He left the warmth of assurance given by the inn and its occupants, and is about to set off down the path when a voice called to him.
"Aniki, where are you going? You should be in bed. Faust said that you need many days of rest." the soft voice of his twin caused him to turn. Standing there in his yukata is Yoh, rubbing one eye as sleep attempts to make him go back to his dreams. He looked a lot younger now, like a small boy wondering why his older brother is leaving his sides.
Hao's eyes softened at the sight. "Away from here to where I belong." He answered quietly.
"And where is that?" The younger brunette inquired, not wanting his older brother to leave, trying to find an excuse to make him stay, but the older shaman did not notice that particular desire.
Hao looked up at the stars. "The land of solitude that is the only place I deserve to be in." he answered calmly, a hint of his loneliness showing in his voice.
"Why? Why not stay?" Yoh's tone sounded a bit desperate now, but Hao, with all his intelligence and keen senses, could not tell why his brother would be desperate to know the answer. "No one should be alone. That's too sad."
The older Asakura turned back to the younger one and raised an eyebrow. "Because, I don't know what I did before, but from the reaction that I saw of everyone that I've met, I must've done something horrible, something unforgivable; something that doesn't allow me to deserve this happiness and kindness that you're giving out so freely."
Yoh went up and hugged him gently, the warm gesture surprising the older shaman. The embrace is gentle, strong enough to give warmth but soft enough that doesn't give pain to his wounded back. "Yoh?"
The said boy looked up. "Remember what you said before about a second chance?" he asked, the sudden question surprising his twin yet again.
Hao looked down at the kind orbs. "Of course." He answered. "Why?"
"Well, I'm giving it to you. I believe that everyone else has, too." Yoh silently whispered, the gentle words carried away by the wind and fading into nothingness.
Silence reigned for the moment as Hao mused over this. "Do I really deserve it?" that question was more for himself than his twin, who answered anyways.
"Sure you do; as much as everyone else." Yoh reassured.
"Even the past me?"
"Of course." The younger shaman smiled up at his older twin.
Again silence as Hao stared down at his brother, who smiled back in return. After a while, the older Asakura's gaze returned to the stars. "I guess I'll give it a try." He turned back to his twin and smiled, who in turn smiled wider, if that's even possible. Then both went back inside for some much-needed sleep.
"Are you sure your friends will accept a murderer like me? What if they try to kill me in my sleep?" the older Asakura asked as they were entering the comfort of the inn. He is still slightly hesitant about all this.
The younger brunette just shrugged off his twin's doubt and paranoia, giving the brightest smile he can give, lighting up the silent night.
"Nantoka naru sa."
To be continued…
A/N: MERRY CHRISTAHANNUZAA! Yes, I know the X-laws showing up is pure randomness. I was going to put up a side story on Hao meeting X-Laws after the next chapter, the Epilogue, but I didn't like what I wrote, so I guess no side story. As everyone should now, the X-Laws are being made fun of in this story; apparently they are the comic relief. So anyone who's in absolute support of them and cannot stand seeing them go down in shame, don't read it. I repeat, don't read the side story if you cannot stand letting the X-Laws be shamed.
Not much to say about this one, except that it's pretty spontaneous…ideas pop up randomly throughout the whole story and it's just one big story made up by little fragments…well, yeah. I hope everyone enjoyed this. Personally, I liked the last part. Thanks for supporting me through the fic.
Oh and I realized that most of the humor in this fic ends up with Anna getting angry with someone. I don't know how that happened but I guess it just does…sorry about the flatness.
Without the side stories, I guess the next chapter aka the Epilogue would be the last. Thanks for staying with me through this story, reviewed or not.
To my lovely Reviewers:
Moocrest: I wonder what you were giong to say XD. Not that it matters as long as you review... Thank you -hugs-
l2uly: Ah, my ever loyal reviewer. You're welcome (?) I guess. Well, after this chapter there is an epilogue then it'll be all done! Yay XD
Little-Anna-Chan: Hope you liked it! I really think I could've done better but...I already posted it so...yeah. Hope it's good enough :)
Kha-chan: Sankyuu Here's the update (:
demonz8000: Haha maybe I overdid it with the letter? Hmmm... well, I guess there's another chapter coming up, but then that'll be the end, unless you people want the crack insanity side stories that I've come up with, which I doubt since...I did them while I was sugar-high and they don't make much sense to me anyways...Oh, and the gray lines, my computer broke down so now I'm using my dad's laptop, and the gray line works on here but never on my computer so...I think my comp was really disfuncional...-.-;; I'm not sure about a sequel, since I won't know what to make of it...hmm...maybe Hao regaining his memory? I'm not sure since I need a beginning, plot, and ending before I start a story, otherwise it'd never finish...-looks up- Wow that was the longest reply I've ever written...I love verbose commentors with many points to make XD. The longer the review, the longer the reply : )
Lost to Reality: O.O there goes Anna...(this authoress sometimes...often insults herself too, UNINTENTIONALLY) XD nice weird mood. Well, here's DA update!
Coming up next: Epilogue
"Well, if you want to survive in our house, then you should follow the rules."——"One, smile more,"——"Two, Anna-sama's words are law."——"Think you can do that?"——"I can try."
Well, it's been going well so far and I would really appreciate it if everyone can REVIEW.