Chapter 12

Hao looked back to where Mikoto sat. He had luckily snapped Mikoto out from her rage and therefore, postponed the prophecy…for now. The girl broke down crying and he had comforted her for about ten minutes while she painfully explained about Li's death. He was in a state of shock, too; everyone would be…But then again…

Ren would be taking the most damage. Li was his cousin after all. The Tao didn't hate all of his family. He loved Li like he did his own sister. It would be heartbreaking for him to find out that…the curse had taken her away.

But, he was the one who had to break the news to everyone; Mikoto had suffered enough in one day. Currently, they were on their way back to their "dorms" using the Spirit of Fire as transportation. Soon, they got off and stood at the door where their rooms were. Hao took the key out and opened the door.

The others (including their shinobi friends) ("How did they get here?") were inside, all gathered around with frantic looks on their faces. At the sound of the door, all head snapped in the direction of the two. Questions (and one statement) bombarded them.

"Where were you guys!?"

"What happened!?"

"Is Li with you!?"

"Have you seen her anywhere!?"

"Someone, stop the madness!!!!!" Yoh shouted, flailing his arms in the air, making everyone stare at him. The younger Asakura blinked before setting his arms down and clearing his voice in embarrassment.

"…Anyway…So!?!?!?!?!?!" Asuka pried, "What happened; tell us now!!!!"

Both of them gave each other slight glances before facing the group again. They should just tell them.

"We were in the forest." Hao said

"Stuff happened; what exactly took place is none of your business." Mikoto followed

"As for Li……" the two arrivals slowly looked down at their feet. Ren closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in aggravation and grief. He could tell by their faces that the worst has happened.

"Ren?" Horo called, concerned

"She's dead." The amber-eyed shaman choked out

"W…what?" almost everyone said

"The curse claimed her. Li's dead." Ren told them, slowly slumping down. There was shocked silence, even among the ghosts. The Chinese felt his usual demeanor slipping with the sudden realization. He pulled his knees up to his chest and put his arms around the top, then placing his head behind his arms.

"This is all my fault!" he screamed out. However, it came out muffled. Nonetheless, the group still heard it and lowered their heads at their loss, "If I hadn't been caught in the fire, she would've still had a chance to live!"

Slowly, tears started pouring out of his amber eyes and his mask of strength faded away. Jun, who had arrived at the notification of the tournament to see her family fight, also started to cry.

"How…did this happen?" the Ainu asked, out of the blue

"Rogue…She wrote a letter telling Li to meet her at the forest…and signed it under your name." Hao had found out when he saw the note atop of Li's sword. It definitely wasn't Horohoro's handwriting. Sure his penmanship is decent, but the one on the letter looked too……fancy.

The azure-haired shaman paled. After much grieving, they all went to their bedrooms to sleep. They had a big day ahead, and they need their rest should they be paired up with Rogue's team. From that moment on, they became avengers.

&&&&&&&

Horohoro couldn't sleep. He tried everything, absolutely everything. Maybe he wasn't the only one; the younger Tao's death affected them all. Maybe the others were having the same problem. Sighing, he sat up from his futon and scratched the back of his head.

In the end…I guess I wasn't much help…

Looking out the window, he saw the most peculiar thing. The wind had carried sakura petals through his open window. He got up and walked over to where they were landing. He picked one up and examined them. There were crimson red crosses printed on them in a gothic-looking design. It was very odd indeed. Suddenly, the petals swirled together and a transparent figure appeared before him. The Ainu's eyes widened.

"L-Li!"

The transparent Chinese girl smiled, "Hey."

"B-but…!?……What are you-!?"

"I don't really have a lot of time…But I have enough to tell you what you need to know."

Horo was just speechless. But he listened to what she had to say.

"Look. I'm not gonna be gone for good. The other cursed ones felt that I should have another chance, since I was supposed to die by the curse, not by Rogue. However, the curse will still remain. Although. They did say that they'll make it so the marks only appear when I'm deathly afraid or if I'm at 100." She walked over to him and took his hands, entwining her fingers with his. Smiling, she continued, "I'll be back. Soon. Will you wait for me?"

He looked at her with serene eyes and smiled in his Horo-ish way, "Sure. But if we face Rogue and you're not back yet, we're gonna kick her ass without you."

Chuckling, she said, "I'll be back before then. But alright. Oh yeah, do me a favor? Don't tell the others; I wanna surprise them."

He nodded his head. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug, "Thanks…"

Somewhat surprised, he awkwardly hugged her back. But within moments, she soon faded away. All that was left to prove that she was there were the sakura petals. But he soon put them in a safe place where no one would find them; after all, if anyone did, they would start asking questions. With a new sense of hope, he went back to sleep. She'll come back, he thought to himself, I have faith.

The morning rays of sunlight penetrated the darkness, putting a temporary end to night. The group awoke with tension and revenge in their minds. Out of all of them, only Horohoro had woken with a feeling of hope and cheerfulness. Of course, he was the only one who knew.

Changing into his clothes, he walked outside and saw Ren sitting on the edge of the railing on the balcony/hall.

"Still upset?" the bluenette asked his friend

"You would be too, if a relative died." The sort-of-vertically-challenged shaman replied without turning around, "She…she doesn't deserve this…"

The Ainu kept quiet. He wanted to listen to his friend.

"She's a good kid…Always been kind, always been loyal and was willing to do what anyone asks of her. She was part of the servant branches of the family and was kept to herself at most times…I remember before my father took me away to train that Jun and I would sneak into her quarters and we would go play. Her father expects her to be a warrior to protect the heir to the family and her mother expects her to do her tasks as a woman. They piled loads of tasks on her. She would be very tired, and it would only be morning!"

"After the fire, her parents found out about what she did for my safety. They were angry at her for doing something do foolish; they yelled at her and scolded her. I couldn't take it anymore. I just lashed out at them."

The younger Tao recalled every word he shouted and every reaction he got.

"You two aren't being fair with her; she already has enough to do as is, but then you pile more work on her! And she only accepted the curse to save me! She was only doing her duty—what she thought was right! And still you yell at her! It's not fair!"

Everyone was shocked at the younger boy's outburst. He mentally chuckled as he remembered their faces. But it had worked; Li was receiving fewer things to do. But from the moment she opened that chest, her fate was sealed. He knew that it would come some day…But just not so soon…

"True…she is dead." the northern shaman stated, "But I have a feeling she'll come back."

Ren grunted and turned his face slightly. The charcoal-eyed boy could tell he was irritated, "What makes you think that, Ainu-baka? Once someone's dead, they stay dead."

"But what makes you so sure about that?" Horo asked, challengingly, "After all…There are exceptions."

Ren's eyes widened and his head snapped at the direction of Horohoro's leaving figure. The Chinese got up and called out with an accusing tone,

"You know something, don't you?"

The azure-haired shaman paused in his tracks. Looking down, he replied, "Perhaps…Perhaps not…"

With that said, he jumped over the balcony and ran out of sight. Ren peered over where he had leapt off and watched his retreating figure with slightly wide eyes. Maybe, the amber-eyed teen thought, maybe he's right… Besides, in this crazy world of theirs, anything could happen. With a rekindled hope burning inside him, he too leapt off the balcony and followed his teammate, ready for the next match-up.

TBC

Yosh! The story's finally updated after who knows how many months! I've been uber busy lately, so please, be patient. If I lost readers, then I'm sorry that you waited so long