DISCLAIMER: Shaman King is not mine, only Tori, Nix, and Tai are.

I haven't read the manga completely (I'm still reading it online, 2nd volume as of right now XD), but I know that they go to an island off Japan after going to the Patch Village, but the anime is different, and I'm playing off the anime and not the manga. So while the others think that they'll be home right after the 2nd prelim, Tori knows they won't. Just clarifying.

This chapter makes me both sad and excited, like the actual episode does. Things get more serious and stuff, and the battles are more epic from here on out, but there's a special... something to the early episodes. Kinda like Yoh's carefreeness is most prominent in the early episodes than later on, and they rub off on me more in the early ones. It's just... simpler in the beginning, I suppose. But now I'm starting to sound like a total sap, so let's get on with who you've all been waiting for! The epicness of Hao-sama :D

Oh, I just wanted to let you all know, there may or may not be a pairing at the end of this (other than YohxAnna, but that's just always there; I mean, how can they NOT love each other?), and I just want to hear what you guys think about it, who you want Tori to end up with, if she does. This won't persuade me (okay, so it might just a little), but I'd also like so see how you think as time goes on. And now that I realize that I'm still rambling, let's get on to HAO-SAMA. :D

Normal text and "speaking," thoughts, 'signing/mouthing,' 'telepathy.'

Let's all enjoy Hao-sama and his poncho of epicness. Not that I'm forgetting about Spirit of Fire or Hao's awesome pants.

Twenty-Five: Hao

Not too long after we got back from China, Yoh's Oracle Bell and mine beeped at the same time. The message was one I was all too familiar with. The second preliminary tournament would take place in America. We would have to leave in two days, and travel to Patch Village. We had three months to get there.

I could fly there easily (well, not across an entire ocean; I didn't have enough active furyoku for that), but I didn't want to leave Yoh and the others behind. Against Nix's wishes, I decided to travel to America with Yoh and everyone on one of the Tao family's private jets. If they ever asked me what direction the Patch Village could be, I'd have to act indifferent and confused, and I'd have to do the absolute minimum if we had to scour an area for clues. I would probably come across as useless, but that was how I would have to be.

The only things I hated about it were that I had only two days left in the En Inn. Only two days left with Manta, who wasn't coming with us. After we left, I'd never see them again, nor Anna or Tamao. At least, Tori's eyes would never see them again.

So, until we had to leave, I was going to spend every waking minute I could with Manta, who I realized I had unconsciously labeled him as a 'genius puppy-dog.' Adorable, lovable, and smart. I'd miss him so much.

Still not having enrolled in school - for what was the point in my going? - I waited outside for class to end and for Yoh and Manta to come out (this got me some odd looks from the kids coming out; I looked their age, so why didn't I have to endure such torture with them?). When they finally did, they each gave me a smile (though Manta's seemed halfhearted), and we headed to meet HoroHoro and Ryu at a diner.

I sat beside HoroHoro in the booth (it had been the only free place to sit without being next to Ryu), and the Ainu was looking off into space excitedly. "America, eh?" he said. "I'm looking forward to it."

You've seen it once, you've seen it a million times, I thought tiredly. I'd never been included in this topic of conversation ever, but still, I'd been born/traveled to America so many times that my vague, emotionless memories of it weren't all that appealing. Instead of joining in, I took a bite of the chocolate ice cream (which was the only cold thing that I liked) that Yoh had ordered for me before he went off into daydream-land.

"Aren't you misunderstanding?" Ryu asked, sort of smugly. "We're not going there for sightseeing."

HoroHoro glanced at Ryu out of the corner of his eye. "What? Are you scared or something?"

"Nonsense," Ryu responded, and I could tell there was going to be an argument soon. "I don't have this thing called 'fear' inside me, not ever since I was born."

'You seemed plenty afraid of me after I kicked you in the crotch,' I pointed out after tapping the table for attention. I couldn't help but join in here.

Ryu blushed in embarrassment, and HoroHoro laughed hysterically. "What? When was this?" he demanded to me, still laughing. (How he knew the sign for 'crotch'… Never mind.)

I waved my hand dismissively. 'Long time ago. I guess Ryu's changed since then, but still, he won't become Shaman King if he's afraid of me.' I jerked my thumb at myself for emphasis on the last word, since I couldn't verbally stress it. My throat was still sore after coming back from the Tao estate.

"Exactly." HoroHoro grinned. "Because I'm going to become the Shaman King."

Ryu seemed to have gotten over his embarrassment and laughed at HoroHoro. "You know, you shouldn't sleep talk while you're dreaming."

"What did you say?" HoroHoro slapped the table and leaned towards Ryu dangerously. Ryu repeated the gesture.

Manta sighed and I looked to see that he had hung his head depressively.

Immediately, HoroHoro and Ryu stopped fighting, and we all looked concernedly at Manta.

"What's the matter, Manta? Why so gloomy?" HoroHoro asked.

"Of course I'd be gloomy," Manta replied. "Everyone is leaving in two days."

"You idiot," HoroHoro replied. "Even though we're leaving, it doesn't mean we're leaving for good."

I had to bite my lip to keep myself from a bitter-but-breathy laugh. They would most likely come back. Tori wouldn't. (Third person was really the only way to describe my 'body'; I wasn't like Hao, who just labeled himself as an all-powerful reincarnation, because I wasn't all-powerful.)

"Yeah," Ryu agreed with HoroHoro. "Only until the second preliminary is over."

That's what you think. They'd be staying in Patch Village until the Tournament was officially over.

"Right, master?" Ryu prompted.

Yoh's head sleepily fell off his hand and just barely caught himself before his head hit the table.

"Don't sleep with open eyes!" HoroHoro insisted, banging the table with his fist. "It's confusing!"

"What? Where am I?" Yoh asked groggily.

HoroHoro put a hand to his temple. "Did he go pass easygoing and start going insane?"

"Looseness is the secret to master's strength," Ryu praised.

"I'm stronger, damn it," HoroHoro argued.

Ryu glared at him.

"You all are acting normal," Manta noted glumly, and everyone turned to him again. "The exact same as usual. I mean, I'm not even participating in the Shaman Fight, but I get sad and worried…" He tried to laugh it off. "I'm no good. I become gloomy for some reason."

There was a slight moment of silence before Ryu bowed his head. "Same here, Manta. I also feel lonely about leaving people like you."

I dug my nails into my palm. At least they'd be able to see Manta again. I wouldn't.

"As soon as the second prelims end, we'll fly back as soon as possible," HoroHoro assured him cheerily.

I smiled encouragement, not wanting to lie with my hands.

Manta only smiled when he saw Yoh smiling as well.

HoroHoro sighed. "I guess I have to say farewell to this town for a while."

Yeah, I silently agreed, staring back down at the melting remains of my ice cream. For a while.

()()()()()()()()

As soon as Yoh and I walked through the front door, Anna was there, holding a new battle outfit up in front of Yoh as if to see if it would fit. I closed the door, and was about to let them have a moment alone when Tamao came running in.

"Welcome home!" she greeted. She stopped short when she saw Anna, then walked up and asked politely, "Should I prepare dinner now?"

"Yeah, I'm starving and about to die," Yoh insisted enthusiastically.

I rolled my eyes and slipped off my shoes. We had just come from a diner, for goodness's sake.

"Don't move," Anna instructed, and I saw Yoh tense up, sweat pouring off of him.

"I'm good with the one I have now," he claimed nervously. "You don't have to make a new one…"

"I can't let you do that," Anna said. "As a wife, I can't let the future Shaman King get embarrassed."

I saw Tamao pad silently toward the kitchen, but decided there was nothing I could say to her. Besides, she needed to get it through her head herself that Yoh was already taken and she had to move on. Poor girl, though. But what was I to say about matters of love?

()()()()()()()()()

Though it was cold, I opened my window and leaned against the sill, staring out at the stars. One more night after this… Then we'd be off. Then I would have to leave, and 'Tori' would never see this place again. Perhaps my next life would, but by then everyone would have changed into an adult. Maybe I could just check up on them every once in a while… but surely Yoh would recognize me; always unable to speak on her own, always with the flaming red hair and blue eyes.

I sighed. I'd never had a problem with having little time, because I'd never had any attachments to people before. Never had real feelings before this… Why? Why did I have them? It was so weird… But I'd thought about this before, and I'd never had an answer. There was no use in trying if all I was going to do was fail.

Leaving the window open, I huddled under the covers of my futon. Nix appeared beside me, silent as he settled down on the corner of the mattress.

It was going to be a long night.

()()()()()()()()()

There was no school for Yoh and the others the next day, so in the morning I went with Yoh and Amidamaru to Funbari Hill to wait for Manta beside Amidamaru's gravestone. Maybe I should've let them have some guy time, but I wanted to be selfish. We stood in silence, looking out on the city. Birdsong drifted on the breeze, and I felt like crying, but I dug my nails into my crossed arms to keep myself silent. What was wrong with me?

"At last… it's tomorrow," Amidamaru said, almost in awe.

"Yeah," Yoh agreed.

"Yoh-kun! Tori-kun!"

Immediately, I turned to see Manta running across the bridge toward us. Yoh chuckled, and I smiled even though I wanted to chain myself to the tree and never leave. But that was impossible. I had a duty to fulfill.

We hung out and did a whole bunch of unimportant stuff. But it was really my last day with Manta ever, so I studied every detail about everything we did. We ended up on the top of a building at sunset (how we got there, I'm not entirely sure), each of us holding a can of soda while we leaned against a rail.

"I searched about Patch Village a bit, but I couldn't find any information or clues," Manta said, looking up at Yoh. He was between me and the lazy shaman.

"I see," Yoh said, rolling the soda can in his hands. "But that's probably how it's supposed to be. The task is to get to the second preliminary, so it can't be easy to find."

I nodded, though they weren't really looking at me. Nor was I at them, really. I felt like if I held either of their eyes for too long I'd lose it and either stay here forever or pack Manta in a suitcase. It wasn't like he wouldn't fit.

Manta laughed a little. "That's true. But I was disappointed," he admitted. "I wanted to help you guys out, but in the end, I can't do anything for you guys."

It doesn't matter, I wanted to say. You're still the best, Manta.

"Thanks, Manta," Yoh said. He looked up into the sky. "America is far away. But no matter how far we are away from each other, we're always together." He turned to look at me and Manta. "Because we're friends." He chuckled.

I wondered what kind of crazy logic this was, but I didn't question it.

"We're going to be separated for a while," Manta noted dolefully.

"Yeah," Yoh agreed.

There was a sudden beeping, and Manta held up his watch.

"Is it time to go to cram school?" Yoh asked.

"Yeah," Manta agreed. He didn't move.

"Let's skip it," the boys said in unison.

I had to laugh along with them for some reason. I felt a little better afterwards.

()()()()()()()()

Though there were no cars out at this time of night (which was actually really weird), we waited for the pedestrian traffic light to turn green. I was exhausted; I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night, and I doubted I would tonight.

"Sorry for making you hang out with me," Yoh apologized to Manta.

"I don't mind at all," Manta replied. "I wanted to be with you guys as well. Time really passes by quickly."

"Yeah," Yoh agreed. He turned to me, a slight look of concern on his face. "You've been pretty quiet today, Tori. What's up?"

It was so temping to sign 'Because I'm not coming back,' but instead I just replied, 'I just don't want to leave here.'

Yoh nodded understandingly. "We'll come back. It'll all work out."

Liar.

"Well," Manta began, "when you guys go to America… sleeping in school will become your dream of dreams Yoh," Manta joked.

Yoh put his hands behind his head. "I'll live freely and easily. After all, no matter where I am, I am myself."

And no matter where I am, I'm forced to keep a secret! …Ack, why are my thoughts so cynical lately? Feelings are so difficult… I thought of leaving everything here behind, and bit my lip.

"I see," Manta said to Yoh, oblivious to my inner thoughts. "That's possible for you." He and Yoh laughed, and I joined in to try and make myself feel better. It worked only slightly.

"What's the matter with you, Amidamaru?" Yoh asked, turning towards the silent samurai. "You've been gloomy for quite a while."

"Only one person can become the Shaman King," Amidamaru explained seriously. "Eventually, we'll end up fighting others."

"Yeah," Yoh agreed. "HoroHoro, Ren, and Ryu are all tough." He eyed me teasingly. "You though, I think I'll be okay."

I punched his shoulder, but there was no real force behind it. No one would ever face me. On the journey, I'd have to be careful if we ever ran into other shamans. I couldn't ('lawfully') attack contestants unless my current life was in danger, and even then I wasn't much of a fighter. If Yoh wanted to, he could kill me in a heartbeat.

"That's not what I meant," Amidamaru said.

"I know," Yoh replied. "Since we're all friends, it's going to be awkward to fight against each other. I don't like competitions. But that's what the Shaman Fight is about. I'll fight as hard as I can. It'd be the best if we can all fight as the Shaman King in the end."

Amidamaru smiled. "That's the Yoh-dono I know."

Guilt bubbled in the pit of my stomach. I wish I didn't have to lie. I wish I never had these stupid feelings to begin with, or that I didn't have any duty to carry out.

But what are you thinking? I told myself. You have to repay your debt, and you're honored to do it.

But what was the use in repaying it if I never could?

Ugh, I needed to push these things aside, at least for the moment. I'll cross bridges when I get to them.

"It'll be interesting no matter who wins," Yoh stated.

"I wonder what kind of shamans qualified for the second preliminary," Manta speculated excitedly.

"I can easily imagine shamans who are stronger than who we have fought," Amidamaru replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that," Yoh said.

In the last Shaman Fight, the shaman who had become the King had been particularly powerful, especially to beat Hao. I remembered helping him in the end. He'd been a very worthy Shaman King.

"Faust probably qualified for it," Manta said.

Faust. My fists clenched as I thought of what he did to Manta, but I pushed the thought aside. What if he became the Shaman King? See, this was why I was supposed to be neutral.

"Oh, that's right," Manta continued. "And those two partners. That rock group, Zen and Ryo." Manta held up his hands. "Well, you can't call that a rock group."

"I think I remember them… vaguely," Yoh recalled.

"What was that thing they were talking about?" Manta asked.

"Hm? They were saying something?"

Manta thought for a moment, then smacked his palm with his fist. "Oh, that's right, it's Hao, Hao. They were saying something about Hao-sama."

Hao. Yoh's twin. The guy who liked fire even more than me. Yoh's ancestor. Silva's ancestor. The guy who could control his own existence at will. He could do whatever he wanted with his time as much as I was trapped in it never-endingly. The only one 'outside' the Patch to fully know about me. No, nothing special about him at all.

"I don't think I remember that much," Yoh said slowly to Manta.

"Is that Hao guy also participating in the Shaman Fight?"

Most definitely, and with three first prelim wins under his belt, though that's just the least of his accomplishments, I thought, remembering when I had checked up on the match results on my Oracle Bell.

"I have no idea." Yoh smiled. "But everything will be all right."

Manta let out a little laugh. "You got that right."

Finally, the world's longest traffic light turned green, and Manta ran across the street towards his home before stopping to wave. "I'll come to the airport to see you guys off!" he called.

Yoh and I waved back, both of us with a smile, though mine was more forced.

()()()()()()()()

I barely got a wink of sleep. I'd already packed what little I had into my bag, so I stayed in my futon for a few extra minutes. I was going to miss everything about the En Inn, especially my bed. And the people. I allowed for just one or two tears to slide down my face before I wiped my eyes and got up.

After a quick breakfast, I followed Yoh outside into the early morning sunshine. Yoh stretched. "Such nice weather!"

Almost as if on cue, Ryu, HoroHoro, and Pirika walked through the front gate.

"Good morning, master," Ryu greeted.

"Yo!" Yoh replied.

Anna and Tamao walked out of the house behind us. Hesitantly, Tamao walked up to Yoh and held out her arms stiffly to give him a good luck charm.

"Thanks," Yoh said.

"Please look after yourself," Tamao wished, blushing slightly.

"If you lose, I won't let you step on this property," Anna warned him.

"I know," Yoh replied. He turned to the others. "All right, let's go!"

He, HoroHoro, and Ryu started walking away, and I quickly hugged Tamao and Pirika, before I hugged Anna. She stiffened.

'Goodbye, Anna,'I mentally whispered to her. 'Please watch out for everyone here.'

Immediately, I could tell that Anna knew I wouldn't be coming back. "I will," she whispered back.

"Hey, Tori!" Yoh called.

"You coming or- Are you hugging Anna?" HoroHoro asked incredulously.

I let go of Anna and nodded at Tamao and Pirika before hurrying after the boys. At the gate, I turned and took one last, long look at the En Inn and the trio that stood outside it.

Then, I turned and followed the others toward my duty.

()()()()()()()()

Manta was waiting for us when we arrived at the airport. I resisted the urge to run up and hug him.

"You're late," Ren stated when we walked up to him and his private jet, hands in the pocket of his dark traveling jacket. A yellow scarf was tired around his neck. It matched his eyes.

"What do you mean by 'late'?" HoroHoro demanded. "It's noon, that's when you told us to come!"

"Coming here early is what you call well-mannered," Ren pointed out.

HoroHoro scowled. "You're such a stiff guy."

"Anyways," Ryu interrupted, "having an airplane like that! The Tao family is indeed amazing."

Ren looked away, as if feigning modesty, but you could tell he was far from being modest. "We have thirty-two airplanes other than this one."

Why need thirty-three? Ren was sure… odd… I still didn't quite know what to consider him. Friend? Ally? The only thing I knew was that he wasn't an enemy. Not anymore.

Suddenly, my internal radar went off, and I looked up sharply.

"You're going to ride on an airplane to get to America, eh?" Hao asked from over near the fence, his poncho and long hair billowing in the wind; at the sound of his voice, the others turned to look at him as he continued. "I can go by using my oversoul."

"Did you just say oversoul?" Ren asked, taking a few steps forward to stand beside me and HoroHoro. "He's a shaman."

"I don't know which shaman you are, but are you okay?" HoroHoro asked skeptically. "How can you cross the Pacific Ocean by using oversoul?"

"Well, you can't imagine such a thing with your weak oversouls. Though I have seen you, girl," he went on, 'seeming' to notice me for the first time. "Wings. I bet if you had a little extra furyoku lying around, you could do it. You can come with me though, if you want."

It wasn't the offer, but the comment about 'extra furyoku' that paralyzed my insides. 'Hao,' I warned him telepathically. 'Normal shamans aren't supposed to know.'

I think he pretended not to hear me.

"Weak?" HoroHoro spat, not seeming to have heard Hao's offer to me. "Are you trying to pick a fight, bastard?"

There was a sudden gust of furyoku, and he and Ryu were sent flying.

"You're no match for me," Hao stated.

I twisted to see that HoroHoro and Ryu had been caught by an oversouled Bason. "I see," Ren said, crouched in an attack stance with his Kwan Dao. "The size of your main spirit is pretty big."

I turned back to see a giant red, almost skeletal spirit standing behind Hao. "His name is Spirit of Fire," Hao explained. "He's very powerful."

"Stop talking big!" Ren made to attack the oversouled Spirit of Fire, but it easily punched Bason in the face and sent Ren onto his back.

'Stop it, Hao!' I insisted, taking a step towards him.

Hao looked curiously at me and responded aloud. "Since when do people matter to you?"

My breath caught in my throat, and I froze.

"What are you trying to do?" Yoh accused to his twin, having been too concerned for Ren to have heard Hao's question.

"Thanks for taking care of Zen and Ryo a while ago," Hao said, turning his attention to his twin/descendant. Spirit of Fire made to punch at Yoh, but he jumped out of the way and oversouled Amidamaru into Harusame, slashing at Hao's oversoul but making no damage at all.

"You're still too weak," Hao noted. Spirit of Fire punched Yoh, making him skid across the pavement.

'That's enough!' I ran towards Hao, but I stopped when he sent me a look. He walked towards Yoh, who was still on the ground.

"Get stronger soon, Yoh," he said. "For I am the future Shaman King, Hao."

"Hao-sama, let's go already." I turned my eyes slightly to see that a little black girl had spoken, and she was standing with a large group of shamans.

"Sure," Hao replied evenly. He glanced at me. "The offer still stands. Come with us, and I'll make sure nothing happens to you till we get to Patch Village. I want to make sure you arrive safely, after all."

I shook my head vehemently.

He frowned, and as he walked past me, he whispered. "You're not supposed to have bias, Tori-chan," he stated, almost confusedly. "But then again," he added, "It shouldn't matter. You'll assist me just fine, I'm sure."

With that, he and his group took off on Spirit of Fire, and he waved at us. "I'll be looking forward to it!"

There was a heightened air as we watched him disappear. Gradually, we all relaxed enough to walk back toward the jet. Once we were there, the boys chorused a goodbye to Manta and started to board the plane. I hesitated.

Manta smiled sadly. "Bye, Tori-kun."

I just about fell to my knees and hugged Manta tightly. He squirmed at the sudden action, and I could tell that he was incredibly embarrassed to be hugged by a girl in front of the guys, but I didn't care in the slightest. I wasn't going to see Manta again, ever.

"Um… Tori-kun…," Manta began.

I pulled away from him, and he saw the tears on my face. "Tori-kun?" he asked, eyes wide.

I wiped my eyes and stood, ruffling his hair like he was a puppy before I turned and hurried up the stairs. At the top, just inside the jet, was Yoh. He smiled at me reassuringly before he went to take his seat. I turned and gave one last wave to Manta. He waved back, albeit somewhat hesitantly.

I turned away. 'Goodbye, Manta.'

I made the telepath quiet enough so that he'd probably think it was the wind, or the sound of the engine, or just his imagination.

I walked into the main seating area and saw that Yoh was giving me a sad smile, and HoroHoro was looking at me, mouth open slightly in concern. Ren caught my eye and gave me a quizzical, somewhat suspicious look, and I took the closest seat with a window that didn't look out over the wings. This way, none of them were across or in front of me, and they couldn't look at my face.