A knock on the door sounded. Hao told them to come in.

It was Anna.

"What do you want?" He asked her. She didn't say a word, just came in and sat down uninvited. "HoroHoro told me everything."

"Oh, I see. Come to throw me out? Kill me maybe?" He snapped, glaring at her. Anna just stared. She opened her mouth to say something, but then advised against it. She soon got up and left. Somehow she didn't look to be in great shape. Maybe it was just that Hao was tired? Or overcome by grief? Or maybe Anna was upset and it wasn't Hao's imagination that she didn't look well. Perhaps she knew all along about what was happening with Yoh. Anyhow, she didn't look to be the same, fierce Anna as before. She had a … weakness in her eyes.

Come to think of it, they all had the past few days.

Even Yoh … when he wasn't acting strangely. Maybe something was wrong that didn't have to concern him? But then it didn't matter. Hao just wanted to run away and never see any of them again. Then he thought of all the fun times he had with HoroHoro and Opacho, and what fun it was to have friends and be like Yoh. It didn't seem so bad…

But he couldn't go back. Not now.

Not ever …

Hao closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep. After a few minutes, he opened them again. He turned on his back and stared at the ceiling. He turned over again and closed his eyes once more. He shifted onto his front. But now it seemed to be impossible, to even think about falling asleep again.

"Things were just so much better before…" he whispered. "Before. Long before. When Yoh didn't know who I was. When he was training for the Shaman Fight, and I just watched from afar…" He suddenly gasped and sat up. "What if…!" he started, trailing off. Would that even be possible?

Hao had to think about this some more. It was still pitch black out side, still early hours of the morning. Some in the house were awake. Anna could still be heard moving around in her room while HoroHoro coughed some where in the house. The Inn wasn't completely asleep. Would it ever be the same again? "It could be…" muttered Hao sitting up, still thinking about the questions in his head.

"No!" he convinced himself. "It would be the best thing to do. Only if…" He sighed. "Only if it would be possible…" He had to tell HoroHoro this idea. He had to tell everyone! Hao slowly got out of bed and picked up a night dressing gown from off the door. He put it on and then opened the door. The hallway out side his room was lit up brightly, yet all the other rooms were pitch black. The room in which Yoh's body was lay had its door slightly open, no light shining from the inside. Hao sadly looked to the ground, and then shut his bedroom door behind him. He slowly shifted along the hallway, passing Yoh's room without looking inside. He came to a door that he hoped would be HoroHoro's. He knocked on quietly.

"HoroHoro? Are you in there?" he whispered. He didn't hear a response but he opened the door quietly even still. Inside it was dark, but the moonlight from the window shone across the bed. Sat on the end of the bed, was Anna. "Oh!" gasped Hao. "I'm sorry Anna I didn't mean to intrude." He was about to leave when…

"Hao…wait." Called Anna, in a voice that Hao had never heard or even thought about hearing from her in his life. She sounded, scared or confused. Hao turned and looked at her.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Would you, please come in." she whimpered. Hao nodded and stepped inside. "Close the door." She added, he did so intently, now sitting on a chair next to the wall opposite her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, then thinking what a stupid question that was. Anna nodded.

"I need you to clear up a few questions I have." She sniffed. Hao looked at her.

"Yes I would be more then happy to. As long as…that you would believe me?"

"I would." She replied. "It's just that…Yoh was never really the same, ever since the moment you returned to this world. Just from that moment, he changed."

"Anna…you do know –"

"Yes I do know that was you I'm not stupid!" she snapped, glaring at him. "Before that, he spoke in a voice which made me feel cold. I don't know what it was I can't put my finger on it, but he was different…" Anna shook her head. "When you were leading us to believe that you were Yoh for those few days, you did some strange things. They seemed strange at the time for Yoh, but seem even weirder knowing now it was you." Hao was nodding his head slightly, listening to every word she was saying.

"Is there…a certain something that has been on your mind?" he asked.

"Get up Yoh. Get up. Get up Yoh. Get up." Muttered Anna. Hao lifted his head, now thinking about that time when his soul was dark and gray, and Yoh was cold and weak. Back then he didn't want to be whole. It was completely opposite. But then it changed. Yoh kept putting Hao through the same torture. At the moment while he was with Anna, Hao realized, this whole thing had been going on a long time before they met again on that hill with the bare tree. Anna was still glaring at him for an answer.

"There are…some words, Anna, that I and my younger brother, have become…had become so used to knowing and it still haunts me to this day. I remember, even when I had amnesia, I knew these words. We recited them, in the mansion, right before we –" he cut himself off, not wanting to say it in front of Anna, even though she knew about it. He sighed. "What you are talking about, are these dreams that I kept on having, when I was pretending to be Yoh."

"What kind of dreams?" asked Anna.

"I'm not sure how I would explain it. But they aren't make believe, they really happened."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Look. Yoh was inside of me. Just like he is now. We have…had…I mean…have…" he wasn't sure if he should tell her that he had just had one of these dreams that night.

"Will you get your words right please. Just tell me will you? What was this dream you had on the bus ride to the airport?" Asked Anna, a hint of seriousness in her voice

"Yoh kept telling me that he didn't exist. That he was not Yoh. He was me. It was I who was convinced we were one at that time, but he changed my mind dramatically. I didn't want us to be one anymore. That's why I went to the Great Spirits to get him back. He put me through the same torture again, repeating himself over and over, I got annoyed at him, so I hit him hard across the face. He fell to his side, and I regretted hurting him. I began to shake him, but he wouldn't wake up. That's when I was crying out 'Get up Yoh! Get up!' and that was when you awoke me." He looked at Anna, not sure what her response would be.

"That still doesn't explain these 'words' you just mentioned." She said.

"Those words…" Hao shook his head slightly. "They won't mean so much to you. You probably wont understand them. But they were just these haunting words that won't leave my mind."

"Which are?"

"I am you and you are me. You can not escape that fact…my brother." Hao gazed at Anna, not sure what her reaction would be.

"And Yoh said that?"

"Yoh said that."

"Yoh…" trailed off Anna, deep in thought, thinking about it.

"Did you have some other questions for me?" gently asked Hao.

"I did…but that just about clears up everything I needed to know."

"Okay." Hao got up and approached the door.

"You killed your brother Hao." Whispered Anna. "You do understand that, don't you?" Hao's eyes widened, he wasn't expecting Anna to come out with something like that at the end. Of course he understands that. How couldn't he? Hao opened the door, and exited to room, closing the door behind him. He never said a word when he left.

He was just about to go to find HoroHoro, when he suddenly paused on the hall. He just froze in position for a moment, and then he turned around and made his way back towards his room. Why was he going back to his room? He needed to go and see HoroHoro.

But wait…

He wasn't go back to his room…

He stopped in front of a slightly open door…

Yoh's room.

What was it that drew him directly to this one room? Why was he so connected to Yoh? Even after … all that he had been through, he still…

Shaking his head, he opened the door a bit more to check in on Yoh. His smile had not faded, on the contrary, he seemed more peaceful than ever. His skin was getting inconceivably pale…

Hao couldn't help but smile. Yoh wanted it so much… he really was a fool. He still couldn't see anything clearly! What he was missing. Who he was.

How much his twin wanted him back.

That solidified his resolve. Hao would go through with his idea.

He closed the door to Yoh's room, and continued on to find HoroHoro's. He did, and smiled. He knocked lightly and slid the door open gently. In a smaller bed in the corner, Opacho lay asleep, a smile on her face. She was cuddling her pillow…

Hao couldn't help but find that adorable.

He then looked on the other side of the room where HoroHoro lay, his blankets pretty much constricting him. He was curled up in the fashion a cat might sleep in, and Hao laughed gently to himself. He grinned and decided not to disturb him. He would talk to him in the morning.

He shut the door again silently, and went back to his own room and lay down. Sighing, he thought over his little plan a bit more. It seemed okay to him. So as soon as he could, he'd work it out and move on…

He closed his eyes, and drifted into an even and dreamless sleep…

The next morning, Hao woke up to find his window open. It was a chilly morning, and the sun was blocked out. The trees were swaying with the wind, but nonetheless it was a nice morning. Hao opened his door and walked into the kitchen, stretching and yawning groggily – just like Yoh would.

He noticed as soon as he walked in, Ren pointing his kwan-dao at HoroHoro who was shoving toast down his throat as if he hadn't eaten in days – something pretty much impossible. Lyserg was eating his cereal calmly, though Hao could easily tell that he was getting annoyed by the immature behaviour of his companions. Hao laughed to himself. "Morning," he greeted, pulling out a chair next to HoroHoro and sitting down. HoroHoro tried to swallow all the food in his mouth quickly, choking as a result. Hao pat him on the back to try and help, and HoroHoro finally caught his breath. "Thanks…" he panted. "G'morning…"

"As you can see, the halfwit can't even speak correctly," Ren said. He got up and cleared his plate, grabbing a bottle of milk and leaving with Lyserg in tow. Hao saw this as a perfect opportunity to tell HoroHoro about his idea…

"HoroHoro," he began, "I have something I need to tell you… it's about Yoh."

"Sure thing dude," HoroHoro said. "Go on."

Hao took a deep breath.

"I'm going to bring Yoh back." He confirmed. HoroHoro put his hand to Hao's shoulder.

"We can't go through that again…" he whispered, trying to say in the most comforting way possible.

"No because this time will be different!" argued Hao, determination showing in his face.

"But dude, look, last time – "

"This time we won't do it that way." Sniffed Hao, not sure he knew how they could, but that was his idea.

"Okay…" mumbled HoroHoro, now lifting both his hands to his forehead. "And how are we going to do that then?" Hao sighed, now lowing his head to the table and hitting his head gently upon it a few times.

"I don't know…" he muttered.

"C'mon Hao give it a rest. We can't bring the dead back – "

"Don't be negative about it!" demanded Hao now lifting his head and glaring at HoroHoro. HoroHoro flinched.

"S – Sorry Hao but it's the truth!" he stammered.

"Look. We're shamans we are not like humans. We can do a lot more than mere mortals. We can even over come death. I've done it before and it's happened twice to my brother. So don't say we can't do it when we've done it before."

"Yeah but Hao, how are we going to do it again?"

"There must be a way! There just must be!" strained Hao.

"Okay then. Let's think about this…" trailed off HoroHoro going into deep thought.

"God help you…" muttered Hao.

"Don't be like that! I am trying!" sniffed HoroHoro, offended. "I'm not that stupid."

"Okay sorry HoroHoro." Smiled Hao, despite the situation. Hao closed his eyes and thought hard.

"I just have one question." Said HoroHoro after a few minutes.

"Yes?" replied Hao opening his eyes.

"If we did manage to do this, won't the same thing happen again? I mean…won't he want to unite with you again?" HoroHoro looked at Hao, expecting an answer. But Hao's expression changed. He didn't look determined anymore, in fact, now he looked like he didn't want to go through with it at all. He got out of his chair and approached the back door, stepping out side. HoroHoro tilted his head to one side, confused. "Was it something I said?" he muttered to himself, getting up and following him. He stepped out side, noticing a chill in the air. "Brrr! It's cold!" he yelled, crossing his arms trying to warm up. He looked around and found Hao had sat down on the balcony, leaning his arms on his knees, just staring into nothingness in front of him. His face showed some kind of depression. HoroHoro walked up to him and stood next to him, looking down at him. "What's up?" he asked.

"That's just…what I need to think about…" muttered Hao.

"Ah I see. So you haven't considered it then?"

"Of course I have! That's the only thing I can think about!" shouted Hao, annoyed. HoroHoro blinked.

"Ah…sorry Hao. This isn't going through to my head." Sighed HoroHoro. Hao put both of his hands to the back of his head, raking his fingers through his hair, still uncertain about it himself.

"Hmmm…" pondered HoroHoro, tapping his head. "How about we go for a walk? Clear our heads?" HoroHoro smiled at Hao. After a few moments, Hao nodded his head and stood up.

"Okay. I could really use the fresh air. But…aren't you cold?" blinked Hao.

"Me? Cold? Heh. Heh. You must be kidding!" although he didn't look too certain about it. Hao shrugged.

"Very well. Let's go." Said Hao, walking away round to the front of the house, HoroHoro following.

As the two of them set down the street, Hao gazed ahead thoughtfully, not focusing on his friend beside him. HoroHoro knew that Hao was deep in thought, and that he should be too. Yet he wasn't really.

"What if…?" Hao began, then shook his head. "No, that wouldn't work…"

"What?" HoroHoro asked, but Hao had zoned out again. He looked so tired… yet he smiled now, watching a bird fly past before him. Quickly though, his expression changed to a shocked look. His eyes were wide and he took a sharp intake of breath, stopping dead in his tracks. As soon as it had come though, it left with Hao blinking and shaking his head. HoroHoro could have sworn that Hao had muttered something unkind to him, telling him to get lost or something like that. He took it, however, just to be his imagination. Hao looked like he was in pain, yet at the same time deeply concentrating. Suddenly his eyes widened again and he fell over, breaking his fall with his palms, scraping them. "Dude! You okay?" HoroHoro asked, kneeling beside his friend and offering to help him up.

"Go… away…" Hao muttered through gritted teeth. This time HoroHoro knew he was actually saying something. Hao made a coughing noise, almost as if he were choking, or gagging. He clutched his chest, eyes shut tight in stress. He was panting, and shaking uncontrollably. He fell over more, face nearly hitting the ground. "Stop … it…!" he spit out. His body suddenly grew limp as he began to relax. He let out a deep sigh, but then hung his head.

"You can't keep doing this to me, you know…"

"You mean you can't keep doing this to yourself."

"I hate how you're so logical, Yoh…"

"Hey! Don't be sarcastic! I told you how many times, Yoh doesn't exist and he never really did."

Hao looked up, bored, at his younger brother. He was just being plain annoying now. He sighed heavily, grimacing at Yoh's smirk. "You're dead annoying."

"Which means you are."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up."

"Aughhh!" Hao put his hands to his hair, frustrated and messed it up. "Cut it out!"

"Cut what out?"
"That!" Hao accused. "Talking smart like that to me!"

"Okay if you wish it then I will stop." Yoh said, looking up at the sky, which remained gray and cloudy. "Hey. It was really nice here before. Why the sudden change?"

"It was like this last night too…" Hao said, wondering how Yoh couldn't know this. "Hey why did you want to talk to me anyway right now?"

"Oh, that." Yoh began. "I don't want you trying to find a way for me to come back."

"Like you could stop us," Hao taunted. He knew – or at least thought – that Yoh couldn't.

"Of course I can." Yoh retorted. "It'll be easy."

"How so?"

"I'm you right?" Yoh asked. Hao slapped his forehead.

"No… you're Yoh!"

"No, I'm Hao."

"Okay then." Hao said, not entirely accepting that yet. He figured he'd play around with Yoh's head a bit. "Then I am Yoh."

"What? You can't be Yoh!" Yoh said. "Yoh died, remember?"

"No. Because I'm part of Yoh just like Yoh is part of me. So I don't know who the hell you are."

"Hey, don't do that!"

"Sorry," Hao said. "I need to go. Some of us still have a life."

Yoh hit the ground hard, on his knees. "Hey! That's not fair, you killed me!"

"No, Hao, I killed Yoh." Hao said, matter-of-factly.

"You're cheating!" Yoh cried desperately. He pointed at Hao as if he wasn't being fair or accusing him of something, but Hao just laughed. Yoh glared at him. "You can never escape from the truth. That we are the same person…" His eyes were cold and emotionless… Hao couldn't help but flinch in slight fear – maybe more.

"Don't play around with me. Don't be a fool." said Yoh, coldly.

"I …" Hao began. "I…"

"Dude! Wake up! Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Hao opened his eyes, he was looking directly at HoroHoro, who seemed worried. "You blacked out again…"

"I … I … I'm not …" Hao stuttered. He buried his face in his hands, petrified at the memories of his experience…