Celebrations
by Apple-chan

Disclaimer: insert witty disclaimer remark here

A future fic of sorts. Set approximately 11 years after the Anime. Plot is...umm...the Hot Springs. Yeah. As in Funbari Onsen. That is, Funbari Onsen's third anniversary.

Spoilers: The whole Anime series.

Warnings: PG-13 for adult situations, mild swearing, and the lot. And yeah, like I said, SPOILERS. This is the chapter where it all comes in. I apologize in advance to those who don't wish to be overrun with spoilers, but I suppose for your consolation, I'll be treading on spoiler ground VERY lightly, as this is supposed to be a future fic that will talk about future stuff. So yes, no incredibly graphic description of what happened to the rest of the series.=)

Others: Everyone's grown up (even Manta...and Opacho. Yes, Opacho's here.^_^) and everyone's weird. Yeah. As in weird with a capital W. So...um...does weird classify as OOC or OOC-ish? Well, anyway, there we go--OOC or OOC-ish.

This chapter picks up where the prologue left off, so it's still the same scene (past nine am, nearing the end of the Golden Week, busy day, commotion, etc.)

And yeah, this chapter is a bit long, so...yeah.



Chapter 1A - The Guests, Part One


"Ne, Morphin, what time is it?"

A tall figure in dark green pants and a checkered green overcoat was standing in front of the traditionally Japanese-looking place called Funbari Onsen Inn. The tall figure had a mop of hair that was unmistakably green and sticking out pointedly in several different directions. And the tall figure was talking to what looked suspiciously like a small shiny pink butterfly which was fluttering beside him.

The pink butterfly pointed to the top of the door to the Inn, where a large clock was situated. It read nine forty-five am.

The tall figure in green groaned. "Perfect. I'm late. I was supposed to be here by nine or nine thirty at most, but noo...I just had to be late. Honestly, can't the detective agency even last a couple of days without me there? I mean, it's not as if -I'm- the one who makes it run...ne, Morphin?"

The pink butterfly just fluttered about and smiled at its master. It might be useful to mention that the pink butterfly sort of looked...female.

"Ah, well. It can't be helped. I'm here now, at least. Let's go in, shall we, Morphin?" The tall figure in green smiled. Upon closer observation of the tall figure's face, it looked like...he was male. An English young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four years of age, with bright green eyes and soft facial features, to be exact. If it wasn't for his voice, his stature, and the fact that he didn't possess anything resembling a swelling chest to speak of, a person who is not very observant would probably mistake him for a girl. But if you have keen eyes, looking at him, you would say that he is, indeed, a young man. A very pretty one. Which he is. Indeed, he is.

Anyway, the pink butterfly which looked suspiciously female floated inside the Inn as her master opened the door. He went in behind her, wiping his dark green boots at the large rug outside. He then took them off at the genkan inside the Inn and placed them in one of the shoe racks. Then, he took off his coat and handed it to the maid who was standing at the front, waiting for him. Then, he went up to the front desk.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" The person on the front desk greeted the newcomer, but he didn't look up. He was busy drawing up a checklist for the party that was going to be held on the last day of the Golden Week.

The tall figure with the green hair and eyes peered at what the man on the front desk was doing, before saying in a deep, even voice, "Ohayo, Ryu-san."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the man on the front desk looked up. At once, his face broke out into a big smile. "Lyserg!" His face also held an unmistakable blush. "When did you get here?"

"Just now." The green-eyed, green-haired young man smiled. "I planned on getting here earlier, but you know. Work," he gave a small frown. "The agency kept on calling while I was on the plane, and even after I got off."

A chuckle. "I know what you mean," The man on the front desk, the manager of Funbari Onsen Inn, known as Ryu, pointed to telephone. "It's been ringing almost non-stop ever since we opened early today," he sighed. "People have been making last minute reservations for the last day of the Golden Week, and I've gotten tired of telling all of them that the Onsen will be closed on the last day. But they just keep on calling." he shook his head. "Some people even had the nerve to tell me that we don't have a right to close anytime during Golden Week, and -especially- not during the last day."

"So, how do you tell them off?" The young man known as Lyserg wanted to know.

"I don't." Ryu gave a laugh. "Whenever those kind of calls come, I let Anna Okami handle them, and she tells them off. I don't know how she does it." He shook his head in amazement at the female owner of the Inn.

Lyserg laughed as well. "That's Anna-san, I guess."

The telephone beside Ryu rang again.

Ryu sighed. "I'd better get this," he looked over at Lyserg. "You'll be alright on your own, I hope? Everyone else is around here somewhere. The Danna's in the main room with Ren and the boys. You can just go in there."

Lyserg smiled and shook his head. "Yoh-kun is probably sleeping in, and I don't want to disturb Ren-kun. I'll just wait here." He pointed to the waiting area.

A dark shadow crossed Ryu's face. "I think you'd better not, Lyserg." He paused. "Maybe I should just get you a room key so you can go up..."

The young man waved him away. "No, no. I'll be fine. Get me a room later. Go tend to that phone call first."

"...Okay." Ryu still looked concerned. "I'll ring up someone from the kitchen to get you some snacks."

A laugh. "Yeah, you do that. Thanks."

"Hello, Ryu desu. How may I help you?" Ryu gazed at the young man's retreating back, wondering with trepidation what was going to happen once...

Lyserg stopped dead in his tracks once his mind registered who that person sitting in the waiting room was. And that took about a quarter of a second. From the happy smile of earlier, his face had contorted into what was an unmistakable mask of fury and contempt at the other person.

The said person who was the object of Lyserg's fury and contempt, simply smiled an innocent smile upon seeing the green-haired young man. He tossed his long, dark brown hair over his shoulder, crossed his legs together, rested his chin upon his folded hands, and looked up at Lyserg casually. "Ohayo. It's been a while, hasn't it..." A hint of a smirk crossed the brown-haired young man's face. "Lyserg-KUN," the tone of that last greeting was undoubtedly teasing, but whether he meant it to actually tease or just annoy the other man was debatable.

From the way the frown on Lyserg's face deepened with every passing second, it was clear that he thought the greeting was meant as the latter. "Hao..." he spat out the name like it was the vilest thing on earth. Which, given the history of Lyserg and Hao, it probably was. "what the HELL are you doing HERE?" He said in between clenched teeth, preparing himself to go into battle mode if need be.

The brown-haired young man smiled sweetly. "Waiting," he replied matter-of-factly. "That's what you do here, after all." And he accentuated that remark by pointing his gloved hand at the sign that said clearly, in both Japanese and English, plain as day, WAITING AREA.

Lyserg flinched at the subtle insult that was directed at him. "For what?" He growled out, attempting to compensate for his flinching by asking a question. He willed his feet to move, and when they did, he alerted Morphin to the presence of Hao, and he realized that everything was going to be decided in the fight that he intended to have right there and then with the long-haired shaman. Who will live--him or Hao? That is the question.

Hao must have sensed what he wanted to happen, for the long-haired shaman remarked, with a casual of toss of hair: "Don't bother bringing out that pendulum of yours. I don't intend to fight you here. In fact, I don't intend to fight you anywhere near here, ever. Perhaps somewhere near your hometown some other time, yes?" he paused to brush away a speck of dust that threatened to soil his brand new overall white trench coat. He had long ago abandoned his trademark white overcoat that fluttered in the wind in favor of a white trench coat. He still wore his trademark dark red-brown pants with the numerous belts that decorated it. The pants were, for obvious reasons, now a few sizes bigger than they were when he was in the body of a thirteen-year-old. And of course, being Hao, underneath the trench coat, he still wore no shirt. Finally, on his feet were the most expensive-looking dark red-brown boots ever made. And even though it was customary to take off one's shoes (or boots, in this case) in the genkan near the door, being Hao, he had fudged over that rule and wore his beautiful footwear indoors, never mind what the owners of the Inn would say. One of them, after all, was his twin brother, and, knowing his brother, he would probably get away with it. Probably.

Perhaps now is the best time to explain what Asakura Hao was doing at the Funbari Onsen Inn eleven years after his brother had supposedly beaten and killed him in the previous Shaman Fight that we had all witnessed. Contrary to popular belief, Hao did NOT die during that fight--nor at any time after that, either. The only thing that Yoh had succeeded in doing that time, aside from beating Hao, was expelling the Great Spirits from the Spirit of Fire. Although Hao was gravely wounded, he did not die--because, after all, he was Asakura Hao, and Asakura Hao cannot die easily. Evil spirits tend to hang around longer than good spirits, as they say. And although Hao was nothing of that sort--meaning, he wasn't any kind of evil spirit whatsoever--the truth is, being the powerful being that he is, he projected that kind of identity to everyone around him.

Anyway, after the fight between him and Yoh, having been gravely wounded, Hao and his Spirit, along with a couple of his minions who survived, retreated to the sanctity of their hideout, somewhere in the remote mountains of America. For a short period of time, Hao recuperated. No one ever bothered them at their area, because anyone who ever got near them or got a glimpse of any of them was immediately killed, faster than you can say "Hao." And it's not like anybody ever dared, anyway.

So, back to the story. Hao was just on his way to a full recovery when the announcement of the commencement of the Shaman Fight was given once again. During this time, Hao already had a foolproof plan on how he was going to make his brother pay for beating him and for taking the Great Spirits away from him. He was eager and excited and more than ready to fight again. He knew he was going to beat his brother this time. He was powerful enough to bring his brother to his knees. And when they fight, this time, no one was going to be helping him. Hao had a sure way around this. The final round of the Shaman fight was going to be a face-off match between him and his brother. Just the two of them, and no one else. And he was going to make his brother pay. Dearly.

At least, that's what Hao thought.

What he didn't expect was how tough it was going to be to bring about all of his plans into fruition. During the hiatus of the Shaman Fight, along with recovering, he had trained, long and hard, just so he could become stronger than even the strongest. And no one was stronger than him, absolutely no one. Meaning, training to be stronger than the strongest entailed surpassing his own strength.

What he didn't expect--rather, what he didn't think of at that time, was that while he was recovering, and then training, his brother had also been doing nothing but training, and making himself stronger. And his friends--those friends of Yoh's who had helped along in beating him, had been training alongside him. And somehow, in someway, all of them became stronger. In fact, when one of his followers faced off with one Yoh's friends, he had been almost literally turned to dust. Hao wondered then how his brother's friends had managed to make themselves about ten times stronger than even the Chou Senji Ryakketsu could make them.

And later, when his most awaited final face-off match with his brother came, Hao wondered sincerely how the heck his brother had managed to make himself even stronger than he was when they last fought. As much as Hao hated to admit it, during that second battle with his brother, he and Yoh were evenly matched in power and furyoku. Somehow, Yoh had managed to strengthen that samurai spirit to great heights that even Hao himself could not fathom fully. And somehow, for the second time, but on his own this time--Asakura Yoh beat Asakura Hao fairly and squarely in the final Shaman Fight that decided once and for all who would become the Shaman King.

The fight had been close. Very, very close--and Yoh had managed to beat his brother--albeit only by a mere fraction, but beat him nonetheless. And in the eyes of the Great Spirit, a win is a win, and a loss is a loss. At that time, Yoh had clearly beaten him. Clearly.

And he had succeeded in attaining the Great Spirits.

At that time, Asakura Yoh had become the Shaman King. Everyone had cheered when he won.

The most surprising fact was, while everyone had cheered for his brother, Hao had cheered along with them.

During the final battle, when Yoh had proceeded to give him the final attack that had become his downfall, something happened to Hao...something he never thought would happen to him.

Yoh had given him the final blow...yet...there he was, alive. His brother had not killed him, when he certainly had a lot of chances to do so.

Instead, after the final blow, which had successfully broke Hao's Oversoul and extinguished all of his furyoku, Yoh had smiled at him. And then, his little brother had held out his hand, and had proceeded to help him up.

And nothing could have prepared Hao for what Yoh said after that.

"That was a good battle. Let's do it again some other time, ne...Oniichan?"

Oniichan.

Even after everything he had done, Yoh had treated him then like...like a friend. More than like a friend...like family. Like an equal. Like they were the same.

During his past life, no one had ever treated him like that. Not even his family. Everyone clearly thought that he was some kind of monster...that he wasn't human. That he was a demon.

Because of that, he became what people thought he was--a demon, a monster--the most powerful that ever existed.

And people feared him. People feared him because he was strong, and they were weak.

Only the strong ones should live.

That's what he had vowed to himself, that time. That's what he strived to do--eliminate anything weak, and leave only the strong ones.

But...now...something was different. When Yoh had addressed him as "Oniichan," a transition suddenly occurred inside Hao's persona...and the crystal glass that had surrounded his heart for a hundred decades shattered into pieces...and Hao became human again.

Human. All because of his brother. His little brother.

Yoh had given him back his humanity.

At that time, even though only one person thought that of him, it was enough for Hao. His brother was enough for him. Yoh was enough for him.

Anyway, after the second fight between him and his brother, Hao had laid low for a while. He no longer felt the need and desire to extinguish all human kind from the earth...because that would mean killing himself. As Yoh had proven to him, he was human, just like everyone else.

But, unfortunately, not having the end of humankind to plot for left Hao with nothing to do, and nowhere to go. He didn't know how he was supposed to live, and what his purpose was in living, if it wasn't for the sake of ending humanity. He had ended up retreating into the mountains like before--only this time, without having to feel the necessity to kill humans who went near him. Unless they didn't get too annoying, he didn't kill them. He couldn't afford to be annoyed. He needed time to think.

And for a couple of years, that's what he did. After a couple of months, he got tired of the secluded mountains. Using Spirit of Fire, he traveled far and low, long and wide, to figure out what the heck he should do with his life. And after searching long, and hard, and far, his answer finally came to him when he was sixteen. His answer came in the form of a Japanese Politician who had witnessed him killing off one hundred members of a gang in one blow. He hadn't meant to kill all of them--but they were provoking him while he was trying to eat in peace, and a couple of them even made fun of his hair...and goddamit if he was going to let that slide.

Anyway, when the said politician had witnessed what he had done, he had given Hao an offer he couldn't refuse--serve as the politician's personal bodyguard, and he can have anything he wanted, just name it. When he accepted the offer, Hao finally found himself a purpose...at least, something to do that he could benefit from. He doubted anyone had a better bodyguard than the politician he was guarding.

And so, for an extended period of time, Hao stayed by the side of the Japanese Politician, known as Nakatsugawa Hiroshi, and served as his personal bodyguard. Not only did he serve as the man's bodyguard--he was the personal adviser, as well. In as short as two weeks, Hao had managed to earn Nakatsugawa's trust with his strength, intelligence, and, of course--his charm. Not only did he become Nakatsugawa (then a Congressman)'s bodyguard and personal adviser, but after a month, when the man's representative speaker had proven incompetent, Hao succeeded his position. It was one time, during one of Nakatsugawa's press conferences when he was running for Congress re-election, that Yoh and his friends were able to catch a glimpse of him and found out what he was doing--for the said press conference was televised all over Japan.

Anyway, Hao had stayed as Nakatsugawa's personal bodyguard, adviser, and representative speaker for a span of almost eight years. During his time as the man's bodyguard, Hao had succeeded in making the old politician successful in every way--from his businesses, to his political career. When Hao was eighteen, the old man's dreams of becoming Japan's Prime Minister was fulfilled--and he couldn't have done that without Hao's help. Hao had the...uncanny ability of convincing people. He exuded charm and charisma all throughout, and fortunately, that worked positively for the image of the old man.

Because of all this, the old man came to respect Hao more and more as time passed. And because the old man didn't really have any family to speak of--except for Hao, it wasn't quite surprising that he had come to love Hao like he was his own son as the years went by. Now, whether or not Hao ever cared for the old man as anything except as a bodyguard to his charge, only Hao knows, but it all certainly worked for his advantage. Three months ago, the old man had suffered from heart failure and died, and left all the businesses and possessions he had to none other than...Hao. And so, after the old man died, Hao became a millionaire--or billionaire, so to speak. Hao has become rich enough that he didn't even have to lift a finger and he still would be living in prosperity for the next lifetime. In the years that had passed, with Hao by his side, the old man had managed to make himself filthy rich. And as everything was now Hao's, it was evident why he could afford just slacking off and hanging out every single day at his brother's Onsen Inn. Which is what he has been doing for three months now.

Anyway, back to the talk Hao was having with Lyserg...

"So," Hao asked with another flip of his long hair, "Are we agreed on that? Your place, some time next week, maybe?"

Lyserg seethed. He could not believe he was having this conversation with this guy. "What do you mean, MY PLACE? I don't intend to fight with you anywhere near where I live," he snapped. "Fight me now!"

Hao rolled his eyes dramatically. "I told you, NOT on MY brother's Onsen," he told the green-haired young man. Then, he gave a wicked grin. "Unless of course...YOU'RE ready to die...not by my hands, that is."

"What do you mean by THAT?" Lyserg asked, glaring at him.

Hao tapped the back of his left hand at the sign that clearly stated in two languages, NO FIGHTING ANYWHERE WITHIN ONSEN VICINITY. "I'm sure you can read this. Or can't you...? You know, maybe you're not as smart as Yoh says you are..." He shook his head and gave his hair another flip.

"Shut up," Lyserg growled. "Who's going to kill me, if not you, then? Not that you could EVER kill me, of course," he added smugly.

Hao snorted. "As if," he commented sarcastically. "Why, my brother's beautiful wife, of course." He said with flourish.

Oh, yeah. Lyserg groaned mentally, all the while commencing his glaring at Hao. He simmered. "Alright. Not here, then." He then sat down at the easy chair opposite where Hao is.

Just then, a maid entered the waiting room, holding a tray laden with a pot of tea, two cups, and several plates of cakes.

"Oh, snacks. Good." Hao commented cheerfully. He smiled sweetly at the maid as she approached. "Thanks a lot, pretty lady," he told the maid charmingly.

The maid blushed profusely. She poured two cups of tea, before turning towards Hao and bowing. "A-arigatou, Asakura-sama." She then looked at Lyserg. "If you'll excuse me." The maid retreated back to the kitchens.

From the corner of his eye, Hao saw the green-eyed young man still continuously glaring at him. "What?" He asked as he daintily picked up a slice of chocolate truffle.

"Bastard," Lyserg spat out. He then reached for an éclair and tore his mouth at it.

Hao bit into his truffle, then sighed. "Honestly, Lyserg-kun, we do this every year," he remarked. "Can't we let bygones be bygones?"

"You killed my parents." Lyserg shot back scathingly, shoving the entire piece of éclair into his mouth and swallowing. "That's not some 'bygone' I can just forget."

Hao looked thoughtful. "Hmm. You got me there." He paused to take a nice, long drink of his tea. "How can I make it up to you?"

"Let me kill you." Was Lyserg's answer.

Hao grinned. "Not a chance. I'm still enjoying my life as a billionaire, thank you very much."

"Aaargh!" Lyserg groaned, rapping his head at the empty spot on the table. "Why are we having this conversation?"

Hao took another truffle from the tray. "Gee, I don't know. YOU tell me." He said breezily.

Lyserg continued to rap his head on the table. "I hate you."

"Thanks." Hao continued eating. "I love you, though." He said cheerfully. "I love all of my little brother's friends."

Lyserg responded by continuing to rap his head on the table. Hao just continued eating, smiling all the way.

Then, suddenly, from the outside, a loud voice was heard. At once, Hao and Lyserg stopped what they were doing and peered at the glass windows.

"BAAAANNNNZZZAAIIIII!!!!!"

...And then something that looked suspiciously like a person riding a snowboard came running through the large glass windows, smashing it in the process.

On an impulse, Lyserg and Hao simultaneously shielded themselves from the shards of glass approaching them using their respective Oversouls. And then, the two of them slowly approached the figure-in-the-snowboard, who had now fallen in a heap on the floor of the Onsen Inn, with shards of broken glass around him.

"Hey," Lyserg poked the shoulder of the person on the floor. "Are you alright?" The person looked suspiciously familiar...

"Hmm..." Hao examined the foot of the mystery person, and then turned to the snowboard. "I think...Lyserg-kun...he might be that friend of yours..."

"Huh...?" He looked questioningly at Hao. It was hard to imagine them having something similar to a normal conversation, but there they were.

Hao shrugged. "You know...spiky blue hair. That Ainu guy. Boro-boro?" He supplied helpfully.

At the sound of the mistake in his name, the mystery figure's ears perked up. Angrily, he stood up amidst all the glass and shouted, "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT??? MY NAME IS HORO-HORO, -NOT- BORO-BORO!!! YOU STUPID SON OF A..." He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized who he was shouting at. "YOU!"

"Me." Hao gave a small, cheerful wave.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF HEAVEN ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU BASTARD???" He shouted at Hao.

The person in question smiled sweetly. "Eating cake. Want some?" He pointed to the table with the tray laden with various kinds of cakes and pastries.

At the mention of cake, Horo-Horo's ears perked up again. "Yeah! I mean..." He seemed to realize he had just said yes to Hao, for he then shouted again, "WHAT THE HELL! HAO, YOU..." He then noticed Lyserg on his other side. "LYSERG? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? WHY ARE YOU WITH THIS GUY?" He demanded.

Just then, from the doorway, Pilica appeared, not looking too happy as she gazed at her brother. "Oniichan..." She said sternly.

"SHUT UP, PILICA! ANSWER ME, LYSERG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY ARE YOU WITH THIS GUY? WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU? WHAT..."

"ONIICHAN!" Pilica couldn't take it anymore. She shouted in a voice much, much louder than her brother's.

"WHAT?!?!?" Horo-horo demanded and at that second, a fist smashed into his head. "OUCH! That hurt! Pilica-kun, are you trying to kill me?" He rubbed his sore head gently and groaned.

"I'm trying to make you shut up," Pilica said in a calmer tone. "We've got a new bill for the broken window. You haven't even paid the window you broke last year," She sighed, tossing her long, azure hair over her shoulder and shaking her head at her brother. "Ryu-san gave me this bill. Honestly, it's not like we don't have the money for it. I mean, we've got several hundred acres of butterbur field, for crying out loud!"

"Eh...?" Horo-horo scratched his head and gazed at his little sister. "What bill?"

"You FORGOT? Again? Oniichan, do I HAVE to remind you of EVERYTHING?"

"Umm..." Horo began. "Maybe." He said, looking lost.

Lyserg rolled his eyes. "She's talking about last year's broken window, Horo-horo-kun," He said helpfully. "You break the Onsen's window every year, remember?" He reminded his friend.

"Oh." Horo's eyes suddenly became large as he became aware of it. "Oh...OH YEAH!" He nodded in agreement, seeming as if he had suddenly remembered everything after a short bout of amnesia.

And at that point, Hao laughed. "I think he hit his head a little too hard."

Pilica, Lyserg, and Horo-horo glared at him.

Hao smiled sweetly. "Well, he did."

Horo turned to Lyserg again. "What's he DOING here?"

Lyserg shrugged. "I don't know. He was here before I arrived."

"Oniichan..." Pilica peered around Hao. "Wasn't he also here last year? And the year before?"

"Yeah, I was!" Hao chirped.

"Shut up!" Horo-horo and Lyserg said simultaneously. They then turned to each other again.

"Who else is here?" Horo asked.

Lyserg looked up thoughtfully. "Well, Ryu-san said Yoh-kun and and Ren-kun are in the main room with the kids," he paused. "I suppose Faust-san is at the clinic on the second floor. I don't know where the others are."

"And the women?" Horo prompted. "Where are they?"

The green-eyed young man shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"Hmm." Horo gazed at the table thoughtfully. "Those won't make me full," he was talking about the cakes. "I need something more...sufficient," he mused. He turned to Lyserg. "I'm going to the kitchen. Wanna come?"

"Umm..."Lyserg began. "Well, I..."

"Let's have a game of cards, Lyserg-kun!" Hao was back at the table, shuffling a deck of cards swiftly and smiling at Lyserg. "If you win, I'll let you kill me. How's that?"

"...I'll stay here." Lyserg told Horo-horo. The opportunity was too hard to pass up. Hao was actually offering himself to Lyserg, and he had no idea. Lyserg smiled. Hao had NO idea how good a card player Lyserg was. Oh, happy day, Lyserg thought.

"...Okay." Horo looked doubtful about leaving his friend, but the thought of lots of food from the kitchens sent his doubts vanishing like it was blown away by the wind. "If you need me, just holler, okay?" He yelled at Lyserg before running off to the kitchens.

"ONIICHAN!" Pilican ran after her brother. "See you later, Lyserg-san! Hao-san!" She passed by the front desk. "I'll be in the main room with Oniichan if anyone asks, ne, Ryu-san?" Ryu nodded and waved as Pilica chased after her brother.

"Caught you!" Pilica held her brother by his shirt. "We'll go to the kitchen later, Oniichan. Let's greet Yoh-san and Ren-kun and the kids first. It's the polite thing to do, ne?" She dragged her brother by his shirt towards the main room where Yoh was.

"But...Pilica! I'm hungry...PILICA!!!" Horo-horo's protest died out as Pilica dragged him inside a room that was labeled, ASAKURA.

In the waiting room, Hao had proceeded in distributing the cards to himself and Lyserg, smiling sweetly all the way.

"Well now...shall we begin?"


*~*~*~*~*~*


"What are those things?"

"Columns, Uncle Ren. You type these figures at the computer and it categorizes them into those columns."

"And...that? What is that for?"

"Summation."

"What?!?"

"You know...see that last column? You highlight the whole of it, and then, when you click this button...see? It gives us the total."

"I see." Tao Ren continued to gaze at the computer thoughtfully, trying to comprehend what the boy had just told him. While doing that, he continued to rock the little baby in his arms to sleep. Little Ren-chan, the said baby, gurgled happily before drifting off into a doze. The little one-year-old clearly loved being held by his uncle.

The five-year-old boy, who was the one in front of the computer, and the one Ren had been talking to all this time, heard the little gurgling sound and looked up at the little baby. He shook off his spiky dark brown hair and gazed at his baby brother, his dark eyes softening. He then looked at his uncle. "Has he been asleep all this time?" He asked quietly.

Ren shook his head. "Just now." He flicked a lock of dark blue hair out of his face, and then proceeded to straighten out his navy blue sweater and slacks, which took a great deal of effort, due to the fact that he was currently holding a baby in his arms. He wasn't much fond of fussing over his clothes or his looks, but the wrinkles in his clothes were starting to bother him.

Besides, you never know who might just pop in right through that door.

Take a certain blue-haired Ainu girl, for example...

Anyway, the little boy sighed with relief at his uncle's reply. "Good. I thought we might have woken him up, you know...with the talking and everything."

A chuckle. "I doubt that. He's your brother, after all. You all came from the same tree. And I know that unless it was an emergency, that father of yours will not wake up even if you set off all the alarms here at the Onsen and shout your head off." He inclined his head towards the large sofa, where Asakura Yoh was sleeping and lightly snoring. Beside him, and leaning on his shoulder, his five-year-old version was also doing the same thing.

"I see what you mean." The brown-haired five-year-old Ren was talking to looked unmistakably like the clone of the other five-year-old who was sleeping beside Yoh.

"I wonder which of your parents little Ren-chan would take after?" Ren asked, gazing at the sleeping baby.

"Kaachan," The five-year-old boy beside him said promptly.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "How would you know that, Yohnta?" He asked the boy.

"Because," the five-year-old boy named Yohnta paused, "there are enough of us around here who take after Touchan. I mean, take Yohmaru Oniichan," he was referring to the boy who was sleeping beside Yoh, "Kaachan says he's so much like Touchan when Touchan was around our age. And Keiko-chan's the same way." The boy finished.

"And you?" Ren asked.

"Well..." the boy blushed. "Touchan says I take after Kaachan."

"You like taking after your mother?" Ren could never imagine why anyone would want to be like Ice Queen Asakura Anna...

Yohnta gave a vigorous nod. "Yeah. Touchan says being like Kaachan is the best thing to be." he said proudly.

That's a matter of opinion, Ren thought. But he said, "I guess it makes sense. You and Yohmaru look alike, but deep inside, you're complete opposites. You're a lot like Anna, and he's a lot like Yoh. That's pretty logical."

"Yeah," Yohnta nodded in agreement.

"Anyway," Ren said, looking at the computer, which was still open, "does your mother let you handle the database work?"

"Not just me," the boy shook his head. "also Yohmaru Oniichan, but the thing is, he prefers to slack off," he frowned at his twin brother's direction. "Touchan helps, sometimes too."

"Yoh knows how to do this stuff?" Ren muttered in disbelief. For all the time he's known him, he's never seen Yoh in front of any computer...Ren hung around a lot at the Onsen, but his friend had never given him any sign or inclination that he knew how to do these things...

"Uh-huh. Touchan taught us all this stuff. He says he and Kaachan learned it all from school and from Uncle Manta."

Oh. Manta. Ren finally understood. "That explains it."

"Uncle Manta's even tried to teach Amidamaru and Mosuke, but the thing is..." he sighed. "Guess it's much harder when you're a spirit, ne?"

"OHAYO GOZAIMASU!!!!" A loud, male voice shouted, and the door to the main room was flung open. In barged a young Ainu man of twenty-four, who resembled his own self of eleven years ago, from the spiky azure-blue hair, down to his sweater, and down to the shorts and light blue socks he was wearing. Except for the fact that he was now taller, his face was more mature, and there was a hint of a shadow of a beard on his clean-shaven face, Horo-horo still looked uncannily like his thirteen-year old self.

"Oniichan, can't you at least be a little bit more quiet?" A soft female voiced hissed from behind. As her brother entered, so did Pilica, who shook her head at her brother's obvious lack of decency. Now twenty-two, Pilica's face had matured from a little girl to a young woman. Her azure hair was still long and straight, but pulled back against her face with a head band. That didn't stop her from tossing her hair, though. She donned a pink three-fourths blouse and a short dark blue skirt with a white swirl design.

And she was extremely beautiful.

Or so Ren thought.

It wasn't like it was the first time they've seen each other over the years, anyway. In fact, one of the main reasons Ren frequently visited the Funbari Onsen Inn was because Pilica and her brother were often there as well. It was mostly due to Horo's lazyness why the Ainu siblings frequented visiting the place. Horo-horo refused to cook anything for them, and, as the Onsen was just a short walk away from where the siblings and their butterbur fields were located, it seemed pretty convenient --at least, that's what Horo-horo thought--for them to eat at the Onsen almost every single day, almost every single meal. And besides, the meals were offered to them for free. After all, Horo-horo was very good friends with the owner.

As for Ren, he was constantly at the Onsen, mostly because his sister insisted twice every week that they ought to come and visit Asakura-san and bring him a couple of gifts for good measure. And he would not--could not--stand to refuse anything his dear Neesan wanted. The heir to the throne of the Tao family was strong, but it only took one measly little wheedle from his sister and he was lost.

Ren groaned. Stupid females had a stupid effect on him. In particular, two females--one was his sister, Jun. The other was standing right in front of him right now, punching her older brother to death. Older brother who just happened to be his friend.

Ah, but the strange thing was, Ren liked the effect this particular female had on him. It was refreshingly new, surprisingly warm,...and incredibly sweet. It was...unlike anything he'd ever felt before. And yeah, he liked it. He liked it a lot.

And he'd been feeling this for...what? He started feeling this way ever since that day, at Yoh and Anna's wedding, when he had caught that garter and she, the bouquet. It had been all Chocolove and Lyserg's fault, anyway, filling Yoh and Anna's heads with weird Western customs like women catching the bouquet and men catching the garter. It was all stupid, really.

But it wasn't like he was complaining. After all, the first time he actually noticed Pilica...and as in REALLY notice, was that time when he was placing the garter on her leg and he was looking at her face. Examining her face. He had been looking at her, and she had been looking right back.

And, back then, he had thought of how beautiful she was. How...incredibly...beautiful. But that was a long time ago. Six years ago.

So...it's been...six years?

And for six years, he never made his move. Wait--scratch that. He -has- been making his move for six years. Very subtly. Whenever he visited the Onsen (which was about twice a week), he always, always made sure that he was able to catch even just a glimpse of her--or of her long, light blue hair. And he always made sure he brought a couple of gifts for her. And he always gave them to her before he left. And she always thanked him.

The problem, though, was that every time he visited, every time he even got as much as about two feet near her, Horo-horo was always right there, by her side. And every time he tried to talk to her, Horo-horo would say something to him and the two of them would end up arguing again. And again, and again.

Getting her alone was the hardest thing in the world to do. For one thing, if it wasn't Horo-horo who was with her, it was usually someone else. Mostly, it was...his dear sister. That's right. Over the years, Pilica and Jun had become close friends, perhaps owing to the fact that their brothers were also friends. Or perhaps owing to the fact that the two of them often alternated acting the referee every time Ren and Horo-horo fought. Which, whenever they see each other, happened quite frequently.

This time around though, Ren vowed to himself, he was going to get her alone, if it's the last thing he does. He was going to get her alone, and they were going to have a long talk. And he was going to confess. And then he would take her in his arms, and...

"Ren-kun?" A soft voice interrupted his thoughts, which was just as well. They had gradually gone from being innocent musings to some rather almost-hentai thoughts.

And oh, yeah. Ren's mind was snapped back into reality upon hearing that soft, female voice. Voice that he would know anywhere. Pilica. "Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry," The Ainu girl looked up at him sincerely, a slight smile playing on her lips. "It's a good thing Oniichan didn't wake up little Ren-chan..." She moved a step closer to him and peered at the sleeping baby that he was holding in his arms. "He is so cute..." She whispered softly, her fingertips stroking the pointy light-brown hair of the baby. She then raised her eyes up and smiled at Ren.

Aargh. Damn blush reflex. Ren could feel his face burning, but he did smile back to compensate for his blush.

Silence. The two of them stared into each other's eyes, smiling all the way. Ren continued to blush.

"OY!" A loud, LOUD voice brought them back to attention. Horo-horo looked suspiciously from Ren's red face to Pilica, who was trying very hard to fight the color from rising to her cheeks.

Glaring pointedly at Ren, Horo-horo spoke. "When did you get here?" His voice was loud. Damn, it was LOUD.

Gazing at the baby in his arms with concern, Ren looked at Horo-horo and glared back. "An hour ago," he hissed. "Would you PLEASE keep it down? I just spent the last couple of minutes putting this kid to sleep, and I'm not about to let you undo my hard work."

"You think I CARE?" Horo-horo's voice did not even decrease half a decibel. He did NOT just see his LITTLE SISTER smiling at REN. He did NOT see that...

"Will you SHUT UP?" Ren hissed. He alternated looking over at the baby in his arms and glaring at Horo-horo.

"Uncle Ren?" A small voice beside him said hesitantly and pulled on the hem of his shirt. Yohnta. The 5-year-old boy then turned to glare at Horo-horo.

"Yohnta. What is it?" He asked, looking over at the boy.

"Umm..." the boy gave a hesitant pause. "We should call Kaachan before my baby brother wakes up." He then turned and glared at Horo-horo again.

Horo-horo flinched. For some reason, the boy's glare reminded him of Anna back when he was living with them, when she was ordering him to clean their whole house in exchange for his living there. But he continued to glare at Ren. He still could not forget the way he and Pilica had been looking at each other just a little while ago...

"Is SOMETHING going on between YOU and my SISTER?" Horo-horo demanded loudly. "Well?" He glared over at Ren. Then, for good measure, he glared over at Pilica, as well. He tried very hard not to look at the young boy before him. The boy's glares made him nervous.

"Oniichan, there's NOTHING going on!" Pilica hissed at her brother, her face now as red as Ren's was just a little while ago.

Although he was a little hurt by her statement, Ren was inclined to agree with Pilica. "You should listen to your sister, Horo-horo. Stop being so thick-headed all the time, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Argh. Did he just shout out that last statement? Please no, please no, please no...

At once, little Ren-chan's eyes popped open. He then looked around him, wondering what was happening, and why he was awake. And then, he realized why. His face slowly contorted, crumpled. Tears formed in his dark eyes. His lower lip began to tremble. He began to sniffle.

And then, he screamed.

"WAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Little Ren-chan wailed loudly enough to wake the whole Inn. His eyes flooded with tears, and huge amounts of snot accumulated at his little nose. And his hair...the pointy hair that so looked like his father's, only in a much lighter shade...hair that was pointed in several different directions...began to lengthen suspiciously...much like Ren's pointed hair did when he was very, very angry...

"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The screaming of Ren-chan ensued, along with the lengthening of his hair. It must also be noted that the screaming's volume had increased five decibels higher. Four people simultaneously winced.

Pilica went and stroke the baby's hair to try and calm him down.

Horo-horo continued to further glare at Ren.

Yohnta looked up at his little brother with concern, debating on whether he should run ahead and call his Kaachan, or stay here with Uncle Ren, Uncle Horo, and Aunt Pilica and try his best to help his brother calm down. He decided on the second option.

Ren continued to glare at Horo-horo.

Sparks of electricity flowed from Horo-horo's eyes to Ren's, then back again.

"Pilica," Ren growled. He held out the baby in his arms. "Take him."

Pilica nodded, and at once, took Ren-chan from Ren's arms and held the little crying boy against her, singing to him softly. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at her brother and at Ren, noting the dark aura that was surrounding the two of them. Uh-oh.

Little Yohnta also saw what was happening and he sighed. This happened every single year. "Uncle Ren, Uncle Horo...you wouldn't mind taking this outside, would you?" He suggested meekly to his two uncles. He didn't particularly care if his twin brother or Touchan woke up to their fights, but it would be easier to break them up if there were more people who were awake around. Besides, if they were outside, it was more likely that his Kaachan was there...she, of all people, would be able to break this up.

And besides, his brother was still crying...he needed his mother for that.

"I don't mind." Horo-horo growled, still glaring at Ren.

"This is all YOUR FAULT." Ren growled back.

"MY FAULT?" Horo-horo snorted. "You shouted at the little kid's face!" He snapped.

"YOU shouted FIRST!" Ren shot back.

"You were SMILING at my SISTER!"

"Well SUE ME for trying to be FRIENDLY!"

Yohnta sighed, rolled his eyes to the ceiling and pushed his two uncles out the front door. He then turned to his Aunt Pilica, who was still holding his little brother, who was still wailing. Ten decibels higher this time. He winced again. He was starting to get a headache. "Aunt Pilica, maybe we should go look for Kaachan."

Pilica looked relieved. "Yeah. Good idea."

All four of them walked out of the room. Back inside, Yoh and Yohmaru were still sleeping peacefully, unaware of what was happening around them.



TSUZUKU (see Chapter 1B for the continuation).



End notes:

Ah...gomen nasai. Hao's story was just too long...*sweatdrop* and then Ren's flashback...eh...couldn't stop my fingers from typing. *more sweatdrops* Ehe he he...^_^

Edited July 17, 2003. It was only last night (while watching episode 48) when I noticed that Pilica's skirt wasn't brown, but dark blue. Gomen, ne, Pilica fans, for making such a grave mistake.^_^ I changed Ren's clothing, though, so what's written in here is no error at all--it's my own doing.=)

The rest of my end notes are in Chapter 1B.=)

Reviews will be very much appreciated.