"Onii-chan," whispered Pirika as she tucked her sleeping brother into the blanket. Faust had just finished transferring most of Horo Horo's furyoku into the prophetess.

"Both of them will be safe, so no need to worry anymore," said the doctor reassuringly.

"My brother can be really dumb sometimes, but you can never doubt his heart," said Pirika to everyone, not without a touch of pride.

Ren had to smile. "Can't argue with that." He then turned to the pillar of light.

"What is that pretty light over there?" the girl asked, looking out at the same direction he was looking.

"I don't know." He stood up. "Pirika, I hope you don't mind if I go out for awhile."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

He decided to fib. "I'll just take a stroll."

"Er, alright." Pirika looked back at her sleeping brother. "Be careful."

He nodded and walked away. His steps were taking him towards the pillar of light- something was telling him that he needed to be there.

He paused from walking when he saw Ryu standing outside, eyes cast on the pillar of light too.

"You also want to know what's up with that, right?" asked the Wooden Sword, gesturing at the spectacle with his thumb. "Same thing for me, Ren Tao. I want to know what that is, so you'll be walking with me too."

The Chinese shaman smirked. "If Horo Horo was awake, I know he would say exactly the same thing."

"Let's go," said Ryu, getting up. "I can't explain this, but I keep on getting weird feelings that Master Yoh is calling us."

Ren fell silent- he was feeling exactly the same thing.

Nyorai noticed Chocolove's eyes on the column of light. She placed her hand on his. "If you really are worried about your friends, then go to them."

"Iie-"

"No, I insist." She smiled. "Funbari is very close- I can manage on my own. You must know that it is not only the darkness of heart that I can read- I can read anything inside a human's heart. Right now, your heart wants to see your friends, whether they made it through or not." She turned to the column of light. "And if my instincts serve me right, your friends really need you."

Chocolove looked down. "But Nyorai, all I did was to neglect you. I do not deserve such understanding nature of yours."

To this, she laughed. "You saved me. I don't think that's sign of neglecting." She gave him a gentle shove. "Go back."

Unfortunately, her gentle shove took him by surprise. He fell into the water.

"C-Chocolove! Chocolove, gomen nasai!" cried Nyorai fearfully.

His head bobbed up. "Got ya!"

"Chocolove!!!"

"OK, OK, I'm moving!" He propelled himself back to his friends. But not before one last question.

"You like that Nichrome guy, don't you?"

Anna watched as Yoh and Amidamaru hurried away, determined to make it to the sacred grounds before his brother could. She, on the other hand, decided that she should call on Yoh's shaman friends to help him.

But despite of her practical decision, it took all of her willpower not come along with him.

She was scared- Tamao's prediction resounded in her mind. That the wind should be careful not to come too close to the fire, lest it shall burn too. Now she understood that Yoh was the gentle laughing wind, and Hao was the fire.

She started to run back to the hotel where everyone was staying. "Just hang on, Yoh. I'm going to get you some help."

Just then, a tall man with a bird mask on his face appeared on her path, arms crossed.

"Kyouyama Anna, the itako, I assume?" he asked, a voice so familiar but she couldn't place it.

"What do you want?" she asked instead, wondering if he was one of the minions of Hao.

The birdman turned to the itako beads. "If you want to help Yoh, come with me."

"Convince me first."

"My son wasn't kidding when he said you were very high-spirited," sighed the man.

"S-Son?"

"My name is Mikihisa, and I'm Yoh and Hao's father."

Horo Horo woke up when he heard someone crying softly. He looked around and found a weeping Tamao on the other bed. Alert, he got up, ignoring his muscular weakness. "T-Tamao?" he called out in a rough voice.

The prophetess looked up. "H-Horo?" She tried to wipe her tears away. "Y-You're awake! I-I better call Pirika…"

"Why were you crying awhile ago?" he wanted to know. "Is something aching in your body?"

"I-I'm fine."

"Well, even crybabies like you should have a reason why they suddenly burst into tears." Horo sat down beside her. "Or were you crying just for kicks?"

She shook her head. "I was just saddened by what Faust told me."

His heart fell. "The furyoku operation didn't work?"

She shook her head. "It worked, and that's why I'm crying."

"Those tears don't look like tears of joy," he remarked wryly.

"I'm crying…because I feel so useless…I feel so burdensome to you guys, especially to you." She sniffled a bit. "Faust told me you gave up all your furyoku so that my life will be prolonged into a normal span."

He rubbed his cheek. "Well, my furyoku is not enough to grant you immortality…"

"It's not that!" Tamao looked at him in lamentation. "You lost your precious Shamanic ability because of me. Now you don't have the power anymore to manipulate the ice, the power spirits…all because of me."

"Listen, crybaby. I do care about my furyoku, my ability to use ice and power spirits. But what should I do to get this through your thick skull, Tamamura Tamao? That I do these things not only out of gratitude for bringing financial luck to me, but also because I care for you!" Horo cupped her face with both of his hands. "May I repeat that, in case your hearing is as dense as your sensitivity too: I_CARE_FOR_YOU. I'm willing to lose anything and everything, save for my sister and you. Don't you know that I love you dearly, prophetess?"

Tamao shook her head incredulously. "B-But when you kissed me…you didn't remember…"

Horo Horo knew at once what she was talking about. He slapped his forehead. "Gah! Oh, that one!"

"You were drunk…it's fine," she said softly.

"Here's a little secret…" He leaned over to her ear and murmured sexily. "I wasn't."

"N-Nani?!"

"I just wanted to tease you by obliging you to get me to my room. I wanted to see how far you would go in our pretend." Horo chuckled. "But when you sat down beside me, with those gorgeous eyes looking at me worriedly, I knew I had to kiss you."

Her cheeks flamed. "T-Then…"

"When I told you that I love you, when I told you that I would want to see you wearing that ring forever…I was aware of that. Just a little sleepy, but not sleepy enough for me to hear my angel say 'I love you too' to me." Horo Horo grinned devilishly. "Don't try to deny it; liars go to hell."

Tamao was speechless, and he chuckled once more.

"So Tamao," he said, sitting closer to her. "If I kiss you, will you stop crying already?"

A shy but seductive smile dawned on her face. "Let's try, Horo."

"Damn it, don't smile that way to any man but me," he said through gritted teeth, then burst into laughter.

She laughed out loud too, and that was the chance Horo was waiting for. He swiftly conquered her open laughing mouth and kissed her passionately.

"The Spirit of Fire!" yelled one of the X-Laws.

Lyserg clenched his fists. "Damn it!"

Marco started to get busy, barking orders at the rest of the X-Laws, most of them geared in protecting the Iron Maiden.

Jeanne felt the Great Spirits rise behind her. She clutched her rosary, whispered a prayer, then turned to the coming fleet. "Shamis," she called.

Instantly, the messenger of Justice appeared behind her. "Guard the Great Spirits," she ordered, and just as she was about to close the small window of her iron maiden, Lyserg turned to her.

"Jeanne?" He smiled at her tenderly. "I love you," he whispered.

Her eyes shook. What he said- they were enough to give her the courage to fight Hao Asakura again, and protect mankind.

And protect her most loved person too.

"Ah, the X-Laws. It's been quite a while, eh?" drawled Hao when he saw the small cluster of white-clad figures surrounding the sarcophagus. "Oh yes, and the Seraphim. But I thought I have gotten rid of you already!"

Marco was clearly upset. "Do not talk that way to the Most Holy Girl Jeanne-sama!"

"My apologies then," he said, doing a mock bow. His eyes then went to the green-haired shaman. "Oh, and you're already part of my fan club too? I thought you were with my brother." He clicked his tongue. "Truly, the only constant thing in the world is change…well, aside from evil, that is."

"Brother?" Lyserg realized what the boy meant. "Y-Yoh? Is he with you?"

Hao laughed. "He isn't; our beliefs clash, unfortunately." He gazed at the dowser. "Now we'll have to see if you can live up to your promise of killing me…or will you perish in my flames too, just like your parents."

"Hao!" cried Jeanne, but Lyserg stepped in front of her protectively. "I will not make any action without Jeanne-sama ordering me to do so."

Hao's eyes were amused. "Hmm…this sounds interesting. Ah, I'm not in a hurry to get the Great Spirits…I might as well play with you fools first." He snapped his finger, and the Iron Maiden was suddenly engulfed in flames.

"Jeanne!" Using his furyoku, Lyserg shielded himself and Jeanne from the fire.

Marco, satisfied by the protection the dowser gave, turned to the other X-Laws. They released their angels at the same time.

"Hmm…not that pathetic display of weak winged creatures again." Hao turned to his minions. "Deal with the insects." He grinned evilly at the Iron Maiden. "I will take care of their beloved leader."

Yoh's face lit up when he met Ren and Ryu in a fork on the road.

"Your brother's there already," said Ren, eyes on the pillar of spirits.

Ryu grinned at his master. "Ren trained me a lot, and I can now use Tokageroh more properly. I can help, can't I?"

Yoh nodded, then discovered Horo Horo wasn't there.

Ren smiled. "He's at home with Tamao. He gave all his furyoku to the prophetess to help her live longer."

"Hontou?" Yoh pointed to the coming Horo Horo snowboarding his way to them. "Then who's that? I thought I'm the only one with a twin here!"

"Hey you guys! Missed me?" Horo jumped down from his snowboard. "That was bad of you, Ren, Ryu. Why did you leave for the party without me?"

"Pretty energetic for someone who lost all his furyoku," muttered Ren.

"Hey, what can I say? I am the epitome of eugenic perfection! Can't help it if I'm so strong!" He flexed his muscles for effect. He then grinned at Yoh. "Hey Princey!"

Yoh grinned back. "Good to see you too, Horo Horo." He looked at the pillar of light. "Can't talk though."

"I know. Aniki is waiting." Horo gestured his thumb towards the destination. "Let's go?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "Gah! Horo Horo you idiot! You're still weak! Do you want to kill Pirika with worry by going to face Hao in your situation?"

"Hah! As if lying to my sister about where you were really going to wasn't bad either," snapped the Ainu back. "And don't call me idiot, dammit!"

"But that's what you are!"

"If I'm idiot, what the hell do you call yourself then?"

Yoh sighed.

"If they would bicker like that always, I do say they need a referee." Faust VIII arrived, smiling at Yoh. "Not to mention a medical attendant."

Yoh raised his hand at him in greeting. "Yaa! Ogenki ka"

Ren and Ryu paused.

"I know what you are thinking," said Yoh, not losing his cheerfulness. "Ne, let's put things behind! Past is past!"

"And he saved Tamao," said Horo proudly.

"If you say so, Master Yoh," said Ryu.

"Hey, wait up!" Chocolove joined them, wrenching his wet skirt at the same time.

"Where have you been?" asked Ryu, astounded. "Did you drown yourself in a toilet bowl or something?"

"Ha-ha! Excuse me while I laugh. I'm the only one licensed to joke around here!" snorted Choco.

"I wasn't joking," said the Wooden Sword matter-of-factly.

Everyone sweatdropped.

Shilva and Karimu suddenly appeared. "Master Yoh, it's time. We must hurry."

Yoh nodded, and altogether, they hurried towards the pillar of light.

"1080 beads?" Anna was stunned as Kino Asakura showed her a larger set of prayer beads.

"Once upon a time, a Destroyer lived too, and he was an Asakura. He was a powerful onmyouji, and it took our ancestors 1080 secret arts to beat him." Kino lifted the beads and handed them to her. "Now you must help Yoh by using it on Hao Asakura."

Yohmei nodded. "It was fortunate that our grandson met an itako."

Mikihisa uncrossed his arms. "Is it alright to bring her to Yoh already?"

"I suppose so." Kino looked at her sternly. "Do not fail." She handed the itako the 1080 beads.

Manta sighed as he watched the pillar of light grow wilder. He felt terrible that Yoh and his friends were risking their lives to protect mankind, but here he was, uselessly staying at home.

"I wish I can do something…but I'm not a shaman like them."

"Manta?"

He looked up and saw Pirika. He smiled forcibly. "Hai?"

"Kindly run an errand for me." She handed him a scroll. "Give that to my brother- I told him to get it and give it to Yoh, but he forgot, the idiot he is. Tamao-chan says it's important for him to take hold of this."

Manta smiled slowly. Maybe he wasn't as useless as he thought.

"Thanks, Pirika! I'll be right back!" Manta excitedly hurried out of the house.

With Yoh approaching, the Great Spirits began to change into a bigger form.

Tsuzuku

Omake! Omake!

Harry: Syao-chan is unusually industrious today. She finished all three fic updates in the same night!

Lenny: She's inspired.

Lisa: I think she has to thank Apple-chan for that. Celebrations was a most wonderful fic.

Rio: And I actually got a love interest there!

Lenny: Like as if we care!

Rio: *looking wounded* Well at least I don't bang my head on the wall.

Lenny: And I remember Asakura Hao smoking…

Harry: Speaking of Hao, our next *ahem* music video is a *cough* duet from Hao and Syao.

Rio: Is that a restaurant?

Harry: *ignores the Wooden Bakal (Steel ^o^)* Here is…Eternal Flame! The carrier single of Hao/Syao album out now in the nearest "bangketa" (sidewalk) and "tiangge" (bazaar).

Lenny: She's weird. Apple-chan worships Hao but she's a little more subtle. Can't Syao-chan be like that?

Harry: Want me to answer that?

Lenny: Never mind.

Eternal Flame

(original song copyright belongs to its rightful holder)

Syao:

Close your eyes

Give me your hand, darling

Do you feel my heart beating?

Do you understand?

Do you feel the same?

Am I only dreaming?

Or is this burning

An eternal flame

Hao:

I believe

It's meant to be, darling

I watch you when you are sleeping

You belong to me

Do you feel the same?

(Syao: Of course)

Or am I only dreaming

An eternal flame

Syao:

Say my name

(Hao: Syaowee…)

Sun shines through the rain

Hao:

My whole life

So lonely

And then you come and ease the pain

Syao/Hao:

I don't wanna lose this feeling

(Hao: *girly tagalog-dubbed voice mode* Ooooohhhhh)

INSTRUMENTAL

Hao:

Say my name

(Syao: Hao-sama…)

Sun shines through the rain

Syao:

My whole life

So lonely

And then you come and ease the pain

Hao/Syao:

I don't wanna lose this feeling…

No….

Harry: Er… are they done wrecking eardrums? *takes off the cotton balls in his ears*

Lenny: I knew they shouldn't have given Hao a character song! His voice reminds me of a cow in heat!

Lisa: Very vivid.

Rio: *ruffles through Syao's notebook of omakes* According to her planner, her next omake won't feature us anymore.

Lisa: Eh???

Rio: Something about Ren/Piri and Horo/Tamao taglish (Tagalog-English) ficlets. Romantic, humorous, and in Pilipino.

Harry: Ei, who would translate?

Rio: According to her notebook, if no one would volunteer, she won't provide translations. Something about her Final exams for the first semester coming up, not giving her enough time to do the translation.

Harry: If cole-chan is reading this, Syao says, "Ate, nanawagan ako! Paki-email mo uli ung translation na ginawa mo sa omake ko, nde me makita. May engot kc n nakialam s My Documents nung Internet Café".

Rio: *shuts book* That's that.

Lisa: Let's wrap the chapter up before Syao and her bishie-sama decides to do an encore.

Lenny: Que horror.